braking system to flat tow Escape Hybrid behind 2022 Adventurer 29B

[oracle1]

Hey folks:
We decided on the Roadmaster Nighthawk tow hitch to flat tow our 2020 Ford Escape HYBRID behind our new (2022) Winnebago Adventurer 29B (30').

https://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar/Roadmaster/RM-676.html

Need advice/thoughts/experience about a braking system for the dinghy.

Priorities are SAFETY and ease of use. Toad car weighs 3,500. I would need to pay somebody to install (NOT a DIYer .

As before, thanks in advance! You folks are GREAT!

[fyreplug]

I am using the "ready brake" for my breaking system. Two different cables. One to the ready brake itself from the tow vehicle and one from the coach to the tow vehicle which is your breakaway emergency brake.
One important factor to look at that I determined later after first tow - make sure your towing system is level with towed vehicle. I had to get a six inch drop-down receiver because the hitch on the back of the coach was too high compared to the tow bar hookup to the vehicle.

I purchased off of Amazon and saved several hundred dollars versus buying straight from the manufacturer. Here is the link to the manufacturer. You'll get a lot of different opinions on what to purchase. It depends on how much work you want hooking up your toad. Good luck and enjoy motoring.

https://nsarvproducts.com/products/r...l-brake-system

[BobC]

Another vote for the Ready Brake system. It works well, it's simple, purely mechanical, doesn't depend on electronics, electricity or vacuum and there's nothing to put in and out of your toad like with a Brake Buddy, which I'm sure someone will recommend. All you need to do is hook up a couple of cables and you're ready to go.

It's also less expensive than most of the alternatives. For example, the Brake Buddy is $1,144 - $1,460 on Amazon.

Make sure you also get the breakaway device which is required in most, if not all states. It activates your toad's brakes if the toad comes loose from your MH.

It's an easy install (I did my own) so it shouldn't cost much to get installed.

The Amazon price is a fantastic deal $470 vs $695 from the dealer:

https://www.amazon.com/NSA-RV-Produc.../dp/B00IK56OC0

I do have one piece of advice: If someone pulls the breakaway cable (which is red) unintentionally or out of curiosity it will lock up so figure out away to secure it with a zip tie. Also, make sure the installer puts the locking device where it's easily accessible so if it is accidentally activated, it's easy to reset.

Ready Brake doesn't do much advertising but you'll find that in other threads like this on Winnieowners, IVR2.com and other RV forums, it gets good reviews by owners.

[Ray,IN]

Depending on which automatic transmission you have, the 8-speed cannot be flat-towed, the alternate A/T may be flat towed,

reference pgl.281 of the https://www.fordservicecontent.com/F...EN_08_2020.pdf

[Morich]

Originally Posted by oracle1

Hey folks:
We decided on the Roadmaster Nighthawk tow hitch to flat tow our 2020 Ford Escape HYBRID behind our new (2022) Winnebago Adventurer 29B (30').

https://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar/Roadmaster/RM-676.html

Need advice/thoughts/experience about a braking system for the dinghy.

Priorities are SAFETY and ease of use. Toad car weighs 3,500. I would need to pay somebody to install (NOT a DIYer .

As before, thanks in advance! You folks are GREAT!

This is an area which we find is NOT DIY for me.
But we also have found it pays to shop the install as that part can vary a whole bunch.
Talking with folks is one way to get a handle on what they actually know and how well they know it.
They will likely go to books to give a really specific estimate but they should be able to telly you a lot about their product without looking too hard for the info.

Our first install was at a hitch place where they mostly did trailers like stock trailers, etc. They knew the trailer wiring but totally missed knowing what to do with cars. NOT good. They appeared to not ever having dealt with breakaway wiring!

Last install was a custom shop for all the gizmos folkslike to add like hitches, steps, lights, decals, etc. and they knew their stuff realy well.
They told me all about it but did take 20-30 minutes looking in books for the "real" price where the first just shot from the hip and gave me a really high price that they KNEW would make them money!

They also forgot to install the breakaway and I found it behind the front seat but when I asked, they had me wait about 30-40 minutes while they added it. It was a simple item, so simple they just forgot it but realy did it right when thinking!

Good service is not always what we get.

[creativepart]

We use a Brake Buddy, but there are other similar types. You don’t need installation you simply put it on the floor between the drivers seat and the brake pedal. It has an arm that clamps on to the brake pedal and when it senses braking from the RV it pushes on the brake pedal with a 12v air powered ram.

ETrailer has them for $750.

https://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar-Bra...y/HM39494.html

[Bo Walker]

I'm satisfied with the "Ready Brake". I use it on the 2018 Equinox when towing with the Holiday Rambler Ambassador.

[DustyDude]

Another vote for Ready Brake for its simplicity. I had a Roadmaster Even Brake, but was more difficult to setup and you have to store it somewhere when you are using the toad.

[dkoldman]

So what did the OP decide?

The Ready Brake comments confuse me a tad...

Does the Ready Brake come with all the wiring and cable needed?

From picture it looks as if it it has place for one cable I assume that must be wired through firewall to the brakes? So what about brake away cable?

Also it looks as if there is 12vdc wire? What is that about.

How much labor do you estimate to have it installed?

[fyreplug]

The Ready Brake has two cables. One for the normal braking when you slow down or stop and another cable for the breakaway. Both go from the front of the vehicle being towed, through the firewall and connected to the brake pedal.

The cable from the Ready Brake and the breakaway cable from the coach both attach to the vehicle being towed at separate locations. They both also need to be adjusted to allow about a 1-2 inch drop for turns.

The 12vdc wire runs from the back of the coach to the dash of the coach to let you know when the Ready Brake activates. There is a led light.

I had my break cables installed by a local shop who specializes in this type of installation. Cost ran me around $200. Not drilling through the firewall where I shouldn't or running cable through the engine compartment where I shouldn't, it was worth the $200.

I did have to purchase a 6 inch dropdown hitch to make the towbar level since the coach hitch sits higher than my 2004 Jeep Liberty, but I'm happy with the results.

[dbest1]

I recommend the RVi Brake Shadow system. I was able to get it easily installed on my Ford Maverick Hybrid, which is a close cousin to your escape hybrid. While I haven't used it yet, the product seem easy to use and had very good reviews.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by fyreplug

The Ready Brake has two cables. One for the normal braking when you slow down or stop and another cable for the breakaway. Both go from the front of the vehicle being towed, through the firewall and connected to the brake pedal.

The cable from the Ready Brake and the breakaway cable from the coach both attach to the vehicle being towed at separate locations. They both also need to be adjusted to allow about a 1-2 inch drop for turns.

The 12vdc wire runs from the back of the coach to the dash of the coach to let you know when the Ready Brake activates. There is a led light.

I had my break cables installed by a local shop who specializes in this type of installation. Cost ran me around $200. Not drilling through the firewall where I shouldn't or running cable through the engine compartment where I shouldn't, it was worth the $200.

I did have to purchase a 6 inch dropdown hitch to make the towbar level since the coach hitch sits higher than my 2004 Jeep Liberty, but I'm happy with the results.

I apologize for the questioning. I am a tad slow and just trying to be sure I understand.

It looks like the Ready Brake does not come with the Breakaway cable? It is a $160 add on, but you paid a shop $200 to supply and install your breakaway system for your Ready Brake?

If so; how much did you pay to have the Ready Brake installed, I specifically am talking the two wires in the the Ready Brake box that attaches to the brake pedal, and the wire that runs inside the RV on the Dash?

Ready Brakes look simple enough, but I keep getting $900 - $1,000 at the $185 / hr rate because I will not attempt to install myself, and I don't know a shop that may charge really cheap rates well enough to do that type of work.

Although I personally do not want a wired cable permanently attached to my brake pedal in Navigator, but if I can get everything needed turnkey for $500 - $600 I would sure listen.

[Morich]

We used the RVI brake on several as it was easy, once we got it fully in mind for what was needed. Once I understood more about what I was paying to get, I was able to cut the install price a lot.
Part of the confusion on pricing may come because there are several different "elements" to getting the car ready and each of those elements may change on different cars. Newer cars tend to be more complex and one of those changes is how the battery power may be done on newer. If it is an older car and the power points like cigarette lighters stay hot all the time, it eases the install as that lets us plug the brake system into the already installed outlet.
But when we get to newer cars, that use lithium, etc batteries, things can get funky as the power cuts off after a few minutes when we shut the enigne down! That means we can't plug brake boxes in and expect them to work, so we have to wire for full time power from some point. That gets harder as we may not be able to use the battery in the car because it runs down at some point if the engine is not running.
So do we power the brake box from the RV power point at the hitch or where? That means each car may take different wiring .
If the tow car has an electronic transmission control (ECM) , it can get worse as you want power to some things but not others???
Then the lights get into yet another area to question. Different cars use different systems and need different wires. LED tail and turn signals on the car but older on the RV? Sometimes they have to have different parts to make them work together.

General difficult situation to work out if we don't really want to figure it and make some tough decisions.

[Bo Walker]

The hardest part of installing a "Ready Brake" for me was running the metal cable through the engine department. Once that was done, I ran a continuous electric wire from the motor home directly to the tow battery because I sometimes for some reason leave something on the the car (tow). Before I installed the hot wire, I found the tow car battery was practically dead upon arrival at the camp site. Now, there are no worries.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Morich

We used the RVI brake on several as it was easy, once we got it fully in mind for what was needed. Once I understood more about what I was paying to get, I was able to cut the install price a lot.
Part of the confusion on pricing may come because there are several different "elements" to getting the car ready and each of those elements may change on different cars. Newer cars tend to be more complex and one of those changes is how the battery power may be done on newer. If it is an older car and the power points like cigarette lighters stay hot all the time, it eases the install as that lets us plug the brake system into the already installed outlet.
But when we get to newer cars, that use lithium, etc batteries, things can get funky as the power cuts off after a few minutes when we shut the enigne down! That means we can't plug brake boxes in and expect them to work, so we have to wire for full time power from some point. That gets harder as we may not be able to use the battery in the car because it runs down at some point if the engine is not running.
So do we power the brake box from the RV power point at the hitch or where? That means each car may take different wiring .
If the tow car has an electronic transmission control (ECM) , it can get worse as you want power to some things but not others???
Then the lights get into yet another area to question. Different cars use different systems and need different wires. LED tail and turn signals on the car but older on the RV? Sometimes they have to have different parts to make them work together.

General difficult situation to work out if we don't really want to figure it and make some tough decisions.

Any preference on the Ready Brake or the RVi3 Portable Brake?

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Bo Walker

The hardest part of installing a "Ready Brake" for me was running the metal cable through the engine department. Once that was done, I ran a continuous electric wire from the motor home directly to the tow battery because I sometimes for some reason leave something on the the car (tow). Before I installed the hot wire, I found the tow car battery was practically dead upon arrival at the camp site. Now, there are no worries.

Can you confirm if you had to buy the Ready Brake Breakaway separately? I am trying to see about how much it cost in total for everything, all labor included. If you did yourself how many hours, because I would likely pay someone to do.

I think the only reason, I hadn't fixed on Ready Brake is that I think I prefer moving a unit in and out on brake pedal on the rare occasions versus a permanently wired cable on my brake pedal. It is a Lincoln Navigator that I would be modifying so it may explain reluctance?

[Morich]

I have only used the RVI ,so can't compare to other systems very well.
The big difference for using RVI brake on cars with different electronics is how we have to setup to provide power.
On the first 98 Ford Escort, it was simple.
We had the box to set in the floor and a claw to attach to the brake pedal. To power the box, we plugged it into the normal dash outlet and all the car items wer left normal except for adding wiring to the tail, stop, turn signals from the RV hitch connection.
For those we had a six wire tether with a big plug for RV and small plug on the car front. As we connected the tow cables, we plugged in the there at both car and RV.
For breakaway safety, we had a snap (dog chain?) wire we clicked on the bumper and a pin on the car. This was desinged to pull the pin out if it ran away, opening or closing a circuit on the box which slammed brakes full on as a last ditch effort when all else failed! This wire was also run inside to plug into the box.
On that car the only thing added was the small wire from breakawy at the front, the big tow plate connections and the six pin trailer plug which they fit in between plastic grill parts.
Very little showed it had every been a tow car, once the tow bar was removed. The tow bar had cotter pin connections which let us snap them off when not towing. The tow bar tended to be a shin grabber when in the garage!

On our a 2015 Ford Focus with auto trans. it was a nightmare. We had the car before deciding to go back to towing----bad choice!
The box had to be powered full time while towing as well as parts of the car had to be powered full time while towing! Full time power to electronic transmission but not the ignition! I never fully understood how they seperated the two and apparently nobody else did either because when it failed after a couple years, no FORD dealer could fixan intermitant crank problem, even after the tow wiring was removed!
Weird one time when I had bought extended warrenty! They wrote off bills of over $7-8000 doing their tries before I got tired of paying the $100 deductable!

My understanding of the breakaway is that it is a system to simply open or close a citcuit going to the control box and most will fit other systems as long as whether opening or closing is matched.
Think of pulling a plastic pin out from between two contacts to let them close? The pin was plastic so had to be holding two contacts apart until pulled out as the car left . Fortunately never used it!

This one?
https://rvibrake.com/products/breaka...gaAnxrEALw_wcB

Or would this be the same?
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...MaAp4nEALw_wcB

When we did the third car, we went with the RVI. Just to avoid the question for the small difference in price!
By brain cells were too short for sweating the price difference too long!

Do overs? I would buy the simple car but finding a low mileage 98 Escort is soooo hard!

[Hermes2]

We have used the Demco Stay and Play Duo for the past 18,000 miles of towing our Equinox. It's an easy to use system that's permanently installed in the car. It works very well for us.

[Bo Walker]

dkoldman, I'm sorry I didn't read your question in February. I know I'm a bit late and you have already made your decision. I don't know if mine has the break-away.