Toad Brakes; Permanent or Portable
Just purchased a 2020 Equinox as a toad for our first RV and would like input on which type of supplemental braking system to buy. We plan on at least 10 yrs with this toad.
Forum Discussion
- Even on a short trip I have never been tempted to not use the Brake Buddy. Only takes 15 minutes. What's the rush?
To prevent any mistakes when putting the Brake Buddy in place, I have step by step instruction sheet that I keep in the glove box. 5 steps and the Brake Buddy is properly installed, tested and ready to go. Nothing missed and no mistakes. - I did ready brake for 8 years, and installed two demo/ sim stay and plays last year, you turn them on and they are ready to go, nothing to take out and store some where
wa8yxm wrote:
Well I will talk about a few systems
Brake buddy and other box in the driver's seat systems
Good if you have a "Fleet" of towed's but.
You need to install them EVERY Time you tow. and every time you install it's a chance to mess it up.
Also for a short trip there is a strong temptation to say "To heck with it" and regret that decision later (Murphy's law says that is the trip you will wish you had put it in)
M&G This is an Air over Hydraulic system that is 100% under the hood. Noting in the cockpit on the car. 100% transparent to a driver.
IF it fits and your MH has air brakes.. Seriously consider it.
Next are electric over hydraulic. My first choice in this is the US-Gear Unified brake decelerator but there are many nearly as good. These mount in the cockpit but can be hard to see less you know what to look for
There are some versions of this that use compressed air but with electronic controls. (like the brake buddy) but are either installed or half installed
Finally there is the Ready Brake. (my next braking system) this is a surge brake system. 100% mechanical as the car pushes against the MH the brakes are applied. Blue Ox also sells a competing product.
Advantage all of the above With a couple of exceptions all you do is plug it in 2 seconds and it's live. Those exceptions are the ready brake and comptitor where you clip the clip to the cable (ALso a 2 second job) and one where all you do is pulg in the Tow Light Plug. it draws power off the tail light line and control off the turn/brake leads.
no "Fleet" of cars needed. I used my Brake Buddy in three different toads. didn't need an expensive installation when I changed them.
bumpy- Well I will talk about a few systems
Brake buddy and other box in the driver's seat systems
Good if you have a "Fleet" of towed's but.
You need to install them EVERY Time you tow. and every time you install it's a chance to mess it up.
Also for a short trip there is a strong temptation to say "To heck with it" and regret that decision later (Murphy's law says that is the trip you will wish you had put it in)
M&G This is an Air over Hydraulic system that is 100% under the hood. Noting in the cockpit on the car. 100% transparent to a driver.
IF it fits and your MH has air brakes.. Seriously consider it.
Next are electric over hydraulic. My first choice in this is the US-Gear Unified brake decelerator but there are many nearly as good. These mount in the cockpit but can be hard to see less you know what to look for
There are some versions of this that use compressed air but with electronic controls. (like the brake buddy) but are either installed or half installed
Finally there is the Ready Brake. (my next braking system) this is a surge brake system. 100% mechanical as the car pushes against the MH the brakes are applied. Blue Ox also sells a competing product.
Advantage all of the above With a couple of exceptions all you do is plug it in 2 seconds and it's live. Those exceptions are the ready brake and comptitor where you clip the clip to the cable (ALso a 2 second job) and one where all you do is pulg in the Tow Light Plug. it draws power off the tail light line and control off the turn/brake leads. Bill/Diana wrote:
I use Brake Buddy that is 17 years old and working perfectly in our 2nd toad. There are advantages and disadvantages to portable and permanent systems. Setting up the Brake Buddy takes about 15 minutes and to removed it take 5 minutes. When at the campsite I sometimes just store the Brake Buddy in the back to the toad and other times place it in the basement of the motorhome. Brake Buddy also has great customer & tech support.
Once while on a trip the Brake Buddy wan't working properly. They sent a replacement loaner overnight delivery and I used the same packaging to return my defective unit. I continued to use the loader till they sent mine back the follow week. Repair cost was $100 and that was the only failure.
same here, but no problems
bumpy- We have the SMI Stay-in-Play Duo installed on our toad. Simple operation...flip a toggle switch on and off. We also had this system uninstalled from old toad and installed on new toad.
- I use Brake Buddy that is 17 years old and working perfectly in our 2nd toad. There are advantages and disadvantages to portable and permanent systems. Setting up the Brake Buddy takes about 15 minutes and to removed it take 5 minutes. When at the campsite I sometimes just store the Brake Buddy in the back to the toad and other times place it in the basement of the motorhome. Brake Buddy also has great customer & tech support.
Once while on a trip the Brake Buddy wan't working properly. They sent a replacement loaner overnight delivery and I used the same packaging to return my defective unit. I continued to use the loader till they sent mine back the follow week. Repair cost was $100 and that was the only failure. - Look at ReadyBrake, been using mine for over 8 years and it works great.
- we went with an installed unit in our jeeps. cleaner and less hassle when hooking up or disconnecting. plus no EZ place to store the device when not in use.
- Having moved my Brake Buddy into my 3rd toad, I vote for portable.
