Community Forums

parrett1012 · 08-24-2012, 11:21 AM

Please advise on the purchase of a new brake system for my Ford Edge 2013? Which brand do most of you prefer? I tow behind a 43 Allegro Bus.
Pros and Cons of your brand please. I am thinking Roadmaster from Camping World. Help and Thanks

Rmiscoord · 08-24-2012, 11:30 AM

I use the air operated Brakemaster from Roadmaster on my Jeep with a brakaway feature, no power needed from jeep. I have had no problems, simple quick hook up. There are lots of other brake systems each with a tight following but I know of no side by side impartial evaluation.

Mr_D · 08-24-2012, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rmiscoord

I use the air operated Brakemaster from Roadmaster on my Jeep with a breakaway feature, no power needed from jeep. I have had no problems, simple quick hook up. There are lots of other brake systems each with a tight following but I know of no side by side impartial evaluation.

Same system we used on the '05 Odyssey when we towed it four down as well as on the '97 Jeep GC before that.

wa8yxm · 08-25-2012, 08:54 AM

There are many systems.. Some mount on the car, are invisible to a driver of the car, and all you do is plug 'em in to make 'em work

Others are a box you have to install in the driver's seat every time you tow.. I DO NOT LIKE THAT KIND OF SYSTEM because of two thigns.

1: Danger you will mess up the re-install
2: Danger you will (on a short trip, say to the dealer) say "Oh, forget it".
3: Storing the thing when driving the towed.

As for the other systems... Ready Brake deserves investigation.. So do most all the others listed above including that Invisible brake from Roadmaster.

njs42 · 08-25-2012, 09:36 AM

I chose Blue Ox because at the time it seemed to interfere with the looks of the front of my toad the least.

I'm not saying that is true any more just saying that if you stick to name brands with a tested reputation for quality (the ones mentioned so far) then you can concentrate on ease of use and more practical considerations.

If I were to do it again I would look at the Readybrake surge system. Braking and hitch one unit, easy to hook up and go, non electric a lot of advantages. Cost effective.

As it is with my Blue Ox and my on the floor braking I needed to add a system that charges my toad battery from the motor home while driving. Many fight that battle with electric systems.

I'm happy with what I have and it works just fine and has for almost ten years. I'm fairly certain it is not what I would do again. Shop around it's fun and you learn a lot.

cutrell01 · 08-25-2012, 03:38 PM

Look at the fairly new RVI Brake. Lowest price I have seen at www.rvupgrades.com

chuckinthebus · 08-25-2012, 03:46 PM

We went with RVi. It's all personal preference. One is as good as the other, some take a couple more minutes longer to connect.

docj · 08-25-2012, 04:00 PM

We have a ReadyBrake integrated with a ReadyBrute towbar and have been quite satisfied with it. It is an extremely simple system and IMHO simple seemed better.

blondnbald · 08-26-2012, 01:22 PM

Hi,I have a 2010 Allegro Bus 43 QGP. I have used a brake pro brake buddy in the past. It was always more work to do to hook up. I had a MGI air brake system installed last year.I love it. I tow a 2010 Dodge Ram crew cab 4x4 which MGI.installed a part on the master cylender t0 activate the brakes from the air brakes of the coach. All you have to hook up is a quick connect air hose from coach to vehicle. Quick and simple!!!

sfischer · 08-27-2012, 05:02 PM

With the Tiffin Bus, I'd also take a look at the SMI Air Force 1 system.
AIR FORCE ONE | SMI Manufacturing Inc.

Gotta_P · 08-28-2012, 03:22 PM

We have used the EvenBrake by RoadMaster, the RVI Brake and the ReadyBrake by NRI! They all have pros and cons, and I'll briefly list them here:

EvenBrake: Pros: Worked as advertised. Cons: Heavy, required permanent installation of the sending unit and tapped into wiring of the tow vehicle, drew power from the Tow vehicle's battery. (My least favorite)

ReadyBrake: Pros: No power draw from tow vehicle's battery, purely mechanical, easy to set-up, worked very well. Cons: It did require installation of the cable from the front of the vehicle to the brake pedal.

RVI Brake: Pros: Small, lightweight, nothing to permanently install, you don't have to tap into the tow vehicle wiring. Works as advertised. Cons: It draws power from the tow vehicle's battery, but it seems to be less than the EvenBrake, which left us with a dead battery on more than one occasion.

Hope this helps...

tquarles · 08-28-2012, 03:59 PM

Just remember that you have to consider your driving style, and where you drive when making this decision also. Most of the boxes that sit on the floor of the toad and the ones that attach to the hitch with no connection to the coach are inertia based systems. That means that unless you are coasting freely or accelerating, the toad brakes will be on. In particular, on a diesel rig with an exhaust or engine brake, when you're going down that long, long hill (think west coast mountains - 6 % grade next 5 miles....), your toad brakes are on a little bit all the time.
Because I drive mostly on the west coast, I prefer the roadmaster brakemaster or similar system that directly ties it to the application of the brakes in the motorhome, not just just the fact that the motorhome is decelerating. Watch for electrical connections to the motorhome brake light system, since some coaches also turn on the brake lights when you use the engine or exhaust brake. I can use my exhaust brake to slow me down on those long downgrades without wearing out my toad brakes, but they're there the second I step on the brake pedal.