Supplemental Brake... Necessity or Preference
We seem to have a good number of discussions on the issue of the need for supplemental brakes... Unfortunately many of the discussions are not very productive in terms of giving those who have an open...
Forum Discussion
taoshum wrote:
I know this will perturb the thread but after a great deal of thought, I've decided that the toad aux braking systems have too many failure modes (I can think of at least 100) that will end up with the toad brakes "on" when I don't want them "on". Instead, I'm going to put my trust in good ole steel tow bars (10,000 lb for a 3500lb Jeep) and heavy duty chains (another 10,000 lb each) so that the toad stays with the MH no matter what happens. I have never seen a thorough study of what could happen when the toad brakes go "on" unexpectedly... but there are many situations where it could cause far more trouble than the small increase in braking power is worth, based on my technical experience. In our case the MH + the toad weighs 1000lb less than the GVWR so the MH brakes are within the OEM design margin plus the 2 stage engine braking keeps the brakes cool.
FWIW, thanks, G.
Yes they can fail to engage or fail to disengage. There have been posts on the disengage failure and it can be expensive.
I prefer the extra power of toad braking even though I've never needed it for stopping.
Personally I have two different ways to determine when the toad brakes are on.
1. The remote that came with the unit.
2. A light on the toad dash that is connected to the brake light. This light is visible in the camera.
