Towed Car Comes Loose - A Plus For Auxiliary Braking System

I know these are the recommended pin, but I've already lost one of these, and I noticed another one had not snapped down tight the other day. I think they get dirty and the ring doesn't necessarily snap flush and because they are top heavy they roll down and just fall out. I'm partly to to blame for not checking well, I agree, but I like things to be a little more passive. I think I will just go straight to the padlock. At least on a padlock, even open it would stay in the pin.

I don't know that brake system he was using that well, but I am somewhat comforted that on my RVI2 I can manually apply the brakes on the toad and hopefully avoid the back slam. Not that I want to test my theory :), but I think it would work.

lanerd wrote:
I also have the US Gear Unified supplemental brake system on my toad. As long as the driver kept his foot on the rv's brake, it would have activated the toad's brakes .....

The US gear system has a multiple activation method
Not only must you be using the RV's brakes (Brake lights ON) but with enough pressure to SLOW the RV for it is purportional and if you just gently press the brakes it will activate the vacuum pump but will not apply brakes

The Break away cable

A manual lever in the RV's cockpit,, This is the method I'd have used under these conditions...

You can also adjust "gain" (how hard the brakes are applied as a function of how Fast the Motor home is slowing down) turning the towed brakes OFF if needed.

This is somewhat more control than a Professional SEMI driver has over his trailer brakes (he can not adjust gain on the fly, but can either engage or disable them if needed).

Only US gear offers this level of control.

J-Rooster wrote:
I don't understand them using two different tow bar systems Blue Ox and Roadmaster together? And the cotter pin he shows? I don't use them (I've never trusted them) I use padlocks in the place of those pins.

Many people use either roadmaster tow bars with Blue ox base plates or the other way around. both companies make "Adapters" for selected base plates and/or are compatible up front.

The "Cotter Pin" is actually misnamed, that is called a "hair Pin" not a cotter pin... though they serve much the same function, Cotter pins would NOT have come out since you "Spread the legs" but cotter pins are not designed to be inserted and removed over and over again hair pins are.

I use spring clip pins there they have a curcular spring that is bi-stable (means it will rest in either of two position) we used these exclusively on the farm to hold the draw bar, plough, cultivator, mower and other 3-point hitch devices to the tractor and I've never had a problem with them.. I do not think they can come loose.

I used to use hair pins at the other end of the Tow bar however (Motor home end) till one came out exactly as described above and cost me around 2,000 in repairs, I now use either padlocks or pins you need to use TOOLS to remove. I do not trust the hair pins at all.

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Padlocks v/s a "Quick Release" on the car end.

I have read of many a RV fire, even seen one (though that was a TT) and the faster I can disconnect the other vehicle (Towed in my case, Towing in the case of the TT) the less damage to the other vehicle.

In the case of the TT though it was the tow vehicle that went up. Some smoke damage to the trailer but nothing a good bath would not cure.

(Fire was already on scene when I drove past so I kept on trucking, he also had a friend with a 2nd tow vehicle so they could get him off the freeway w/o my help, I'm not rated to tow that much anyway)

I've also had a Tow vehicle that looked like it was on fire.. But was not. Turned out to be something easy to fix.. AAA tow and a new piece of transmission line and some fluid. (it was hot oil on a hot exhaust, lots and lots of smoke, and I mean LOTS of smoke, no fire though)

But I'm a firm believer in quick release in the event I need to quick release.

That said.. A second danger.. Some folks theorized the hair pin had been pulled as a prank when I lost my towed (Oh, the safety cables,, I always wondered "Will they hold" I now know.. they did) but due to some things I did not include above that would have been impossible, I thik I know how the pin got pulled, but of course can not prove anything... but it was an accident, not intentional. (I'd inspected the hitch a short time earlier no chance for anyone to pull the pin unless they were running very very fast)

I also tossed those pins out and use padlocks. They mention the better style pin may have prevented this, and that's possible true if what really happened is the other pin just worked it's way out. I'd be more willing to bet that the operator either forgot to put the pin in to begin with, or somebody else pulled it out while the were stopped someplace. But I'm leaning more to the theory of they just forgot to put it in.

pretty hard in most cases to be able to see a pin has come out of the tow bar
so until the guy stopped and heard bang or walked back and saw it to ever know what was going on
second off that whole set up is pretty flimsy compared to mine
I have a cross bar support system between pin connections(car side of things) which eliminates the twisting and turning of the pins and my pins are large clevis style pins. (much heavier style) plus the spring style hood pin clips that are suggested here.also a wider tow bar mount end of which the pin slides through
this system can pivot up/down and sideways

I also have the US Gear Unified supplemental brake system on my toad. As long as the driver kept his foot on the rv's brake, it would have activated the toad's brakes keeping it at max distance (as far as the single arm o the tow bar would allow) and not allowing it to slam into the back of the rv. Obviously, the driver must have taken his foot off of the brake momentarily allowing the toad to free wheel and run into the back of the rv.

Constant pressure on the brake would have prevented this. OR.... he could have reach down to the supplemental brake controllers and activated the toad's brakes independently of the rv. This too would have kept the toad from hitting the rv.

In a super high stress situation, remembering to do this is understandably difficult. That's why I occasionally will "practice" this action and hopefully I will remember .... yeah, right.

Ron

I once knew a guy that was pulling his dad's boat, it came loose from the hitch without any safety chains, went into the ditch, tongue buried into the far bank of said ditch, the boat launched into the air, and landed in a shallow farm pond.... No damage, except to the to tongue of the trailer.... Crazy, dumb luck.

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I noticed some years back that the 1/2" pins that attach our ReadyBrute Elite tow bar to our Blue Ox base plate always work themselves in the same direction while underway, and some wear could be seen on the retainer clips from the side pressure. I've since marked the bar ends so that I always insert the pins so they'll work themselves towards the handles rather than towards the retainer clips. After many thousands of miles now, there is zero wear on the retainer clips, and watching the pins in the lower rear camera suggests that even if the clips were removed, the pins would still stay in place. If you have similar tow bar and pin setup, I'd suggest checking on that to see if you might add a bit more safety just by inserting the pins in the best direction.

I agree completely and my pins did the exact same thing. I always install my pins from the inside, as looking at the front of the toad, to the outside. This puts the retainer clips on the outside of my connection and have never been a problem. Whenever I stop for the day my pins are always bearing against the bend and never against the retainer clips. This pictures shows how my pins are installed when the tow bar is connected.

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I noticed some years back that the 1/2" pins that attach our ReadyBrute Elite tow bar to our Blue Ox base plate always work themselves in the same direction while underway, and some wear could be seen on the retainer clips from the side pressure. I've since marked the bar ends so that I always insert the pins so they'll work themselves towards the handles rather than towards the retainer clips.

I have the same tow set-up as you, but I am somewhat confused by the terms you are using to describe your solution.
So, are the handles you refer the angled end on the 1/2" pin?
The retainer clips you reference are the R shaped "cotter pin" used to secure 1/2" pins?

Thank you in advance for your tolerance for my questions.

We have the SMI Air Force One supplemental braking system installed on our Honda. When I apply the brakes on the coach, the tow vehicles brakes apply at the same pressure. We also have the 'emergency' brake-away installed too if the car is disconnected from the coach the car should come to an abrupt stop.

I certainly haven't tested the supplemental brake system by doing a 'rolling test', but I would think the car shouldn't hit the coach if I'm applying the brakes on the coach as the Honda should brake too.

While in park, I have had someone press the service brakes on the coach when I'm in the Honda. I can feel that the brake pressure is released at the Honda's brake pedal, hence, the brakes are applied from the coaches air brake system.

MM.