Towing a Jeep, Tow Bar, Braking, etc questions

I used a box brake for many years. Installing/removing does becomes tiresome if you stop a lot vs stay longer. Just stepping on the brake with the engine off bleeds the vacuum so that is a non issue for us.

Since you've got the box brake go ahead and use it for say a year then decide.

Last fall Roadmaster had a very good deal on the Invsibrake installation about $1100 and they gave me $100 for my old box brake. This likely didn't include the power cable and lights which was already on the car.

About a week ago there was a brand new, unopened Even Brake:

http://roadmasterinc.com/products/braking/even_brake.html

On EBay for $500. I bought it seeing as that was about half the price they normally run for. As I didn't know much at that point, I figured that would be a good way to go for now.

Reading wa8yxm's post makes me worry that I made the wrong choice. I could try to sell it on eBay again and instead see about a shop putting in something else?

My problem is the cost. I get the argument about safety, which is why I was planning on using this box in the first place, but a tow brake setup can easily cost $1500-1800 with install and that's a lot for an RV worth $6k.

Are those boxes really that much of a pain to set up if they go in the same vehicle each time? Wouldn't you get accustomed to the exact seat position, sticking a board between the unit and the seat, attaching the clamps to the pedal and going through the setup procedure? I would think with some experience something like that should not take you more than 10 minutes. If its truly an ordeal each time, then I agree, I should get something else.

You need a brake in the jeep for safety and liability. Some don't have one and take their chances.

My rig weighs 38K lbs and the toad 3,400. Do I need a toad brake to stop? Not normally. One panic stop for a idiot and it helped.

Lighter rigs with a given car will have a longer stopping distance. Most states will require one to meet their braking requirements. Think being in an accident and trying to explain to the judge why you didn't have one.

zonearc wrote:
I'm a newbie. We're actually still hunting for the right RV, but we have cash in hand so I expect it to be soon.

I have a Jeep Cherokee (XJ) that we plan to tow behind what we plan to get (late 80s/early 90s Class C).

I've read that we really should get a brake system for the Cherokee for safety reasons. My first question is .. is that necessary for safety?

Not just Safety but legal reasons as well.. But the answer is YES. you should, you take a risk when you do not have a breaking system.

Assuming you have a manual transfer case on that Cherokee and can tow 4-Down (Google Remco Towing and go to their store and enter the jeep's credentials (Year, make, model, engine etc) to be sure) you will need a tow bar, lights and a brake system.

Lights. You have basically 3 choices, First is a diode kit, this uses the jeep's original tail, stop and turn signals.

Second is add-on lights.. Just as the name implies

Third is the Add-a-lamp system, where an additional bulb is inserted into each tail light housing. I have used the first and last, I tend to like diode kits better but. .. The add-a-lamp has it's attractions as well. Search the forum for detractors. I do not care for the adde tow lights method as .. Well, they can grow legs and walk off on you.


Tow bars: Many companies... Most all are good. They can be grouped into 3 classes.. I will discuss

A-Frame.. These are the lowest in cost but as the bars are rigid you need to position exactly when you hook up,,, Just like a trailer.

"Extension" types (The arms contract for storage and hookup and then extend and lock when you begain the tow) come in two major flavors, One stows on the motor home, one on the towed. I like the ones that stow on the motor home since the towed looks better.

Finally there is the Readybrute (And Blue-ox now sells one like it) with Ready Brake (Autostop) this is a tow-bar and braking system in one (Surge Brakes). More on that in the brakes section.

Frankly, with the exception of the ready system, I can not recommend one over another as they are all more or less the same. But read the breake seciton on the Ready brute with ready brake (Blue ox with auto stop)

These are surge brake systems, Surge brakes are nice because for the most part they are auto-adjusting they are porportional (Audo adjusting) and progressive (Auto adjusting) and the adjustments are done by physical laws that simply can not go wrong.. UNLESS.

If you are an occasional camper and only tow a few times a year, the cable on the car can size up and freeze on you, this can either disable the system.. or more likely, let it pull the pedal down when you do a hard stop and not release it costing you a breake job on the jeep including rotors (NOT CHEAP)

However if you are a regular camper... Then this is less likely to happen. (Or you check the cable every time you tow to insure it's moving freely) How they work

A spring in the hitch assemble is compressed by the force of the Jeep pushing the class C when you slow down, A system of levers and cables then pulls the Jeep's brake pedal to the floor.. engaging the Jeep's brakes.. NOTE: Vacuum boosted brakes this self adjusts to the amount of vacuum in the booster. All adjustments save for the cable slack (Which is adjusted hopefully by the installer) are automatic based on how hard the jeep is pushing the motor home (How hard YOU are braking).

M&G, this one is an air/hydraulic system, great for Diesel pushers with air brakes they make a model for gassers as well. Goes between the booster and master cylinder, NOTHIGN at all inside the Jeep's driver's compartment. Great system. If I had a DP, Id get one IF IT FITS my towed. NEgative, a diferent towed may need a different slave (The part that mounts in the jeep is the slave, the master is the motor home).

US-Gear Unified Brake Decelerator and for most of this many other systems as well.

These use a system of cables and pullies to pull the brake pedal toward the floor based on electronic controls and inertial sensors. Most all work well, all of them feature one-time installation and easy hookup and unhooking, The US-Gear system I specified gives the MH driver the ability to adjust it, disable it, or engage the towed brakes INDEPENDENT of the motor home, only system with that amount of control, but very few of us will ever need that much control or for that matter know when and how to use it. So I group most all of these together, This includes the Stay & Play, Invisible Brake, and a host of others too lengthy to list. All of these, far as I know, include a vacuum pump to maintain booster vacuum so it works normally.

Brake system in a box.. This is a box you put in front of the driver's seat with an arm that reaches out to push the brake pedal when needed. These systems do NOT include a vacuum pump for the booster so you need to bleed off vacuum during installation and you need to install them EVERY time you towed. Great if you have multiple toweds or trade in every year but a pain in the operating system and way too easy to say Oh, "I'll just forget it for this short trip" if towing say to the dealer for service. I do not approve of these forget me systems.

I use a M&G Engineering Brake system in my Jeep wrangler.

M&G

JimR

I use Brake Buddy for my Jeep Wrangler. Works well and gives me a piece of mind

http://www.readybrake.com/tow-bars.html

Scroll down to the more advanced version. That tow bar includes a surge brake system and is designed for cars. Pretty slick setup.

I read that a few people had trouble with this style setup as it was overapplying brakes at times and under steep hill descents and so they would burn through brakes on a trip until further adjustments were made. But, there's problems with every setup .. so I'm not sure if its worth being concerned about.

For now, I found a $500 EvenBrake on Ebay I bid on. Even if it costs me $500 to get the wiring harnesses installed, I'm still less than alternatives. If I don't win it, I would still be interested in people's recommendations. I don't like the idea of having to reconnect the brake setup ever time I leave with the RV ... so something permanent would be nice.

Yes, I think you should have a braking system, and that answer comes from a guy who doesn't have one. I tow a 2002 Jeep Wrangle that I believe is a little lighter than your Jeep. I tow it behind a heavy diesel pusher with a very nice engine brake and air brakes that get used very little.

You will be towing with a lighter class C, no engine break, and brakes that use brake fluid that could overheat and fail if you don't have a brake on the toad. Since you're in Oregon, you'll be dealing with mountains.

The DP's heavy weight gives better control over a toad without a braking system. I'ved been in the mountains from Colorado to Alaska and back down to Bisbee, AZ without any problems. Am I illegal in some states - maybe, it depends on their weight limits for a toad without brakes. I'm also illegal if I coast down off a mountain 5 miles over the speed limit.......

I bought my Road Master off of another Jeep person at a considerable cost savings. He had it on Craig' List. Unfortunately, I had to buy the adapters that bolted to the Jeep because he was too lazy to unbolt them before he sold his Jeep.

Building a set up with surge brakes could be interesting. I didn't know you could hook surge brakes into a vehicle's brakes. I've never used surge brakes because most of my trailer towing is snow machine trailers during the winter and I don't want to depend on the trailer tires getting enough of a grip on the ice to engage the surge brakes.

Keep looking at EBay, Craig's List and anything else you have locally.

Bill