Toad towing without a brake system.

[toymaker10]

I was considering using an NSA inertia brake but it would have added 13 additional inches to my tow bar while folded and in storage and it's to hard and heavy to constantly remove. Being my Smartfor2 is only 1900 lbs and tows and stops without any strain I just had the NSA breakaway installed and I'm legal in all but about 4 states.

[Dale & Mark Bruss]

When GCWR is calculated, the assumption is the trailer in tow (and the toad is a trailer) has it's own brakes.

That is how they can claim a GCWR of 33,000 lb on a 9,000 lb pickup.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by CapnJustice

Post #96 by hilgert is well-stated. Good analysis and explanation of the considerations.
I will repeat what I said in a post way back there: I can stop the Rig+Toad in a shorter distance than the Rig alone. That is, the aux braking system more than stops the Toad, it has stopping power left over for the entire unit.

Also, the FMCA article referenced above has an important statement in that:
"Unfortunately, for many this is where the confusion begins. They do not realize that the brakes on their coach are rated for operation at the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), which is the maximum allowable weight of the fully loaded vehicle including passengers and all cargo — NOT the GCWR."
I have seen many statements along the lines of "I figure the manufacturer put brakes on sufficient for my GCWR."

My rig has a GVWR of 54,000#'s, (GCVWR is 69,000#'s) even with the CR-V attached I'm under the GVWR BUT I still have towed brakes. Frankly I didn't even feel the '05 Ody we used to tow even without the braking system hooked up.

[dix39]

Computerguy, thanks for posting the link. I didn't have time to read all of it today, but I'll get it in the next few days. Always good to learn.

Steve

[burfurd]

On a recent trip to TN from FL, when hooking up the Brakemaster on our CRV, noticed when checking the brakes that it was not working. Air was coming out the rear of the quick exhaust valve on the side of the air cylinder. Somehow the little ball that does the changeover got blown out.

As we only had a 2 day window to dodge weather, I went ahead and drove without the brake hooked up. I use the exhaust brake quite a bit and the air brakes did an excellent job of stopping us. Could not really tell the toad brake system was disconnected but kept aware of it on the trip home.

Replaced the quick exhaust after getting another and we are good to go again.

burfurd

[redcolorado]

We were getting ready to leave on a 300 mile fishing trip last December. I discovered my toad brake system was not working. Options were to cancel trip, not an option, or DW drive toad. Towing the toad without the brake was NOT an option. We did not consider the legal aspect only safety. DW drove the toad to the coast. The next day I troubleshot the brake system and determined I had a bad Power Control Module. Order it from Amazon and had in 2 days. Installed and tested in 30 minutes. Be safe.

[CapnJustice]

Originally Posted by Dale & Mark Bruss

When GCWR is calculated, the assumption is the trailer in tow (and the toad is a trailer) has it's own brakes.

That is how they can claim a GCWR of 33,000 lb on a 9,000 lb pickup.

Very interesting, and a critical fact in the conversation. Do you have a source for that statement? Not doubting you, but others will

[Dale & Mark Bruss]

RV and Vehicle Weight Definitions is a simple statement. If you want more then dig into SAE definitions.