Do I need brake buddy?

[keypontrikin]

Hi, We bought a nice little 2000 Cr-v to tow behind our 36' Monaco DP. I'm sure it'll ride back there real easy but wonder if we will need to have a braking system hooked up? I think not but would like to make sure.

Thanks in advance,

Bob

[TandW]

Please don't follow anyone on this forum if you don't get toad brakes!!

[Jimmy F]

Bob,

I pull the little Suzuki and it might be fine without a braking system. It would take longer to stop which would be a problem but.... the clincher is that laws of the land where I live say that tho shalt have brakes on a towed vehicle or trailer of that weight. Best check what the motor vehicle laws are where you live and that will help give you your answer.

Jimmy

[Norm4015]

Originally Posted by keypontrikin

Hi, We bought a nice little 2000 Cr-v to tow behind our 36' Monaco DP. I'm sure it'll ride back there real easy but wonder if we will need to have a braking system hooked up? I think not but would like to make sure.

Thanks in advance,

Bob

Your 2000 Honda CR=V is not exactly a "little" vehicle. It weighs between 3,200 and 3,400 pounds depending on the model. Yes, you need a braking system.

I have towed CR-Vs over 100,000 miles and they make great toads. And I have always used a Brake Buddy, but there are many good braking systems on the market.

[RoadRohrers]

Since you asked. Yes, you need some type of supplemental braking system for your CRV. I don't know about Brake Buddy specifically. There are many on the market, with each claiming to be superior. Research and find what you are comfortable using.

[paz]

I also think you should have a brake system; and when you get one; make sure it has a break-away feature.

[TXiceman]

I think a brake system on any dinghy is must. If for no other reason than to have a brake away system to stop the dinghy in the even of a tow bare failure. Yes they do fail and dinghies will come loose.

Also, by stopping a foot shorter due to the help form the dinghy brakes may be the difference between stopping safely and having a crash.

The limits on the towed weights and brakes varies across the states. Some as low as 1500# and some up to 3500#. Some people try to justify the use of no brakes by saying it not a trailer and the law says trailer. The motorhome has no idea as to if you are towing a 3500# utility trailer with rocks or a 3500# dinghy.

It is really pretty inexpensive insurance when you look at the cost of your motorhome plus the dinghy.

Ken

[wa8yxm]

Do you need a braking system on the towed: YES. no question about it
Should it be a brake buddy: NO, I don't think so

Either here, or on RV is a post titled "Home made brake buddy"
You should read it... (NOTE: the title is a joke)

Here is a bit of fact.. When you do all the math to calculat how far a vehilcle will skid with all wheels brakign. It does not much matter if you are driving a 2,000 pound mini-car or a 160,000 pound steel hauler.. Weight, which is mass times gravity, factors out and the ONLY variable that counts is SPEED (whch by the way is squared) so a Semi truck going 20 mph will skid exactly 4 times as far as a mini-car goign 10.. And I might add the reverse is also true, the car goign 40 will skid exactly 4 times as far as the semi going 20.. Why, because speed is squared and it's on top.

However if you have only PART of your wheels brakign

now you have the weight of the braking vehicle (Towing vehicle, motor home) and the MASS of the consist (motor home plus trailer (towed car) so the math matical formula gets a lot longer,, and so does the skid

Oh, the basic formula for skids.

5 1/2 feet times (Speed/10)^2

That yeilds 22 feet at 20 mph, 88 feet at 40 mph at 60 mph it's 198 feet

Of course that assumes a "Average" coefficient of friction between tire and road which is something you almost never have..

This also suggests tire condition matters... It does not on dry pavement, it does on wet or snow or ice however.

[Nonno]

It is really pretty inexpensive insurance when you look at the cost of your motorhome plus the dinghy.

I believe the most important reason to have a braking system is safety. However another reason is that an insurance adjuster will not have a valid reason to deny your claim or an accident investigator to lay the blame on you for not following the local laws.

[Wizard]

The state of Georgia requires auxillary brakes on anything towed over 3000 Lbs.

Chances of you ever being stopped for not having one is verrrrrry low.

Legal problem would be if you was ever in an accident and any injured parties found that you didn't have them, could be serious problem.

Biggest reason to have them is for yours and my safety. Could be my family that has to stop quick in front of you.

[len]

Hi home brake buddy

[keypontrikin]

Yes, I see there is no way I should tow this machine without some braking system.

This ain't the good old days when a 3 ton truck could tow a 1 ton car safely.

I do understand the way things are and don't even disagree but we did a lot of things safely without a lot of the rules that are enforced today.

Seems everything you do costs another thousand dollars...that's my whine, I'm over it now.

Once again, thanks for your input,

Bob

[RickO]

We've spent the past 9 months traveling from California throught the south and now up the east coast. Our trips out here are much shorter and on much flatter terrain so a few weeks ago I reasoned that I didn't need to put the Brake Buddy on my Explorer toad for just a 60 mile trip up a flat interstate.

Bad idea. This lead to a couple of white knuckle stops when traffic suddenly stopped in front of me. It does make a difference on all terrain.

[rkennedy]

Look into Ready Break. It's a mechanically activated surge brake that is activated by the forward movement of your towed vehicle. We just traded for a '09 Mercury Mariner, installed it on that vehicle, and previously had one on a '07 Surbaru Forester. Very simple and worked on a Blue Ox base plate. Look them up on wwwreadybrake.com.