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Old 01-31-2014, 06:33 AM   #1
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Auxiliary braking

We are getting real close to getting our m/h.We have a grand cherokee,bought just for toad.All that i have read about ,makes me want to put auxiliary braking on.I will use a blue ox tow hitch(will not do this tell we get m/h so we can match things up) Some one suggested the s m i air force one.We want to keep this simple as possible ,but safe. I under stand this works off the coach hydraulic,Do we hook up power from coach?I have read the manual on jeep how to disengage the drive train.Do you leave steering locked or unlocked.
Any suggestions on anything to make this simple,but safe?
Any idea on the cost of doing this right?
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Old 01-31-2014, 06:49 AM   #2
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That is a very well talked subject here. You can start by searching the topic, while waiting for replies. There many options for toad braking.
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Old 01-31-2014, 06:57 AM   #3
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Cat,

I did this one year ago. I tow a 1/2 ton Chevy Crew Cab. I went with the M & G Industries brake system. It uses the coaches airbrake system, you simply connect an airline to the coach and to the toad. On the toad side the system uses the power brake system on the vehicle. I also went with BlueOx tow bar and baseplates. All told with install it was about $3k. I love the system. We have toad over 11k miles with no issues and it takes about 3 minutes to hook up or unhook. One note about unhooking always make sure that you are all straight as it makes removal of the pins much easier, being level is as much of a concern.

And finally to answer your question you leave the steering unlocked.

Feel free to PM me if you would like to talk about any of this stuff, good luck!
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Old 01-31-2014, 07:16 AM   #4
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If the motor home has air brakes,, Then the M&G system fits most JEEPS just fine, this is absolutly the best air powered system in my not very humble opinion since it goes under the hood, it does not push on the pedal (or pull on it) and cares not what the vacuum booster is doing because it's not doing anything. There is NO part of it inside the Jeep, it is all under the hood.

The system you cite (Air Force One) I'd rank as "A close second" and also a very good system.

I drive a gasser and am looking at the Auto-Stop by blue ox, this is a surge brake system but ... Well... If you have air brakes on the MH, I'd rank this a ways down the chart. Happens it should work well for me though.
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Old 01-31-2014, 02:11 PM   #5
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You mentioned the word "simple". To me there's only one braking system out there that is truly simple, yet does the job. That's the ReadyBrake system from NSA RV Products. You can get just the ReadyBrake that will work with other towbars, or you can get the ReadyBrute Elite towbars with built-in ReadyBrake.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 01-31-2014, 03:07 PM   #6
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M & G Industries brake system

Quote:
Originally Posted by dsbear View Post
Cat,

I did this one year ago. I tow a 1/2 ton Chevy Crew Cab. I went with the M & G Industries brake system. It uses the coaches airbrake system, you simply connect an airline to the coach and to the toad. On the toad side the system uses the power brake system on the vehicle. I also went with BlueOx tow bar and baseplates. All told with install it was about $3k. I love the system. We have toad over 11k miles with no issues and it takes about 3 minutes to hook up or unhook. One note about unhooking always make sure that you are all straight as it makes removal of the pins much easier, being level is as much of a concern.

And finally to answer your question you leave the steering unlocked.

Feel free to PM me if you would like to talk about any of this stuff, good luck!
Dsbear, I'm in the same situation as tagcat in looking for a braking system for my Jeep Cherokee behind my 2013 Tour. In one of the owners manuals I read that one should not mess with the integrity of the MH air brake system. I like the idea of using the air brakes but want it to be safe. Does it take an "expert" to set up or it is easy to do on ones own? ps. I purchased the Blue Ox tow setup but have not had it installed yet. Thanks Marco
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Old 01-31-2014, 03:14 PM   #7
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Marco,

I had mine installed at an authorized M & G site. However, after watching and reading the instructions if you are reasonably mechanical you should be able to handle it. Just to be sure it did take most of the day for them to do everything.
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Old 01-31-2014, 03:17 PM   #8
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There are a couple of others that are highly used in the mh/toad world. Both utilize the power brake system in the toad, so no extreme pressure is needed to activate the toad's brakes.

Ours is the U.S. Gear Unified Brake system that utilizes a vacuum pump that is mounted under the hood of the toad and connects to the toad's vacuum system that allows the use of the toad's power brakes. It also incorporates a small hydraulic pump that is connected to the toad's brake pedal. In the mh is a small monitor unit that allows you to set however much braking pressure you want in the toad and it will also tell you (by several LEDs) how much pressure is actually being applied. It will also tell you if you happen to have a toad disconnect. The system has a 12v charge line from the mh to the toad so that the toad's battery will never discharge when being towed.

Once installed, there is no further action on your part whenever you hook up or unhook and is totally invisble. Installation is on the moderately difficult level, but the typical shade tree mechanic will have no trouble....I've installed mine in three different toads.

Purchase cost is around $1k and if you have someone else install, the price is a couple of hundred.

Now, the other device much like the Unified system, is Roadmaster's Invisa Brake. Same principle, and if you purchase from CW, they will install for $39.00.

I highly recommend either one.

Ron
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Old 01-31-2014, 06:39 PM   #9
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Many possible options, each with advantages and disadvantages. Just be sure to have a break away system incase things go wrong. If things become disconnected you want the Jeep to stop before it hits the folks in the oncoming lane.
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Old 02-01-2014, 12:37 AM   #10
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There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. What year and Model JGC do you have? Are you sure it's flat towable? How much does it weigh? How much can your MH tow of curse after you get one. But since you are still looking you need to think about these things. The newer Jeeps don't need the key left in to tow flat, so there is no need to unlock the steering wheel. Read the manual on how to tow flat it will tell you exactly what to do.
As far as brake systems, its required in all 50 states for something of that weight and just makes good sense.
You are going to get a lot of answers from a lot of people. Do a lot of reading and looking at as many different systems that you can. The newer systems will work on any coach as long as there is an 7 blade hookup. there are great advantages to these only because you only have to plug in and go. Which means you can use the Toad on any MH without having to add anything other than the tow bar.
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Old 02-01-2014, 07:36 AM   #11
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I love my M & G brake system!! Did much research and decided on that system due to ease of use each and time to hooked up or removed. Just one air hose and a breakaway cable is all that is needed. They have a compatibility chart on the web site for the cars it works on. 10,000 miles and works great, and is easy on toad brakes.

Good Luck

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