Community Forums

Andy_Law · 07-26-2017, 02:34 PM

Hey Guys, I have question about the BrakeMaster Quick Disconnect fitting, and cannot for the life of me find the answer to my question. I've called the "experts" at etrailer.com, and the female on the phone told me this part is identical to the air compressor quick disconnects... but I'd like to be 100% sure, and well, she didn't give me a whole lot of confidence.

I am flat towing a '16 Expedition 4X4, using a BrakeMaster 9000 series with breakaway, which I purchased second hand, so it didn't come with all the connections. It requires me to run an air line from the coach's air brake relay, to the coach's bumper.
I have purchased the 3/8" tee splitter (1 - 3/8" male pipe and 2 - 3/8" female pipe connections), a 3/8" pipe to 1/4" tube compression fitting (quick connect, DOT approved), and 13 ft of 1/4" air line. All the products I've purchased so far are DOT approved. The one part that I have not yet acquired is the Quick Disconnect Kit for Brakemaster Air Line - RV Side - RM-921004-60, which gets attached near the rear bumper to connect the toad's air brake line.

QUESTION: Does anyone know if that BrakeMaster quick disconnect is just like any other air compressor quick disconnect fitting? It sure looks like it. The BrakeMaster unit that I purchased came with the toad-side BrakeMaster quick disconnect male fitting, and it connects to my air compressor fittings nicely. I'd rather not order online from etrailer.com (primarily due to time constraints), and would prefer to just pick one up from Napa (saving a few bucks in the process).

I sure would appreciate any info on these quick disconnects. After my week long search for parts, it seems like i can get one that has a much higher psi rating too. But, I have some serious concerns for anything that is not DOT approved.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

I'm wondering if I would be fine using a compatible air compressor quick disconnect fitting...? I can get one rated at well over 500 psi, just don't know if there are other considerations that I should be aware of. Since I'll be messing with the coach's brakes, I really want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly.

LJowdy · 07-27-2017, 07:15 AM

The Brakemaster quick disconnect is smaller that the 3/8" or 1/2" compressor quick disconnects. Also, they have the push fitting for the 1/4" air hose which the air compressor parts do not have

Ray,IN · 07-27-2017, 12:41 PM

The pictures in your link show what I believe to be the shorter type air quick disconnect. There are now 3 types, the short version, long version(about .2" longer, a newer male end is made that works with both short and long versions of the female ends.
There should be a number on the hex part of the fitting, the number on my shorter quick disconnect version is 94133/female part; male part #94150. These are ordinary shop air fittings.

Verify my thinking by using ordinary shop air male fittings(long/short/ or newer universal) to test it for fit. I seriously doubt BrakeMaster would go to the expense of having a special quick-disconnect machined when shop air fittings are so inexpensive.

Spk64 · 07-27-2017, 01:37 PM

My M&G came with std air line quick connects. Cannot remember the exact version as there are different standards.
Ended up changing them to the small disconnects SMI uses. Etrailer sells all the fittings for the SMI if both ends are changed and the coil line you can install any type disconnect.

Mr_D · 07-27-2017, 01:44 PM

Take the connection hose with you to try, it has both a male and female on it. You should be able to match what you need.

Spk64 · 07-27-2017, 01:52 PM

Looking at the pictures on eTrailer. If it is a 1/4" line into the back of the quick connect. Then it looks more like the smaller SMI setup which is not like the standard air line fittings. I am basing this strictly on the scale of the image realtive to a 1/4" air line.
Do you have any of the brakemaster items in hand?

Ray,IN · 07-27-2017, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spk64

Looking at the pictures on eTrailer. If it is a 1/4" line into the back of the quick connect. Then it looks more like the smaller SMI setup which is not like the standard air line fittings. I am basing this strictly on the scale of the image realtive to a 1/4" air line.
Do you have any of the brakemaster items in hand?

OTOH my quick connects are standard shop air items. plastic line from air brakes is 1/4". Mr. D stated the best method of matching.

Andy_Law · 07-28-2017, 09:05 AM

Thanks everyone. After going to at least 5 different Napa Auto Part stores, 3 RV "part" stores, and a few others, I was finally referred to Alternative Hose, Inc. -- an amazing store that carries just about every type of hose and fitting imaginable.
I had the quick disconnects that came with the unit for the toad side. They have imprinted on them "Rectus Type 21." Etrailer.com informed me that the Roadmaster quick disconnects will only work with Roadmaster products, and are not officially DOT approved, but "meet or exceed DOT standards," allegedly.
After speaking to the guys at Alternative Hose, I learned that no quick disconnects are D.O.T. approved, specifically. But, they are rated to hold a considerably higher psi, like 3000 or 5,000, and are extremely durable (much more so than the RoadMaster units). The rest of the fitting and air line are all D.O.T. approved.
End of the day, what would have cost me $30 for the Roadmaster quick disconnects, ran me less than $10, and I feel much more confident in these connections.
Thanks for all the help! It really came down to me just needing to find a reputable hose company, who knew what they were talking about!

Andy_Law · 07-28-2017, 09:22 AM

I purchased everything to tow my toad ('16 Expedition) second hand. Scoured the craigslists across the country for a BrakeMaster unit. Ultimately found one for sale in Idaho, with the BrakeAway unit, and all toad-side hoses and connections/fittings. It even came with the air compressor (used on hydraulic systems), which I don't need, all for $150 + shipping (33 lbs total, so it ran ~$46).
The tricky part was finding the fittings to tap into my coach's air brake system. I really didn't want to buy the RoadMaster kit, since it was about $400-500! I got all D.O.T. approved parts (except quick disconnect), e.g. the 1/4" air line, push-to-connect fittings, 3/8" run tee, and very durable quick disconnects (replaced RM-921004-60 quick disconnect since I couldn't find the RV-side female piece locally, and felt the RM item was grossly overpriced), for a total of $38!!
The really strange part of this adventure was how all the service and part guys at virtually every RV store in the Valley had no clue what I was trying to accomplish.
I found a Demco Excali-Bar tow bar, rated at 10,500 lbs, for $200.
The only part that I couldn't find used was the Demco Baseplate. After looking at the various baseplate manufacturers, I felt the Demco one was the sturdiest, weighing over 40 lbs. This baseplate seemed to have fairly universal connections to the various tow bars, and most manufacturers make adaptors if needed, if I decided to go with a different tow bar. It is also the easiest to install, since I don't have to remove the Expedition's front bumper. The cheapest one I found was from demcotowbars.com, which arrived within a week of ordering.
For lights, we simply purchased magnetic towing lights for $15. The Expedition's brake lights will turn on when the pedal is pushed, so it's really just for turn signals.

At the end of the day, what usually runs over $3,000 brand new, I acquired for about $750. And, I have a compressor that I'm selling. Pretty pleased with this system, but haven't got to take a test run yet.

Papa Foxtrot · 08-14-2017, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_Law

After speaking to the guys at Alternative Hose, I learned that no quick disconnects are D.O.T. approved, specifically. But, they are rated to hold a considerably higher psi, like 3000 or 5,000, and are extremely durable (much more so than the RoadMaster units). The rest of the fitting and air line are all D.O.T. approved.
End of the day, what would have cost me $30 for the Roadmaster quick disconnects, ran me less than $10, and I feel much more confident in these connections.
Thanks for all the help! It really came down to me just needing to find a reputable hose company, who knew what they were talking about!

Do you have part numbers for the disconnects you purchased at Alternative Hose? I'm on a very similar journey. Just today, I picked up a Demco Excalibar off craigslist and laying in the bed of the seller's pickup was a brakemaster air cylinder and breakaway tank. Came with a few assorted bits and tubing, but I'll be trying to put it all back together. $200 for the tow bar and $20 for the brakemaster bits is not too bad, I think.

Over $100 for the second vehicle kit w/o breakaway seems riduculous for a couple disconnects, some DOT tubing, hardware and zip ties:

Andy_Law · 08-23-2017, 05:55 PM

My thoughts exactly! If you aren't pressed for time, you can order the RoadMaster quick disconnects online. I know they are type 21, and I think I posed the manuf's name somewhere in here.
I purchased all my stuff second hand, and LOVE the excalibar! It worked like a champ and stowed away easily. My setup came with all of the car-side parts, no coach-side parts, so I was right there with you. Hopefully my 3 week journey to find the parts locally will help you out.
Virtually any decent autopart store will have DOT approved 1/4" airline to run from your coach's air relay. Initially, getting the 3/8" run tee was more of a challenge, but that turned out to be my mistake. Weatherhead makes a good product that most NAPA's carry. The hose and run tee alone, combined, maybe $10-15 (its a heavy piece of brass!).

As far as the quick disconnects, the Type 21 (RoadMaster's QD) is proprietary (according to the pro's), so you won't find matching female/males in stores; at least the 15 stores I tried in PHX had no clue, even big corp RV stores). The second hand unit I purchased also gave me the air line to run between the coach and toad, but it had RoadMaster's QD attached on both ends. Since I couldn't find a matching RoadMaster female QD (except from etrailer.com for $35), I got a QD from Alternative Hose that is rated 5k psi or something way more than i require. Even RoadMaster's aren't DOT approved, after I found the manufacturer's website.
End result: Just go to any quality hose shop, tell them you need quick disconnects that will screw on to a 1/4" compression fitting, and good to go. If I had the luxury of time, I would have purchased the type 21 QD online, but they are made in Germany.

Andy_Law · 08-23-2017, 05:58 PM

Oh, and lastly, for the seat bracket to mount the BrakeMaster, we purchased 1/4 steel strip, cut it size and drilled the needed holes. The instructions even gave me the type of bolts and size of spacers needed! Best part, the $60+ seat bracket, ran me maybe $6 and about 25 minutes of my time.