Air brakes for trailer

I was at a trailer hitch shop the other day, looking to get a tow bar for my jeep, and asked the fellow about aux braking systems for the toad.

He mentioned the cleanest way to do it was to run it from air chucks (glad hands ?) on the back of the bus, and run a line through the firewall and into the jeep to operate a cylinder on the brake pedal, that would just detach with two pins

I don't have glad hands on the back of my bus so I would have to get them installed. Not sure on cost but will call PV today and see.

Anyone use a setup like this, and if so do you like it?? :confused:

Warren
I have used the air setup you are talking about for several years on three different coaches, two non Prevost and my 99 Prevost Country Coach, all towing a Jeep Wrangler. My braking system is very simple and made by Roadmaster. It is a proportionate braking system with an air cylinder/piston that is mounted to a bracket on the floor and a "shoe" that fits over the brake pedal. I have an air connection mounted on the bumper of the Jeep which is connected to the cylinder via a small air hose. A pin attaches the cylinder to the floor bracket and when the cylinder in not attached the bracket is barely visable.

To connect the system I attach a small hose to the coupler on the bus, which is tied into the air brakes line, and the other end to the bumper mounted connection. Since it is a propotionate braking system the more you apply the brakes on the bus the more the brakes are applied on the toad.

I have used the same system on two different Jeeps and have been very satisfied with it. Another good feature is the storage of the unit. It takes up very little space when you have arrived at your destination or at home using the toad as your every day driver.

Over the past two days there have been several posts about safety when driving our buses and how they do not like to stop and yet when several people inquired inquired about toad braking prior to leaving for POGII, there was a lot of discussion about why it was not necessary. You do the math, it does not add up to me. After re re re rereading my CC manual I found a little paragraph that said that without auxiliary braking on the toad the GVWR and GCWR are the same.

A long answer to a short question, but I am satisfied with this system and also the fact that I am meeting all of the state laws concerning weights and when additional braking is necessary on an attached vehicle whether it is a trailer or a toad.

Denny

To echo what Denny said, we use the same set up on the Hummer. It is as simple as an anvil. It takes about a minute to set the brake actuator in place and the same to remove it.

When we hook the toad to the bus we just have an air line to hook up in addition to the plug for lights. It couldn't be simpler. I like it because I also use it on the pickup truck when I tow that and I just move it from the Hummer to the pickup.

Thanks to both of you for your input. Makes that decision easier.

Also had an option to save a hundred bucks and get a lesser rated tow bar for the jeep, but decided I have a 10k hitch, why not a 10k tow bar. I like over kill..

Thanks again.

Warren,
And if you don't like the idea of hardware on the floor of your toad, have a look at: http://www.m-gengineering.com/. This is the system I use, it also provides proportional braking that works very well and hooks up with a simple quick disconnect air line. It uses a beautifully machined slave cylinder which mounts between your master brake cylinder and vacuum booster. On the bus, it tees into the tag brake line. Takes about 2 hours to install if you can afford the space to move the master cylinder about 4 inches ahead of the booster. You should be able to do this without disconnecting any brake lines, losing fluid or bleeding the toad brakes.

BrianE
94Liberty XL

Brian e,

Can you post some pixs? You've got nothing better to do right? ;)


Thanks

Mike

I will Mike, but the pics on MG's site are pretty good. With my Colorado, it was necessary to change to a smaller battery in order to make it fit. It took more time getting the new battery and hold-down than installing the system. Cheers.

BrianE
94Liberty XL

Just a comment about my air brake cylinder installation. The only items visible when the unit is not in use is the quick connect air coupling and the pin that the air cylinder attaches to at the floor end.

The pin is just under the forward edge of the driver's seat, and the air quick connect is off to the side in line with the pin. Neither are in the way or for that matter noticeable when the brake mechanism is not in place.

Thanks Brian, another interesting option!

Quote:

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From Mango Mike. Can you post some pixs? You've got nothing better to do right?

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Sorry the engine is so dirty Mike. The 8V gets much more attention. You can see the smaller battery installation in the Colorado so the master cylinder could move forward. The brakes work very well, you can definitely feel the difference in braking effectiveness.

Cheers, BrianE
94Liberty XL

Brian,

Nice job, thanks for the pix. I'll have to look under the hood of the toaster to see if I can make it happen.

Mike

this past summer/spring at pog 1, i tried desperatly to find a solution to tow an f250 diesel. it has hydraulic assist brakes that work off the steering pump (as opposed to vacuum assist) so getting aux brakes for it was a, er, challenge.. alas, i'm now suffering from DTD - diesel truck deprivation syndrom. roger was my silent partner - but thats another story. that truck is now valiantly serving some fire dept in western NC. sniff.....

anyway, i found a company in calif (where else) that offered to manufacture an air brakes setup for the truck that would work in parallel with the existing disc brakes. he wanted ~2500 lew bucks for the whole setup. i'll recover the info if you're really interested.

wmm