Toad braking

[Old_Crow]

Had a friend loose his Chevy 1500 PU, in tow, behind his Class A. Towbar failed in some way. The breakaway system on the PU worked and he returned to find his truck "parked" safely on the shoulder of the interstate. I think maybe he did not have all the safety parts of the tow in use at the time but the brake system saved his truck, and maybe a big accident on the highway.
I have always had a brake system installed on my toad. This spring, on our return trip from SC to NY that brake system was malfunctioning. I proceded, with caution, and made it home without incident. I could certainly tell, feel, the difference in braking with that 4200 lb. tow behind me and my 26k+ Class A.
The problem has since been found and resolved.

Ask Huey Pilot what happens when the brake wire in the umbilical cord breaks. I seem to remember a story of that stacker trailer pushing the 40' motor home right through a red light in Parker.

 

[Skookum]

Spotted today. Notice anything wrong?

 

[Henry J Fate]

makes no sense.

 

[Isaac-1]

How many things should we spot, the safety chains are obvious

 

[Henry J Fate]

is that ball locked and safety pinned ?

 

[phil-t]

Safety chains not hooked up, no brakeaway cable, no light umbilical, probably no brake system but it could be wireless.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Safety chains not hooked up, no brakeaway cable, no light umbilical, probably no brake system but it could be wireless.

Lights could also be wireless.

 

[Skookum]

Safety chains not hooked up, no brakeaway cable, no light umbilical, probably no brake system but it could be wireless.

Lights could also be wireless.

If the brake lamps were wireless, they weren't working. That Jeep actually had auxiliary brake lamps mounted to the bumper, and they weren't working either.

 

[Tulecreeper]

If the brake lamps were wireless, they weren't working. That Jeep actually had auxiliary brake lamps mounted to the bumper, and they weren't working either.

Yes, because there is no electrical connection.

 

[Skookum]

Yes, because there is no electrical connection.

Help me out here. There should be a connection, but someone could put one of those Blue Ox Patriot RF braking systems which has a ram that pumps the vehicle's brake pedal based on radio signal from the coach. Those units are powered from a 12v plug on the toad's electrical system. The vehicle's brakes would illuminate, also using power from the toad's electrical system. It's all good--for as long as the toad's battery can put out.

But judging by the setup as a whole - I'm guessing they didn't spend on a braking system at all for that toad, shoot, they even hooked the safety chains to the trailer itself.

 

[Old_Crow]

Nothing wrong with the solid tow bar itself. I used one like that for many thousands of miles with no problem.
However, my safety chains went from the frame of the Jeep to the hitch receiver, I had my lights plugged in and my breakaway cable hooked up. I did trash the silly coilly cable that came with the brake system and got a straight cable that I could adjust for length and be assured that the cable would pull the pin before the Jeep hit the ends of the chains.

 

[NY_Dutch]

If the brake lamps were wireless, they weren't working. That Jeep actually had auxiliary brake lamps mounted to the bumper, and they weren't working either.

Hard to tell that from the posted photo...

 

[NY_Dutch]

Yes, because there is no electrical connection.

Amazon.com : wireless tow lights

 

[Tulecreeper]

Amazon.com : wireless tow lights

By golly, we learn something new every day. I wouldn't trust them, personally. Besides, that's one more app that I'm not going to download.

 

[Old_Crow]

By golly, we learn something new every day. I wouldn't trust them, personally. Besides, that's one more app that I'm not going to download.

The guy on one of the YouTube channels I watch has a big commercial rollback truck with a wheel lift on the back. He uses that $600 unit that's sold on that page that was linked too. I'd say if the technology has advanced far enough for a professional to use it, then it's probably okay for one of us.

 

[MikeLight77]

I'm late to this conversation, but I literally JUST got a 4WD pickup to flat tow, and I'm researching what to buy. On other threads (not this one), I've seen a lot of people singing the praises of the Ready Brute Tow Bar (NSA) with the built in braking system as a low cost option to something like AF1. I'm not a big fan of the portables, I don't think. So it's down to the NSA tow bar or something like Blue Ox for the tow bar and then a braking system like AF1 or comparable. But that's like a $1500 price difference. If the NSA is decent... seems like a viable option.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The NSA Ready Brute is a surge type unit. Back in the day surge brakes had an "iffy" reputation because they rely on mechanical smoothly functioning mechanical linkages that could and sometimes did deteriorate after exposure to road dirt and moisture. Dirt & corrosion, in other words, so some degree of regular maintenance was needed for reliable operation. I think that situation has improved a lot through the use of better alloys and lubricants, and one seldom hears of problems with the Ready Brute these days.

Another factor that has gotten worse in modern vehicles is physically routing cables through the engine compartment to the brake pedal. I suggest you download the install instructions for the ready Brute and get an idea what it will take to install it in your truck.

 

[MikeLight77]

The NSA Ready Brute is a surge type unit. Back in the day surge brakes had an "iffy" reputation because they rely on mechanical smoothly functioning mechanical linkages that could and sometimes did deteriorate after exposure to road dirt and moisture. Dirt & corrosion, in other words, so some degree of regular maintenance was needed for reliable operation. I think that situation has improved a lot through the use of better alloys and lubricants, and one seldom hears of problems with the Ready Brute these days.

Another factor that has gotten worse in modern vehicles is physically routing cables through the engine compartment to the brake pedal. I suggest you download the install instructions for the ready Brute and get an idea what it will take to install it in your truck.

Thank you Gary, exactly the feedback I wanted. I'm still not 100% either way, but I wanted to know if it should be a "stay away" situation. Like you said, I've seen a few posts saying "absolutely stay away from surge brakes"... but I've seen very little negativity about that particular model.

 

[ButchW]

By golly, we learn something new every day. I wouldn't trust them, personally. Besides, that's one more app that I'm not going to download.

I've used one of these... Magnetic LED Wireless Towing Light Kit for the last couple of years, and they work great...
Butch

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

As I said, surge brakes got a poor reputation decades ago and if the internet is good at anything, it is giving life to old memes and amplifying them. And it's still true that they should have some basic care & lubrication to be sure they function reliably. But much the same caveat applies to other brake units, whether portable or a fixed installation.

As a counter-example, UHaul uses surge brakes on all their trailers and problems are not rampant. Of course, UHaul equipment get serviced at least once in awhile too.