Honda CRV.

Bumpyroad wrote:
I think the point is, that if you slam into somebody, your toad doesn't have brakes, your MHs manual says that you should/must have them, and the lawyer in a civil suit will read that section to the jury and you will be hung out to dry. and there is such a thing as contributory negligence. look it up.
so take your chances if you are feeling lucky.
bumpy

UMMMM, Again this is what you have insurance for... I swear that everyone here tries to play Judge and Jury based on what they see on daytime TV. Your state requires a MINIMUM amount of LIABILITY Insurance. If you are found LIABLE, your insurance company will pay out.

Bumpy....A Civil Suit... Please..You know as well as I do that most people do not have 20K to their name. I guess you could get a 25 million judgement against 75 year old Grandpa. Good Luck collecting on that. Good Luck even finding a lawyer to represent you, unless you have $100k sitting in your checking account.






This is why lawsuits such as this are almost always for the maximum amount of Liability that you have on your insurance. Funny how that works.


Unless you get Lucky and get hit by Bill Gates' Prevost, get these delusions of a get rich quick scheme out of your head. Not going to happen. If you want a get rich quick scheme, try suing Wal Mart or AT&T. Leave Grandpa alone, he will be like sucking blood out of a turnip.

A KISS answer. YES

I think the point is, that if you slam into somebody, your toad doesn't have brakes, your MHs manual says that you should/must have them, and the lawyer in a civil suit will read that section to the jury and you will be hung out to dry. and there is such a thing as contributory negligence. look it up.
so take your chances if you are feeling lucky.
bumpy

Yes, this is always a very volatile subject. One of the reasons being, it frequently results in a lot of misinformation, urban myths, etc. getting spread. Those that know better then feel like they need to speak up.

A previous post here is a prime example of that:

...If you have an accident, realize not having a supplemental braking system is a good excuse for the insurance company to deny your claim.

..This is a very common urban MYTH, that has been proven to be false over and over and over, yet some folks still insist on spreading this myth. Really wish folks would stop propagating this myth.

Your insurance may well raise your rates, or even cancel your policy after paying on a claim, where something like this happens. However, they are NOT going to be able to deny coverage, just because you exceed a manufacturer recommendation like GVWR, GCWR, braking capacity, etc. If that were the case, they could weasel out of paying ANY and EVERY claim in one way or another. Insurance would be worthless. That whole idea is ludicrous, and just needs to die, haha.

Oh, and here's another one:

...Also leaves another opening for a lawsuit because you did NOT do all you could have to be safe..

LOL, using that 'you didn't do all you could have to be safe' logic, leads down a ridiculously slippery slope, and proves nothing.

You COULD have also spent a ton more $$, and upgraded the brakes on your MH, 'to do all you could to be safe'.
You COULD have also just not towed the vehicle at all, drove it separately 'to do all you could to be safe'.
You COULD have also just rented a car at your destination and not brought another vehicle on the road 'to do all you could to be safe'.
You COULD have also just sold the MH, drove a much safer car, stayed in hotels, 'to do all you could to be safe'.
You COULD have also spent $1M on a Prevost bus conversion MH with air brakes, 'to do all you could to be safe'.

(..You see how ridiculous this 'you didn't do all you could have to be safe' argument really is?)

...Anyway, to answer the original, specific question: No, you do not necessarily need a Brake Buddy for your CRV. There are several other brake systems to chose from, some of which are a much better choice. I highly, highly recommend a Readybrake system over Brake Buddy.

As to the more broad question, of whether you need a braking system of some kind with a CRV behind a 40' DP: Check with the laws of the states you'll be towing in, see if they require braking on a towed vehicle. If so, you'd best be adding a brake system. Doubtful you'd get stopped and ticketed for such, but still not a good idea to be ignoring laws like that.

If the laws where you will travel do NOT require such, then its really a personal decision that you have to make, based on how much $$ you want to sink into it, vs just how much increased safety you think you'll get. No doubt you'd be safer and could stop quicker with a braking system added. However, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be a ticking time bomb on the road just waiting to kill a bus full of nuns without the supplemental braking system either, hahaha. :) People towed cars with MHs for years and years without issue, long before there ever were toad supplemental braking systems.

Regardless whether you chose to get a braking system or not, you should seriously consider getting some kind of break-away setup. I personally recommend a Readybrake system, with their Readystop breakaway unit. Simple cable-operated system, works great, no electronics to mess with or foul up, nothing to have to put in and take out every time you travel, and costs a LOT less than all the other systems.

Check the law for your state and use that for a minimum. Just remember even a 40' DP will stop faster in an emergency situation if the toad has brakes than it will if the toad doesn't have brakes. You be the judge.

Brake Buddy is just one of many different supplemental brake systems out there. Research before you buy.

Good luck

Ron

check out what your owner's manual for the RV says about towing a toad. if it says that anything over XXXX lbs. should have a braking system, you may not read that section but the lawyer for the people you hit will have read it. and I think there should also be a breakaway system installed.
bumpy

Will the DP stop it? Probably. HOWEVER, if you have an accident, realize not having a supplemental braking system is a good excuse for the insurance company to deny your claim. Also leaves another opening for a lawsuit because you did NOT do all you could have to be safe.

I can't even tell my toad is back there but I have a supplemental braking system to protect me from lawyers.

Let the fun begin, if you did a search on here this is prehaps the most volitale subject ever

If you value your own saftey the answer is yes. Also required by law in some states.