To Brake assist or not to brake assist ?

[jbstack28]

Ok, new to the Class A lifestyle, had a Fifth wheel in the past. Looking to setup my tow vehicle. I purchased a 2019 Kia Soul, weighs less than 3,000 lbs. So question is this. Go with no brake assist, or purchase used 'Brake Buddy'( ugly and old technology) for those what three states where I would be illegal? I would simply slap it in place so I would be legal.

Thanks so much,

charlie..

[rockhillmanor]

If your base plate comes off OR your bumper comes off with tow bar????


It WAS NOT installed properly period.

[Yankee_Clipper]

For many years I towed a 3200 pound Explorer Sport without auxiliary brakes, and my last experience with it in the mountains convinced me this was not a good idea. For the last seven years I've used the EvenBrake with great success. It moved from the Explorer to the CR-V with only adding an extra charge line to the Honda. HTH

[BobGed]

Here's one that was very close to getting away.

[doc_brown]

I know off two cases where the toad broke lose and was free wheeeling on the interstate. I was personally told by the individuals who said there is no way they would ever post the situation. But that’s not why I have the supplemental braking system. It just makes sense.

[wa8yxm]

jplante4 wrote:
In all the years I've been poking around RV forums, I have never heard of a toad breaking free and playing Hopper on the highway.

Well I had it almost happen (Due to the towed and a few other things we stopped safely) and then I had another time where the safety cables held.. That's all I'll say about it.

I've read of it happening to several others. So you must be doing as I do and skipping topics you do not feel interested or qualified in .

But as I said. IT HAPPENED TO ME save for the hopper part. We came to a safe stop. THe full story is funny. but I've already posted it oh perpahs 10 years ago .

[DownTheAvenue]

Tripalot wrote:
If you decide not to use a braking system, check with your insurance company. If you were to have an accident, they might determine that you were knowingly driving an unsafe vehicle and therefore would not be covered by insurance.

I can't respond to Canadian laws and insurance policies, but here in the States, this statement makes no sense and is not valid. Nowhere in any policy will you find language like in this post.

[Cloud_Dancer]

I understand the science of it. Both of my small trailers have surge-brake systems.
My Brake Buddy is about 32 years old, and has served very well in 3 different "toads".

[T18skyguy]

Legalities aside, if you get sued, to defend you you'll pay an attorney far more than a $1000 dollar brake system. I RV'ed many years before an old lady, who did not look both ways, pulled right out in front of me from a side road. Thankfully I had a 22 footer and stopped about a foot from her drivers door. If I had the 32 footer I have now would have hit her for sure.
Years back I was following a pickup truck that was towing a car with a self rigged setup. It broke loose, took out 3 cars before it crashed into the cement median. Didn't kill anyone, but I'll never forget the look on that drivers face. Kinda like " I wish I had never been born" Turns out he used two 3/8 grade 3 bolts that broke.

[All_I_could_aff]

You don’t need brakes on your toad, until you do.

[William_B]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I guess it is possible but I can't even imagine how a toad can break loose unless someone tried to cut corners. I mean you have to have both arms of the tow bar fail, as well as both tow chains, or perhaps your hitch broke loose and the entire tow bar came loose. In that case, you still have the two tow chains. I never trusted the hooks on the tow chains and I replaced the ends with screw on links. These will never come loose and will hold the vehicle if everything else fails. On my rig, I would have to have four things fail at once for my toad to break loose. This seems highly unlikely.

I wasn't going to get in this discussion, but my FIL had his toad come completely off the rear of his motorhome in the Badlands. It was a Roadmaster tow bar and base plate, the older style where the safety cables attached to the base plate. The entire baseplate sheared off and the vehicle took off across a field thankfully to the right away from the highway not across it. We saw this with our own eyes.

[rockhillmanor]

wa8yxm wrote:

First I would NEVER recommend a Brake Buddy or any of the other "Box in the driver's position" systems.. These have to be INSTALLED every time you tow (I know they say "No Installation" but don't believe it).

I"d go with a Ready Brake (If you have not gotten a tow bar the Ready Brute has that option) or Blue Ox Auto Stop.. or if you have air brakes and it fits your towed (not a given) The M&G or Air force 1...

X10!
I wish I'd had access to this forum AND your advice when I added my toad to my MH. I bought the Brake Buddy.

The Brake Buddy IS a pain in the butt.
YES... each and every time you stop you have to drag the thing out of your toad and then when you are ready to go again you have to shove it back in and hook it all up.

I.E. install it each time.

If you are a weekend/vacation RV'er it's not so bad you get to your vacation destination and you are only putting it in and taking it out twice. I full time so that thing was in and out hundreds of times.

I had a Chevy Tracker. Small and "low to the ground". I had to get on my hands and knees to shove that thing in under the steering wheel and hook it up to the brake pedal, plug wires in and then press the button x amount of times, yada, yada, yada. :R

wa8yxm listed some of the far better options for a brake assist for a toad.

IMHO I would never recommend a brake buddy. Ya it served it's function and worked but it worked me even harder putting it in and out!!

OP: I had to panic stop my MH and you CAN feel the toad helping to stop instead of just being dead additional weight pushing you.

There was a real good video in the RV Magazine several years back that ACTUALLY showed the stopping distance with and without an assist brake in the toad using a class A.

You couldn't dispute the fact that it DID shorten the stopping distance. Which Could easily determine if you would hit the guy in front of you with your MH or not. :C

[Mile_High]

jplante4 wrote:
In all the years I've been poking around RV forums, I have never heard of a toad breaking free and playing Hopper on the highway. I've have, however, heard of people leaving their brakes on and the toad catching fire because the wheels were being dragged down the road by a clueless RV driver with so much HP in the coach that they didn't notice the additional drag. I personally stopped a class A leaving a Carolina Crossroads in NC with his toad brakes on. This would indicate that brakes cause more problems than they solve.

I think I would agree with you here. I stress more about the brake malfunction than the toad breaking away. I guy bought a cooler from me and came buy to get it and told me the story of his RVI2 he messed up the day before and melted his wheels, axle boots, and most likely totaled the car, all because he made one last check that he was in neutral and pressed the brake.

[jplante4]

I rebuilt the used Blue Ox before using it and indeed the is a single center bolt holds the bar to the hitch tube. The rebuild kit did not include this bolt so I hit the Fastenal store and got one. There are plastic or teflon washers on either side of the connection (in the kit) and a metal washer on the outside which I also replaced.

Over the course of the summer trip I had to tighten things up. The Aventa tow bar is well built and heavy. I can't imagine 3 failures under normal use. Just like everything else, you need to do some PM or you'll get bit.

[et2]

Here's a story ... Reply 18

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,44123.msg406573.html#msg406573


Quote from: mrschwarz on June 17, 2011, 10:01:27 PM
I have one of these. What kind of issues did you have?

Well, 3 failures actually. The first one was one of the connecting arms bent. The rod portion that connects to the vehicle. Called Blue Ox and sent them pics. They said that they would send me a replacement, and to ship mine to them. If their inspection showed that it was my fault, that they would bill me. I agreed. Never heard from them.

The second was the articulating ball that attaches the two arms was slowly working it's way apart. It can't be tightened from the outside. Called Blue Ox sent pics. They again sent a replacement, same conditions. Never heard anything.

The last time was the most spectacular. During a hard brake situation from about 45 MPH, felt a "thump" didn't know what it was. Looked in the back up camera, the Jeep was missing! Looked behind me, it's sitting in the middle of the street, about 100' behind me. Later determined that the connecting "bolt" that secures the articulating ball that the tow arms hook onto, and holds the ball to the main body of the tow bar snapped off. This was troubling enough, but the safety cables that attach the MH to the Jeep via the eyelets on the Blue Ox tow bar ripped out leaving the cables intact, attached to the MH. My brake system locked the toad brakes preventing a major crash on a heavily traveled 6 lane highway at rush hour.

I called Blue Ox, sent pics of tow bar and base plate. I get ignored for about a week. Finally I get a hold of some one at Blue Ox who sends me to a dealer about an hour away. I take him my tow bar and he is floored. He gives me a replacement and says he has to get it authorized with Blue Ox for the trade, but is sure that there will be no problems. He calls me the next day and says that Blue Ox is denying to cover it because the serial # on the tow bar shows that the MANUFACTURE DATE MADE IT TWO WEEKS PAST THE WARRANTY DATE. Not the day it was sent to a dealer, or sold to me. I was furious. The Dealer I went to called a few more of his contacts at Blue Ox until he found someone that would agree to warranty the failure.

I took the new tow bar and immediately sold it on e-bay. My Jeep still has the base plate with the ripped out eyelets. My new Ready Brute tow bar has Blue Ox ends on it. I connect the safety cables to 2 WARN D-hooks that are mounted next to the winch. I use the base plate to show others the quality of their base plate.

Sorry for the rant, I have not posted this before but I was asked. See why I recommend Road Master or some other brand of tow bar?

[imgoin4it]

Ive used a brake buddy for 20 years. Got it after on one trip and 2 panic stops where I almost fdid not get the coach stopped. I think there are more convient auxilirary braking systems than brake buddy but I would not tow down a highway without a braking system. Having said that I seriously doubt that anyone will ever be ticketed for not having one. If however you hit someone / caused an accident because you could not stop you will be ticketed and subject to fines, lawsuits etc. I doubt there will be any mention of having or not having additional braking. You are at fault because you could not stop., following too close, or what have you .