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01-26-2014, 07:38 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,328
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Pulling a toad without supplemental brakes is like driving you MH without insurance. You hope you never need it but if you ever do you'll be very glad you had it.
When your driving a 30K to 45K pound rig down the road it is not just your own safety that's in your hands.
__________________
Paul, Kathy, and Tux the Mini Schnauzer
2014 Tiffin Phaeton 42 LH, 2013 Honda CRV
"When the time comes to look back, make sure you'll like what you see"
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01-26-2014, 07:52 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: brooksville fl
Posts: 801
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What if !!!!!! The toad comes loose???? Yes we all know that would never happen ; right? Scenario is it has happened and crossed the highway into oncoming traffic. Hows your conscience in dealing with cheaping out.
__________________
2019 ram laramie longhorn 1500 4x4, 2 pia horses! , 2022 goldwing dct on a triple d lift and loader. , into a 2023 fleetwood discovery 36q.
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01-28-2014, 01:58 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Rural Independence, OR
Posts: 951
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I only care about the Laws of Physics. There is no doubt that one can stop in a shorter distance with supplemental braking than without. The ReadyBrute Elite towbar is an elegant solution.
__________________
2013 Leisure Travel Vans Unity U24MB, 635 watts solar, 440 AH batteries, 2000 watt inverter, Koni struts and shocks, Hellwig rear anti-swaybar, SumoSprings front and back, 2012 Hyundai Accent SE, Blue Ox baseplates, Aladdin towbar and Patriot
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01-28-2014, 02:20 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Federal Way, Wa.
Posts: 2,901
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My opinionated summary:
Towing laws vary state to state and descriptions of towing vehicles leave a lot to the imagination state to state. What is constant in all states is that when you put additional weight behind your MH it takes longer to stop, period. The only way to be sure of compliance is to equip with brakes;it is also the most responsible way to travel regardless of splitting hairs on the laws.
I have experienced the need for a panic stop once in my travels and that is all it takes to make a believer. My toad brakes made the difference. That is a fact.
Look at Ready Brute and Ready Brake products. These are surge systems, they have had a lot of excellent comments, they seem to be a very good bang for the buck and the easiest to install without requiring a lot of set up. If I were going to change my system I would look at these first myself. Then decide.
__________________
I do all my own stunts
03 Dolphin LX 6355, Workhorse W22, 8.1 vortec, 04 CR-V, Blue Ox, Brake Pro----Norm, Barb and
Doc(He's a PhD)
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01-28-2014, 05:09 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Appalachian Campers
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Dixie !! (north Georgia) USA
Posts: 4,110
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Just for the sake of being contrary and argumentative. Some mention the laws about towing an auto but when quoting laws, they quote requirements concerning towing a trailer. Few states actually take into account the towing of an automobile.
I don't know how a dolly would stand in this regard, but it likely would better fit the 'trailer' definition.
All that said, it is not a good idea to tow w/o some sort of braking system.
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01-28-2014, 06:03 PM
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#21
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Huson, MT
Posts: 1,043
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tricotec, according to Chevrolet, the Equinox weighs in at 3,777 lbs in it's lightest configuration. It obviously exceeds the 3,000 lb threshold that is in effect in most states.
Like has been reiterated here, any additional braking you can get on your coach is welcome. Your Windsor is probably comparable to our coach weight wise and we weigh in at close to 36,000 lbs without our Jeep and around 41-42,000 lbs with it. When we start talking those kind of weights we want all the braking we an get.
We also opted for the M&G Engineering supplemental braking system. It has very few moving parts and no unnecessary electronics. You can install it yourself in an afternoon. Besides your towbar, you hookup your safety cables, 1 air line, a breakaway cable and your light cord and your good to go.
doc, my understanding of the legal definition of a trailer is any unpowered vehicle that is in tow behind another vehicle. In a towed state any motorized vehicle becomes a trailer simply by virtue of the fact that it is, in fact, in tow and not under it's own power.
__________________
Craig & Donna
2005 Beaver Monterey Laguna IV (aka The Hotel Monterey)
2011 Jeep Liberty Limited
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01-28-2014, 06:18 PM
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#22
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Baton Rouge, La
Posts: 838
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I installed Ready Brake to tow my 2012 Chevy Equinox, to satisify the law. The reason for using Ready Brake was price and easy hookup. To hook the brake up only requires hooking up a small cable quick connect, requires seconds. It also works well. Look at Etrailer.com, for a video on installation,
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01-28-2014, 06:23 PM
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#23
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Senior Member
Texas Boomers Club
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Cypress, Texas USA
Posts: 8,854
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Quote:
Originally Posted by doc
Few states actually take into account the towing of an automobile.
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Texas defines a trailer as a powered or unpowered vehicle designed to transport people or cargo. That sounds like a toad to me.
Rusty
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01-29-2014, 02:19 PM
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#24
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Leesburg, FL
Posts: 385
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Thanks for the many great suggestions. We are installing the M & G system. Look like it is the next best thing to the OEM having included supplemental braking in the car, and has the least fragile looking setup. AND it is one of the less expensive options.
__________________
Bobby & William Mukaisu
2005 Monaco Windsor 40PST 400HP ISL Cummins
2014 Chevy Equinox LS
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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01-29-2014, 02:52 PM
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#25
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Graham, WA
Posts: 772
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While any brake system should result in decreased stopping distances, my bigger concern is a break-away situation. Without a brake system, the toad becomes an unguided missile. We saw one in Oct on southbound I-75 in Ky. Toad was against a tree after crossing the northbound lanes. Fortunately the cars managed to dodge the toad.
We're currently in Key West, Fl where I was talking with a 150,000 mile full timer. He said that he's had two tow bars break. In one case the safety's held and he suffered minor damage to the coach and the toad. In the other case, the safety's pulled the baseplate off and the toad went off on its own. He didn't miss it until a motorist flagged him over. Went back to find his toad about 10 ft from a concrete bridge abutment. Break away worked as intended so they were able to drive the toad until able to fix the system.
__________________
2006 Gulfstream Friendship G7, Cat C7 and Allison 6 spd
Honda VTX and Cruiser Lift on the back
Blue Ox Aladdin, Brake Buddy, 2019 Chevy Blazer RS toad
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01-30-2014, 05:39 AM
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#26
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Knoxville, TN, USA
Posts: 3,994
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis4809
While any brake system should result in decreased stopping distances, my bigger concern is a break-away situation. Without a brake system, the toad becomes an unguided missile. We saw one in Oct on southbound I-75 in Ky. Toad was against a tree after crossing the northbound lanes. Fortunately the cars managed to dodge the toad.
We're currently in Key West, Fl where I was talking with a 150,000 mile full timer. He said that he's had two tow bars break. In one case the safety's held and he suffered minor damage to the coach and the toad. In the other case, the safety's pulled the baseplate off and the toad went off on its own. He didn't miss it until a motorist flagged him over. Went back to find his toad about 10 ft from a concrete bridge abutment. Break away worked as intended so they were able to drive the toad until able to fix the system.
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Most supplemental braking systems provide a breakaway feature but unfortunately many times it is an option that you need to purchase. We purchased the breakaway option with our Roadmaster Brakemaster. It provides an air charge bottle that supplies enough air pressure to apply the brakes if the air line from the coach is broken. It is important to make sure the brakeaway cable is connected to the car in a manner that ensures it will trip if the baseplate separates from the car.
I wonder how many failed tow bars or baseplates were accelerated or the direct results of not using a supplemental braking system. If the tow bar is not parallel with the ground additional stress is applied to the tow bar by the towed vehicle every time the motorhome stops.
Bob
__________________
Bob and Pam
2022 Quantum JM31
2023 Colorado Z71
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