Need Electric Brakes?

[derh2o]

I am new to the motor homes world having come from a 5th wheel. i plan to purchase a towable (4 down) with a weight not to exceed 4,000 lbs. Would i need to install and use a break controller? thanks in advance for your help.

[larry koenn]

derh20,

I'm guessing you are wanting to tow a car behind a motorhome. I've not seen anyone try to install any kind of electric brakes on a car but there are several brake assist systems available. I like and use M & G Engineering - Car Braking Systems: Home Page They are my choice and you should get quite a few responses to your question with everyone giving you their choise of brake system. I've used the M-G System on three trucks I've towed for the last thirteen years without a single problem. We normally travel 40K miles a year so that's a lot of braking. Some states and parts of Canada require assist braking on a towd at pretty low weights.

Larry

[texnet]

Most states require the towed vehicle to have additional braking be installed. As stated above there are many types and brands available. I personally like a system that is installed in the towed vehicle and does not have to be removed/installed each time you tow. There are systems that can be activated by air or a electrical control wire. I use a U.S. Gear system in our 2008 Ford Escape.

[Diplomat Don]

derh20......I'm guessing that you're asking about a controller under the dash for applying the brakes like you had on your fifth wheel....The answer is no.

You'll need a braking system and there are several of them. Purchasing one will probably be one of the most difficult RVing decisions you'll have to make. There are so many types that its a tough choice. You just can't simply buy the most expensive and have the best.

Some use the air supply on a diesel pusher (M&G, SMI) to give you proportioned braking with the coach, but they don't allow you to apply the brakes from the driver's seat like you're use to.

Some are boxes that sit on the floor of the towed vehicle and push on the brake pedal as they feel the car decelerate. They were some of the first brake systems and many still use them. They require you to store the box when not in use.

Finally, there are electronic systems that use pistons to push on your brake pedal.

Good Luck in your selection. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make. My choice was the SMI system that uses my coach air. I think the M&G system is better (attaches to your brake booster) but didn't fit on my first towed vehicle. You also have to buy another attachment if you change vehicles.

Suggestions....Find one that hooks up quickly, has a break away system that locks the brakes of the towed behicle if the tow bar breaks, has an indicator light that lets you know the brakes are being applied and something I wish I had, the ability to apply the brakes manually form the dash of the MH.

The Ready Brute Tow Bar has a surge brake system built in to it RV Tow bars with Integrated ReadyBrake Surge Brake, Standard TowBars - NSA RV Products .

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by texnet Most states require the towed vehicle to have additional braking be installed. As stated above there are many types and brands available. I personally like a system that is installed in the towed vehicle and does not have to be removed/installed each time you tow. There are systems that can be activated by air or a electrical control wire. I use a U.S. Gear system in our 2008 Ford Escape.

Not totally true!
In some states a motorized vehicle being towed by another motorized vehicle is not a "trailer". In CA, OR and WA you become a "combination vehicle" and the braking becomes a "performance spec". Stop from XX mph in XX feet and you don't need aux braking.
HOWEVER, if you go into any state that requires brakes on a towed vehicle you are required to meet that specification. There is no reciprocity on equipment specs unlike licenses.
The charts you see posted on the Internet are usually based on one put out by AAA and it is not right for toads.
That said, you can'rt get away from the fact that more weight requires more braking power to stop, so do yourself a favor and get brakes! I've never heard anyone say "Gee, I wish my brakes weren't so good".

[H. Miller]

Ditto for the US Gear system. The only hook up is the electric plug that also powers the brake/turn signals and a small plastic plug that enables the "break-away" brakes. Takes all of 15-20 seconds to connect.

[ahicks]

If you want something a little (much?) simpler, there's also a system that works more like a surge brake. Check out the "Ready Brake". It's becoming more and more popular because it is so simple, and because it works really well. Nothing to trip over or disconnect in the way of a driver that needs to move the car quickly. Disconnect from the motor home and go...

[00MonDip]

Can anyone explain what I need if I want to pull a trailer with electric brakes? I have a 2000 monaco diplomat and need to know if I have to install a brake controller.

The trailer I am pulling will weigh between 3 and 4000 pounds.

[Rock342]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 00MonDip Can anyone explain what I need if I want to pull a trailer with electric brakes? I have a 2000 monaco diplomat and need to know if I have to install a brake controller. The trailer I am pulling will weigh between 3 and 4000 pounds.

Yes, you will absolutely need to install an electric brake controller. The task you are not going to enjoy is wiring your coach to make it work. I'd suggest taking to to a good RV service location and let them figure it out for you.

I wired my old 2001 Bounder for a brake controller, and that involved drilling more holes than i'd like to admit through the front firewall, as well as crawling under the coach from back to front to run the wiring. Wasted an entire weekend doing that, and still forgot to run a hot wire to charge the trailer breakaway battery.

Craig
04 Windsor

[wa8yxm]

Tempting to say "you don't need to have electric brakes, Air works just fine"

You do, however, need an aux braking system (brakes on the towed) you have 3 choices and several sub choices.

Ready brake, cable operated surge brake, (Neither air nor electric) fully automatic, easy to hook up and I have seen no complaints.

M&G, Air Force one and other Air/hydraulic systems The major issue with M&G is it does not always fit.. When it does it is a very good system.. AirForce 1 i also good.

US-gear, unified brake decelerator is an all electric system, This gives you the highest degree of driver control of the towed brakes, You can both set them, or disable them, from the driver's seat of the RV.

Invisi-Brake, nearly as good, no driver override however.

Box systems, like Brake Buddy, Even Brake, etc. Now the draw here is they are easily transfered to a new towed when you trade, snce there is no permenate install, but the down side is you have to install them EVERY TIME you tow, I give them a negative recommendation for that reason, Too easy to say "The heck with it" epically on a short tow.

[derh2o]

i just talked to my repair shop and they said i could use the Prodigy brake controller i had on my truck with a 5th wheel. my new MH is a 29 ft., 2011 Monaco Monclar. is everyone saying he is wrong?

[Rock342]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derh2o i just talked to my repair shop and they said i could use the Prodigy brake controller i had on my truck with a 5th wheel. my new MH is a 29 ft., 2011 Monaco Monclar. is everyone saying he is wrong?

Prodigy will be great for braking your trailer. I have one too.

[larry koenn]

derh2o,

Yep, your electric brake controller will work fine if you are intending to pull a trailer. Your first post made us think you wanted to pull a car or truck along. (towable 4 down means a car or pickup to us) If however you really do want to tow along a small pickup or car you need a new repair shop or make sure the one you have really understands what you want to do because you are not going to be pulling a pickup or car that has or can have electric brakes on it. It just doesn't work that way.

Larry

[wa8yxm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derh2o i just talked to my repair shop and they said i could use the Prodigy brake controller i had on my truck with a 5th wheel. my new MH is a 29 ft., 2011 Monaco Monclar. is everyone saying he is wrong?

Depends on the brake system. Before I listed some of the popular ones.

M&G, and Air Force 1, Since these are not electric the prodigy will not work

US-Gear: The Prodigy will not work.


One last comment on the need for aux brakes on towed.

Though one can argue state law till the cows come home.. CIVIL law says if you rear end me, and you do NOT have aux brakes, I get rich. (At your expense), it's called "reckless endangerment".

Invisible Brake: The Prodigy will not work

Ready brake: The prodigy will not work.

Brake in a box (Brake Buddy, Even brake, etc) The Prodigy will not work.

I know of no system for towed car braking where the Prodigy will work.

Dolly or trailer towing: The prodigy WILL work.

With the exception of the US-gear system, the systems above all either use air, or mechenical pressure to apply the brakes, OR they use inertial sensors in the towed to sense slow down

The US gear looks, on paper, like it might work with the Prodigy but when you look closer the Prodigy puts a voltage on the brake wire full time and senses the presence of a towed by the lowering of said voltage (the presence of the brake magnets)

The US-Gear it is the towed that puts that voltage on the wire and the TC-6000 Senes the presence of the towed by the PRESENCE of said voltage, it loads the line to apply the brakes. So it won't work with the Prodigy.