Auxiliary Braking on the Toad is a Good Thing!!!

[Triker56]

You should of hit the police car at 100' only to stop from you.
Your 100' must be off.

The Reaction Distance is the distance the car travels in the three-quarters of a second that it takes for a driver to react to a problem and apply the brakes. ... At 40 mph, Your Reaction Distance is 83 feet and your Braking Distance is 152 feet .

Or 235' for a car and I would bet the MH & toad would be more.
But you stopped with only 9' of braking applied, Now that is really quick. 100'-83'-8'from car.

[avid_dk]

Originally Posted by BPoland

Most people, me included, have used scare tactics when talking about the use of auxiliary brakes for the toad. To put it simply, nobody wants to wreck their coach. It does happen, and sometimes people get hurt or killed. If somebody did get hurt or killed, and I hadn't taken every possible step to be able to stop my coach and toad quickly for whatever reason (money, hook up hassle, or the legal requirements), I wouldn't think very much of myself, especially if it was a family member that got hurt. I think we have both a legal and moral obligation to protect those around us. If our hitch should fail, and it does happen, in our case there would be a 4,600 lbs free wheeling missile that's going to go somewhere and hit something or somebody. At least with the aux brakes and the breakaway switch, it will start slowing itself down. It will probably still hit something or somebody, but maybe it will be going slower. One simple question. If you knew the front bakes on your coach were not working at all, would you still head out on a trip? Consider the toad brakes your rear-rear brakes. Now ask yourself that same question. it's pretty much the same thing.

In the end, it's a personal choice, whether you are legally obligated or not.

I will now get off the stump, and let somebody else talk

Thanks for taking the time to put this in words. This is exactly what guided us in the decisions we made regarding our towing setup. If this alone isn't enough to convince you then one should consider the legal liability if you have not taken every recommended precaution possible.

[mrt_1111]

Originally Posted by Eaglefreedom

I am new to this long term RV'ing and pulling a toad. I was told by my local Camping World that due to the weight of my Wrangler, I do not need a supplemental braking system to tow it behind my RV? While this MAY be subjective, it seems not to some, and at a mimimum, do I not need a break away breaking system of some sort? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as ramp up for hitting the road this next year with my family.

The requirements for a toad braking system varies for each state. You have to comply with the requirements for the state your currently driving in. It is not the same as your driver license which is good no matter what state your driving in.

[BPoland]

Originally Posted by Triker56

You should of hit the police car at 100' only to stop from you.
Your 100' must be off.

The Reaction Distance is the distance the car travels in the three-quarters of a second that it takes for a driver to react to a problem and apply the brakes. ... At 40 mph, Your Reaction Distance is 83 feet and your Braking Distance is 152 feet .

Or 235' for a car and I would bet the MH & toad would be more.
But you stopped with only 9' of braking applied, Now that is really quick. 100'-83'-8'from car.

I'm sorry. With trying to swallow my heart back down where it belongs, cleaning up the mess from things sliding all over the place, and changing a certain piece of my clothing I neglected to get my tape measure out. I can tell you that without the aux brakes in the Grand Cherokee, I would have ended her shift early and not in a good way. I'll leave the calculations to you.

[loisjop]

I think Mo. Is the only state that doesn't have some kind of brake requirement on toads/trailers.

[computerguy]

The sad part about this is that most of the people on this board are trying to do the right thing. This is good. The bad part is that there are so many people that are oblivious to the fact that toads with supplemental brakes will stop you quicker.
As someone else added earlier, I would not be able to live with myself if something happened to anyone because I did not have something that could have prevented injury to another person.
Then there is the legal aspect of it. I worked all my life to accumulate a retirement nest egg. Should something happen and the insurance company determines I was doing something illegal (no supplemental brakes when required) to can be damn sure they will do everything in their power to deny coverage...

[BPoland]

I have a friend that tows s wife's Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited behind his 38 ft gasser. When I was researching braking systems for our toad, I called him and asked what type of braking system he used. His reply was "Do they make special brakes for this?". He said he has been towing like that for 3 years.

[JJPP17]

After towing without a braking periodically for two years, I just returned from 1000 miles with new toad and Rvi2. What a difference, much more than I expected! Won't tow without it ever again.