Toad supplemental braking question
I was talking today with a local RV repair shop about getting my toad set up for towing, when we started talking about supplemental brake systems. I asked about the ReadyBrake and/or Blue Ox's AutoSt...
Forum Discussion
Bumpyroad wrote:
my brake buddy worked fine without a vacuum assist.
IMHO that and "proportional" are just selling point fluff.
bumpy
Agree 100% about how they use such things as selling point fluff.
I've used my ReadyBrake on two different vehicles - a Kia minivan and a Ford Fusion hybrid. The Fusion we use now has vacuum assist for the brakes on all the time, even when ignition is off, so I have power brakes on with it when towing. With the van, there is/was not vacuum assist when towing, obviously.
In both cases (with or without vacuum assist), the ReadyBrake works fine. Without vacuum assist, it just means that RB actuator has to put more force/pull on the cable to engage the brakes. It is designed to handle such, though, and does. In either case, I found that Readybrake brakes the vehicle just fine. And, note in my case that the vehicle without vacuum assist is a 4500 lb minivan behind a 36' gasser MH.
Look at it this way: Is having vacuum assist for your brake system worth paying over $1000 more for? Thats the difference you'll pay (or more) for an electronic system that has vacuum assist vs Readybrake that does not.
When you look at it that way, its very clear and easy to see why an RV dealer is going to try to convince you that a brake system won't work right without vacuum assist. :)
