>> I cannot agree with your comment that M&G has "none" of them.
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That's OK, Bernie -- I enjoy our discussions.?
>> Not sure what you mean by ""proportional "and" progressive" braking"" but the M&G applies the toad brakes as if you were stepping on the toad pedal with the same action as you depress the coach brake pedal, press harder and the brakes apply harder.
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You describe progressive braking. The harder you push the rig brakes, the harder the toad brakes are applied. I don't think the power assist is applied to the toad here. If not, and in a panic stop, you are applying a predetermined amount of air to very hard toad brakes. If I cram the brakes on my rig, I would prefer that the same amount of pressure be applied to the power assisted brakes on the toad. Have you ever coasted down a hill with the ignition off an no power assist -- it really takes a lot of pressure to stop the vehicle. I would question the amount of air supplied vs. needed to lock the brakes when I lock the rig brakes via the rig brake pedal.
Proportional refers to the difference in weight of the two vehicles and the corresponding braking needed. For example, when towing a trailer or 5th wheel a suggested proportion of applied brakes between truck and trailer would lock the trailer wheels if towed on a gravel driveway. That was how I tested the proper proportional braking between my truck and the trailer. If not in the exact proper proportion, the trailer (or in our case, the toad) is being braked either too much or too little -- during the course of progressive braking between the two.
The control in the cockpit is more than lights to determine if the brakes are working. It also contains the control to adjust the proportionality of the rig to toad brakes -- plus the lever to apply the toad brakes manually in the event of rig brake failure. I adjust the toad brakes much the same as I adjusted the gain on my trailer/s brakes -- on a gravel driveway.
This gives another nice feature that M&G does not have. If I want, I can turn off the toad brakes from the cockpit. I have three settings that are most useful to me. The 1st is no toad brakes. I set this when driving, for example, in an RV park. No need to used toad brake pads for that. My second setting is normal driving, and my third is my "going down a steep mountain" setting. In that case, I give the toad a little more gain.
>> If your coach brakes fail what happens next depends on the cause of failure. If you lose your air lines the coach emergency brakes come on automatically, stopping the coach. If you coach brakes overheat and lose grip, the air pressure of stepping on the coach brake applies equally to the toad brakes which continue to brake the toad, no less than the US Gear.
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Nice advanced features of your coach -- and that is good. But we're discussing being able to apply the brakes to the toad when the coach can no long do that -- in your case, no air. Otherwise, regardless of the emergency braking the rig has, the toad is pushing it down hill.
>> You can lock up the toad brakes with the M&G.
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From the cockpit? How do you do that? I had asked someone in a park once, and checked their website and saw nothing to that effect.
>> IMHO, the M&G meets the criteria for? 2 of the 3 .....
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From my responses, it appears we disagree.?
>> ..... and I am too busy watching traffic to monitor the driver display and I can feel whether the toad brakes are functioning or not. Anyways, having a driver display tell me the toad brakes aren't working doesn't do me any good in a panic stop.
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The fellows that 1st did my install a number of years ago told me that it is important to not "feel" when the toad brakes are applied -- and that's why the cockpit progression lites are so important. These were the beta test mechanics for the Unified Braking System. The brakes on the toad are just for the toad, and not to assist the rig. If you can feel them being applied, there is too much toad braking. When setting the gain control for my normal driving, that is one of my tests.
>> I don't necessarily recommend the M&G for coaches without factory air brakes (I usually suggest the US Gear) and you apparently aren't familiar enough with the M&G for coaches so equipped. I am not familiar with the US Gear setup and can't really do a valid comparison. But for my circumstances with air brakes, I felt that the M&G was the best supplemental brake package out there and have had it on both of my coaches.
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I agree with what you say here, Bernie. I always learn something new when we chat. . .