RVIbrake2 vs Brake Buddy Advantage vs Blue Ox Patriot vs ?

[Quicksilver]

Hi everbody,
New to the forum and rv-ing, we have a 31' C-class and curious and confused as to which is the best braking unit for our Toyota toad (2000 lbs.). Looking at all the info and videos, the RVIbrake system seems to be very good unit but pricey. Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Jim

 

[John From Detroit]

The answer actually depends on many things.

Portable systems like the Brake Buddy, Even Brake, et-al, need to be installed EVERY time you tow,  This means EVERY time you tow there is a chance to do it wrong, and if it's a short tow a chance to regret the decision to "Oh forget it" for that short trip.

If you Motor home has air brakes (Even if it does not) and the slave fits your towed the M&G system is very good..

US-Gear Unified Brake Decelerator gives you full control over the towed brakes.. you can set the brakes, adjust the ratio, disable them, all from the motor home driver's seat, It is an installed system..

I favor installed systems.

As for the rest of them,, Assorted features.. Now, Most drivers will never use the advanced features of the US-Gear system I cited.. I used one o them ONCE, that's all.

 

[Ned]

I suggest you read this article in our forum library for an unbiased review of the different types of braking system.

 

[yolo]

I used a Blue Ox Apollo "Brake Buddy type system" for about 4 years and it worked okay.  Pain to put in the floorboard, hook up power, initialize every time we would start to tow and then remove it before using the car. 

I changed to the Ready Brake system using a Ready Brute Elite tow bar last year.  Much easier to deal with and hook up.  It actually puts the car brakes on in less than a panic stop like the Brake Buddy type system.  It is a very simple surge brake system.  See http://www.readybrake.com/store/c2/RV_Tow_Bars.html

 

[Ned]

We've had a Blue Ox Apollo brake system for over 10 years and find it easy to install and remove.  Plus, when we changed towed vehicles, there was nothing to remove and reinstall to use it in the new vehicle.  It has worked quite well and the few times we had a problem, Blue Ox took care of it at no charge.

 

[dcmiller]

We have had the RViBrake for two years. Previous to that we had the Roadmaster version of "brake-in-a-box". The RViBrake is much easier and faster to install.  It is much smaller, the brake pedal connection goes on with one hand in a snap, and then you touch the setup button and it cycles automatically. It goes in in a matter of a few minutes, very few! I use it in a Jeep Wrangler. In my opinion it is a huge improvement over the bulky, clumsy Brake Buddy type of box.  I am in no way associated with the RViBrake people. I just like the product much better than the one I previously fought with.

 

[Kevin Means]

I'll second what Dave said. We've had the RVI brake 2 for a little less than a year and it works great. True proportional braking, it communicates well with the control-head in the RV, it's relatively small for a portable brake, which makes it easier to store and it's really easy to use. Like other portable systems though, you do have to install it every time you use it, which takes about one minute.

Kev