Toad towing without a brake system.

[toymaker10]

Well then know the law. There are approximately 4 state that require a aux brake for a vehicle under 2,000 lbs. one state for as little as 1,000 lbs. some states require no brake at all. Most states including my own Fl require a breakaway cable including my state of Fl. there's a map on NSA RV products.

[Sky_Boss]

My final thoughts on this...IMHO...

1. Properly installed aux brake systems on toads will reduce braking distance compared to an RV/toad combo without aux brakes. That is pretty much based on simple physics. I recently had a panic brake situation and if my system saved me 10 feet, it was this difference between missing a truck bumper vs kissing it. I suspect it saved me more than 10 feet and an insurance claim.

2. How much does an aux braking system help? It depends on several factors. I think most would agree the ratio of the weight of the toad vs RV is very important. As an example a 3000# toad behind a 24,000# RV has a more proportional affect on braking distance than that same toad behind a 40,000# RV.

3. I don't think there is any evidence to say that properly matched and installed aux braking systems don't help.

4. Given the wide variety of state laws, anyone traveling multiple states would be covered from violating laws with an aux brake system.

5. Even if you are in a state that doesn't require an aux brake system for your set up, they often still require a breakaway system. How does that work without an aux brake system in the first place?

6. An aux braking system is good for your toad and tow bar set up. Reducing the stress on the system, especially in hard/panic braking is absorbed by the hitch/tow bar/baseplate systems. This increases the chances of a failure at some point in the system. It doesn't guarantee a failure but introduces a higher chance. This doesn't even take into consideration configurations where the tow bar is too high or too low of an angle.

Ya'll can choose to believe or not believe any/part/none of what I have just said. Please, just don't be on my bumper if you choose to ignore it.

[LarryW21]

Hopefully those towing a toad without a brake system will be on a different highway than me.

[DrDaveMA]

There is another consideration that has not been discussed thus far, your breakaway switch. To be effective it must be set to trigger braking BEFORE your safety chains reach their limit. If not you have a 3,000 (plug in whatever your weight is) pound pendulum swinging on the back of your coach. You want the supplemental brake system to activate before you reach the end of the chains/cable. The damage done to your coach and toad as you attempt to stop with that pendulum swinging is not going to be pretty. Adjust your breakaway switch to fully turn on your brakes so you are dragging your toad with locked brakes, even replacing 4 tires and/or brakes is less expensive than the damage done to both your toad and coach.

[Sky_Boss]

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

There is another consideration that has not been discussed thus far, your breakaway switch. To be effective it must be set to trigger braking BEFORE your safety chains reach their limit. ...

That is open to a fair debate. That being said, I had a discussion with Blue Ox on this and they do NOT recommend that kind of set up.

I understand your point and it does have some merit at face value. OTOH, having had a break away of a single arm, I still retained toad braking and had good control through out the slow down process using the brakes. However, your point is not invalid because I can see that if you do a closed throttle slow down then in many cases the toad can catch up with the RV.

[DrDaveMA]

Originally Posted by Sky_Boss

That is open to a fair debate. That being said, I had a discussion with Blue Ox on this and they do NOT recommend that kind of set up.



I understand your point and it does have some merit at face value. OTOH, having had a break away of a single arm, I still retained toad braking and had good control through out the slow down process using the brakes. However, your point is not invalid because I can see that if you do a closed throttle slow down then in many cases the toad can catch up with the RV.

If, as you did, it is only a single arm break, you still have the other arm to keep the toad at a fixed distance, but if you loose the complete tow bar, say a break of the baseplate, you only have the chains to drag the toad and your coach to limit the forward motion. I would rather have the brake system pulling the toad back while I slow to a controlled stop.

[Sky_Boss]

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

If, as you did, it is only a single arm break, you still have the other arm to keep the toad at a fixed distance, but if you loose the complete tow bar, say a break of the baseplate, you only have the chains to drag the toad and your coach to limit the forward motion. I would rather have the brake system pulling the toad back while I slow to a controlled stop.

OK...your choice.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by grumpy0374

I can just imagine the $$$$$ that I would get from a lawsuit against someone who hit me without a properly equipped rv towing a toad without an aux brake system. Your insurance won't cover damages, and by the time my atty got done with you you wouldn't be able to afford a stay at Motel 6, much less own an rv.

Yes, always have and always will toe with a brake system.

Grumpy

You would probably get hit by someone who has nothing so you would get nothing.

[CampDaven]

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

If, as you did, it is only a single arm break, you still have the other arm to keep the toad at a fixed distance, but if you loose the complete tow bar, say a break of the baseplate, you only have the chains to drag the toad and your coach to limit the forward motion. I would rather have the brake system pulling the toad back while I slow to a controlled stop.

With toad still tethered, with one arm or no arms the wheels will turn, toad will roll; on a turn it will also roll.
The physics goes against a short breakaway cable.

[Brad Felmey]

I would never provide an answer that could be printed and read in court. Some of y'all are...brave.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Techn0

Every state has different laws on when you are required to have a supplemental brake for towing so whether your insurance will cover you depends on which state you are registered, the weight of the towed vehicle, and where the accident occurs. That being said, if you are going to travel, it is beneficial to have a supplemental towing brake system to avoid potential liability and unneeded conversations with law enforcement.
State Towing Laws

Almost every chart out there, including the one above, is for towing an unmotorized vehicle. The chart is wrong for towing a motorized vehicle with another motorized vehicle for at least WA, OR and CA! In those three states you become a "combination vehicle" and the braking requirements change to a "performance specification". You must stop from XX mph in XX feet, if you can then no add'l braking is required. WA and are the same with OR being tougher.
BUT then WA adds the requirement for a breakaway that must hold the towed on any normal highway grade (I would assume that's up to 6%) for 15 min AFTER being disconnected.

[KSagal]

One consideration to make regarding a short break away cable or not, in the event of a single arm or complete break of the tow bar is what kind of brake activator you have.

On electronic or brake to brake system, the loss of one arm or both may or may not sever the connection. This means a partial failure of the tow bar may mean the loss of the brake activation from the coach.

On cable activated brake activators, that require the tow bar to push against the back of the coach to activate the toad brakes, most any failure of the tow bar will most likely stop the decelerator sensor in the tow bar or hitch from activating, and again, you will loose the coach activated brakes for the toad.

In both the examples above, it makes sense to have breakaway breaking before the safety chains or cables are stretched to breaking. Also, a broken tow bar, and broken safety chains? At some point, if this occurs, you may want to consider your Karma. Something somewhere is not positive in your past....

[isa]

This is for computerguy.

Look at the towing a vehicle laws in the state of Winsconsin. I live in British Columbia, Canada and our laws regarding a towed vehicle are almost identical.

If you check the DMV regulations for most states in the USA you will find that you do not need an auxiliary brake system provided you can meet the weight requirement and can stop the combined vehicles in a certain distance from 20 mph. This is a Federal law. There is no federal specification for any auxiliary braking system sold on the market today.

If more people would take the time to look up their state's DMV laws with respect to braking requirements for towed vehicles or in some cases a combination of vehicles we would not have all of the false information and mistruth's to deal with on this site.

One last thing, California is very specific in that a towed vehicle is not a trailer. This is not the case in every state.

[KSagal]

I saw the last post, and thought I would google if cars behind motor homes in Massachusetts needed aux brakes, and found this page.

I know it is from a brake manufacturer, so there is a potential for some bias, but it seemed legit...

Towing Laws | BrakeBuddy - Braking systems for motorhomes towing a vehicle