Fiber optic dinghy monotoring

[Curt_and_Marie]

We will begin our journey soon and have been preparing for months to tow our Durango 4 wheel flat for the first time. Like may others I worry about the reliability of motion operated bake assist systems. I began to think about how I would monitor the unit while in transit. At first, my rear view camera seemed like a viable option because it has the audio and I was hoping I could hear and notice any brake binding but I doubt if I could detect a slight brake malfunction. Has anyone ever used fiber optic cable? I don't have any experience with it but it seems to me that you could install on end in your toads brake light housing and run the other end to a monitor in the RV dash. That way when the toads brake is depressed (even slightly) you will be able to see it via fiber optic monitor.

[wny_pat1]

Curt and Marie wrote:
If money were no option I guess I would buy the best system out there. After 26 years Army all I saved was security for life. I don't have the budget to get the latest technology just the common sence and skill with my hands to know how to duplicate working systems. Thanks for all your ideas. Just a newbee

Check this out: http://www.readybrake.com/brake-systems.html. Has to be the simplest, most straight forward, supplemental, progressive, braking system on the market. Uses a straight forward, keep it simple, mechanical design. No complicated electronics to fail.

[wny_pat1]

moisheh wrote:
Why not step up and buy a real brake system that is not some brick that pushes against a seat. The US gear system is one but there are some others. Most do not require any hookup inside the toad once they are installed.

Doesn't US Gear use a solenoid, cable, and pully to pull on the brake pedal? Very much like Readybrake uses.

[Curt_and_Marie]

If money were no option I guess I would buy the best system out there. After 26 years Army all I saved was security for life. I don't have the budget to get the latest technology just the common sence and skill with my hands to know how to duplicate working systems. Thanks for all your ideas. Just a newbee

[Bumpyroad]

moisheh wrote:
Why not step up and buy a real brake system that is not some brick that pushes against a seat. The US gear system is one but there are some others. Most do not require any hookup inside the toad once they are installed. Some even utilize the power brake system. If you need a camera to check up on the system then it cannot be a very good system.

Moisheh

when I first got a braking system I was in favor of the US Gear system. however I priced it and it's installation, and the cost of removal and putting in new toads I quickly gave up on that idea.
I used one of the "bricks" for many years, in many toads.
bumpy

[moisheh]

Why not step up and buy a real brake system that is not some brick that pushes against a seat. The US gear system is one but there are some others. Most do not require any hookup inside the toad once they are installed. Some even utilize the power brake system. If you need a camera to check up on the system then it cannot be a very good system.

Moisheh

[wny_pat1]

Curt and Marie wrote:
Thanks Will

There are more than a couple of videos of toads still connected to the back of a coach fully engulfed in flames because the brakes did not fully release. Any professional 18 wheel driver will tell you that you can drag a brake ever so slightly against a rotor and never feel the drag, the friction will do a couple of very bad things. It can ignite the brake pads and/or heat up the rotor and rim so hot that the tire starts on fire. The question of whether or not to trust the electronics of my brake buddy is clear I Don't! I am a newbie and have never towed a dinghy before in my life but at 55 I have accumulated enough life experience to understand the need for redundancy in systems that help insure the safety of my family and others.

Very true. My father-in-law ended up stuck with half a trailer load of rice because of a fire while the other half got ruined from water being applied to the brake fire. A insurance company shelled out over $100.000 for a custom corvette my son was hauling on a 12 car car carrier. He had new brakes installed near Jacksonville Fl and they caught fire near Vero Beach Fl. The custom Vette was sitting right on top that axle where the brakes caught fire and it was totaled. A tattle tail indicator light is invaluable and easly set up.

[Bumpyroad]

Curt and Marie wrote:
I like the idea of a light on the dash that can be seen from the rear camera. It eliminates elaborate wiring and more systems. I would like to see how that was wired. I am picturing a light, perhaps LED that lays on the dash and is wired into the brake light switch. Toad brakes apply and when the brake lights are on I will be able to see the light laying on the dash light up.

an easy fix would be to get a $9.95 set of magnetic lights at Harbor Freight and stick one of them to the hood of the toad.
bumpy

[CA_Traveler]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
One thing that a brake light monitor will not tell you, regardless of the method used, is whether one caliper is sticking and overheating. What will warn you to check for that is a tire pressure monitor system that also reports temperatures. A dramatic increase in temperature without a corresponding increase in pressure tells you that something is amiss and needs to be checked out.

Yup, 3 new friends took Rt 22 into Monatana with it's long 10% grade. They were greeted in Wilson with the sign - Free coffee and popcorn while we fix your brakes. They left $3000 each. 😞 One went to watch a movie in Jackson on mountain driving...:S

[CA_Traveler]

I used an incandescent bulb and base mounted on a small block of wood with a plug for the wires. When not in use it was unpluged and placed in one of the console compartments with the wires.

We also and still do tie a white cloth to the top of the steering wheel to check that it was turning with the camera.

For the MH dash light I located and used a unused wire from the front to the back.

[Dutch_12078]

One thing that a brake light monitor will not tell you, regardless of the method used, is whether one caliper is sticking and overheating. What will warn you to check for that is a tire pressure monitor system that also reports temperatures. A dramatic increase in temperature without a corresponding increase in pressure tells you that something is amiss and needs to be checked out.

[Curt_and_Marie]

I like the idea of a light on the dash that can be seen from the rear camera. It eliminates elaborate wiring and more systems. I would like to see how that was wired. I am picturing a light, perhaps LED that lays on the dash and is wired into the brake light switch. Toad brakes apply and when the brake lights are on I will be able to see the light laying on the dash light up.

[Bumpyroad]

willald wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
.....guess I've been lucky the last 20 years.
bumpy

Perhaps, but read around on here, do some searches, and you'll find there were/are lots of people that were not so lucky, and had issues like I described long before 20 years. 🙂

Will

how many of those unlucky folks did not have any type of sensor on the braking system? How many were due to pilot error? but I agree that probably the best set up would be to put a brake lite that is visible to the driver of the motorhome. but fiber optic is a little excessive. but I was not paranoid.
I am more concerned with the folks who don't think that a braking system is desirable or needed.
bumpy

[CA_Traveler]

Originally I had a 4 wire connection and placed a light on the dash which was visible in the camera.

I now have a 6 wire cable which has a charge line and toad brake switch line connected to red light on the dash.

The original box brake was always a pain in the CRV. I now have Roadmasters Invsibrake. Nothing to turn on/off, etc and it's located under the seat.

[willald]

Bumpyroad wrote:
.....guess I've been lucky the last 20 years.
bumpy

Perhaps, but read around on here, do some searches, and you'll find there were/are lots of people that were not so lucky, and had issues like I described long before 20 years. 🙂

Will