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Brake system from Wrangler Tow'd

Winnipeg
Explorer
Explorer
I am ready to retire the old portable brake system, I hate wrestling with it at the end of a long (or any) drive. But, I want many things if I do the upgrade. Here is what I am looking for:

Tow'd is a 2010 Wrangler 2-door.
Coach is a 2016 Tiffin gas (no air brakes)
Price is not a big concern.
Installation effort is also not a big concern.
Convenience is HUGE. I want as little to hook / un-hook as possible.
Proportional braking is also very important. I frequently drive in mountains & heavy freeway traffic (Southern California)
In-cab monitoring would be nice to know that I am not burning up the Wrangler's brakes.

Quality, performance, and convenience are what I am looking for.
What type of system would meet these requirements?
6 REPLIES 6

doc_brown
Explorer
Explorer
Used Blue Ox box unit, used Ready Brake cable not tow bar, now using Air Force 1, which I really like.
Steve,Kathy and Josh
Morpheus(Basenji)at Rainbow Bridge
2004 40' TSDP Country Coach Inspire DaVinci
350 Cummins, 3000 Allison
2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport S, Air Force One Braking, Blue Ox

Winnipeg
Explorer
Explorer
Yes, as Mike noticed, we already have a portable Brake Buddy. And, we are ready to move on.

There really seam to be only two choices that meet our needs, Invisibrake or Stay-in-play. And, it is very difficult to choose, both have very high customer ratings.

After viewing many YouTube videos, I eventually found the main difference. Invisibrake is progressive and Stay-in-play is proportional. Progressive begins braking the towed low and increases over 8 seconds (regardless of how much braking the MH does). Proportional is like a trailer brake controller, but only enables when MH brake is on.

SoCal has two scenarios where breaking is challenging and important. In heavy traffic, you sometimes need fast maximum braking, and on long mountain grades you sometimes need light braking for many seconds. I don't think that progressive brakes is ideal for either of these situations. So for my application, I think that proportional is best.

I wish that there were actual test reviews of these systems. I don't think that there is a bad choice, but it is nice to make an informed choice.

mike_brez
Explorer
Explorer
IB853347201 wrote:
we have used a Brake Buddy for 10 years now. Simple to use, easy to install and remove, potable from vehicle to vehicle should you trade in your toad.


Sounds like he has something like that now.
For the life of my I don't see the big deal installing a box brake or taking it out after the end of the day. I'm on my third towed vechile in 18 years and still have the same brake buddy.
When it becomes so hard for me to hook up and remove I think I will hang up the keys.
1998 36 foot Country Coach Magna #5499 Single slide
Gillig chassis with a series 40
02 Ford F250 7.3 with a few mods
2015 Wrangler JKU

IB853347201
Nomad
Nomad
we have used a Brake Buddy for 10 years now. Simple to use, easy to install and remove, potable from vehicle to vehicle should you trade in your toad.
2010 Suncruiser

folivier
Explorer
Explorer
Ready Brake system would do everything. 1 cable to hook up. Proportional braking, had indicator light you can install in dash. They have a system that your current towbar should fit or their Readybrake Elite towbar with integrated brake is very nice.

Ava
Explorer
Explorer
SMI stay n play or Roadmaster invisibrake. Both are hidden systems that have nothing to disconnect to drive away. SMI has two things that activate the brakes, Roadmaster has a led on the dash that lights when the brakes are on. Read up on those and see what you think.