Brakemaster or Air Force One for a 2013 CRV

[jbret05]

Hello, Just bought a 2013 Honda CRV and am looking at the Roadmaster Brakemaster versus the SMI Air Force One braking systems. Any feedback regarding either of these systems would be appreciated. Any issues with either of these relative to installation? Also any feedback regarding battery issues? Thanks much

[August West]

The AFO is the way to go! to electric draw on the battery other than a milliamp to run the LED notification light.
The AFO is completely universal and can be swapped from toad to toad if you change to another car.
Truly proportional braking that takes no hookup time, just attach the air jumper and tow.
SMI is standing by to answer any question you ever have and will help with installs by sending pictures of where and how to do everything.
I don't believe anyone could ask for better support on an excellent product!

and by the way,

[walt2137]

They are both good systems but I would look at the M&G system it's easy to install and relative cheap, I use the Brakemaster on our Kia and the M&G on the F150 the M&G it's the best system I have ever used.
You will need a charge line on about anything you install as the Brakemaster and AF one both mashes the brake pedal causing the brake lights to light up unless you install a relay, the M&G does not actavated the brake lights but this year CRV has a extreamly small battery a lot of owners went to a larger battery but you would have to install a larger battery tray out of the pilot.
M & G Engineering - Car Braking Systems: Vehicle Compatibility

[jbret05]

I talked to a service manager at one of the big dealers here in the greater Sacramento area and he told me it was a big installation deal for the Honda CRV. Also I had never heard of this system so I moved on to consider the two systems my questions were about. Thanks for the feedback.

[waroland]

I have the AF1 on my 2006 CRV and love it. I have had no battery problems. Mine was self installed and it was not that hard, the hardest problem was getting through the firewall.

[DrJAG]

I have the AFO installed on my 2013 CRV. Did add a charge line from RV to the battery. Easy hookup. Works great.

[Dutch Star Don]

"jbret05".....I'm a fan of the Air Force One brake system and have been using it for about 7 years on three different trucks and two different motor homes. With that said, I would go with something less expensive for towing your CRV with your Knight.

I bought the Air Force One because I was towing large trucks and needed the proportional braking system. I now have two toads, the second one is a 2013 CRV. My coach has plenty of braking power (disc brakes and tag axle) and I really don't need brakes on the CRV, but installed them to be legal. Since I already have the Air Force One system in place, I installed it on the CRV.

Your Knight won't need an $1100.00 Air Force One system to stop the CRV. I would go with the Roadmaster at half the price, unless you plan on towing something larger in the future.

Side Note: I just set up my 2013 CRV for towing two months ago. There is a post, below yours, that talks about towing CRV's. I got some great info from that post. There is a battery box from a Honda Odyssey (about $15.00) that fits in the CRV and allows you to install a full size battery, rather than the oversized motorcycle battery that the CRV uses. Many reported dead batteries after a long day of towing.

I also added a kill switch (switch that shuts off "Accessory Fuse") when towing so that all power to the radio and entertainment systems turn off while towing.

[jbret05]

Thanks Dutch Star Don, You didn't mention which Roadmaster system but I'm guessing you're talking about the Brakemaster system. If you buy the one with the break-away kit also it is about $300 bucks cheaper not half. Then the question is which system, the Air Force One, or the Brakemaster? I'm still undecided. I watched a video of the AFO install and it seems this system is really invasive on both the toad and the MH. By the way, I couldn't find the post about towing a crv. I a aware of the upgrade to alarger battery and ordered the Odyessy battery tray yesterday. Thanks... Jim