Auxiliary Braking System for Toad Towing

[Snipechief]

In a rush I made some decisions that didn't work out before our trip from E. TN to Nor-Cal
We bought the Forza then needed to be in Nor-Cal in 3 weeks. I figured I'd have plenty of time finding a toad and all things necessary to accomplish this.
I found an old 89 jeep Wrangler that I thought was ok. Then I researched a tow bar and baseplate. I went with a blue ox baseplate, and had it installed. Then I bought a Ready Brake towbar for the Forza.
Then I discovered that the Wrangler needed extensive work.
Luckily my Brother in CA said I could use his extra car during my visit. That worked out good. So now we're back home. Really missed not having a vehicle during the travel to and from CA.
The 89 Wrangler was more than I wanted to spend on repairs. I sold it for a loss. :-(>
I decided to sell my 2021 Ram Diesel that I used to tow our old 5th wheel trailer. I rarely drove it, and although it was very comfortable it was just wasting away in the garage.
I decided I was going to get a new Wrangler and be done with it. So I did. I traded my truck and got a new 2024 Jeep Wrangler Sport. Nice rig, and the dealership had to write me a nice check for my trade.
So now I need to start all over, and I don't want to make another mistake on the whole toad, towbar braking, and wiring systems.
I've decided I don't want to use the Ready Brake system. I don't really want to drill holes and whatnot in this new Jeep, because for one my arms don't fit in the area needed for the cabling install, and I didn't really like the whole thing. I do plan on keeping the Ready brake towbar because it is a quality part, but I don't like the braking system arrangement.
Sooooooo can anybody tell me how to proceed. I know I need another baseplate for the Jeep, but what braking system, breakaway device, and lighting wiring is recommended. I plan on having the work done.
Thanks for your help.

 

[bigb56]

You can still use the Ready Brake tow bar, they make a part that replaces the brake section and it doesn't cost that much, call NSA. That way you will only need to buy a base plate to fit the clevisis on the Ready Brake, and a braking system like the Demco Stay n Play for example.
I have a Blue Ox base plate on my Wrangler that works well with the Ready Brake tow bar.

 

[Snipechief]

Yes I intend to use the NSA Towbar.
I didn't see under NSA's web page a mention of a different brake mechanism .

 

[bigb56]

Yes I intend to use the NSA Towbar.
I didn't see under NSA's web page a mention of a different brake mechanism .

They don't show it but when I called he said they have a part that replaces the brake part and makes it into a regular tow bar. I was going to order one but they convinced me to give the Ready Brake another try, I wasn't happy with it's performance on a particular winding grade (Salt River Canyon), it doesn't work when you are not in a straight line. I decided to keep using it and we will just detach next time we go thru the canyon.

If I recall the solid part that they sell was under $100. You can still use your break-away but you will need to purchase your new braking system somewhere else, NSA just sells Ready Brake.

 

[Snipechief]

So it can't be used as a towbar without the brake assembly attached without that part? Dang!

 

[bigb56]

So it can't be used as a towbar without the brake assembly attached without that part? Dang!

I think it can, I saw on some other sites where people wanted to do just that. NSA can tell you for sure though, they are very helpful. I have their number somewhere in my paperwork if you can't get ahold of them. When you call be prepared for them to try and convince you to use their braking system though, they are very proud of it.

 

[Snipechief]

So I called NSA , and talked to the owner of the company, and he said you don't need anything extra if you want to use this towbar without the braking system. So thats great news if I have to go that way. I went up to a place this morning that installs base plates and other accessories, and they've never done an install of the NSA system but are looking into it. I hope they can do it.

 

[Morich]

What and how to get set up and how much we each want to do is going into really personal choices! So consider this what we found and accept or reject as needed!

We have set up three different cars for towing and each has it's own little quirks to work out with the newer, later models seeming to be harder and harder to get right. Electronics and transmissions are big things to change things.
A 98 Ford Escort manual transmission was a piece of cake as the first we did. A 2015 Ford Focus with electronic transmission was a trauma! Parts of the car needed power full time while others needed to be cut off!
We used RVI brake on all and found the install was a major factor as getting folks who had done it before was a really big IF to solve! The Austin area is really hurting for good, educated, and experienced people with real hands on training in these "sideline" fields. Many of the folks who would be doing this work in other places are now sucked up by the better paying tech jobs.
The first install we found the fellow seemed to talk a good talk but missed the one points like where to drill holes! And he had little idea of what to expect from the electronic transmission. Top that off with not testing after he finished and you can see what a trek it was.
One biggie was mounting a part on top of the fuse box under the hood without looking what was under that cover! Drilling and mounting a part without looking what is under there is NOT a good start! Using one inch screws to mount a solenoid that has metal about 1/16 inch think is just adding to the hazard.
What I'm getting down to is suggesting trying to get a look at how a place may operate before hiring the job done. We made the mistake of thinking of it as part of a hitch installers job when we really needed to go to a custom install place who dealt with electronics on a far wider range!
Installs for cattle trailers is a different group of thinkers than dealing with setting up a car for towing! Try to do a better job of finding the right installer. We failed the first test but did far better on the second go round when we swapped cars.

For braking, we liked the RVI brake, even though somewhat more expensive at times.
We knew we would be connecting and disconnecting the car often, so went for the most convenient methods for that over what might have been cheaper.
RVI has some quirks but the basic thing was the ease of setting a box in the floor board, connected a Claw on an arm to the brake pedal and plugging into power.
The box is a small air compressor with brains to operate and decide when to push on the pedal!
I'm sure it is very complex techie stuff but for the user, we had a small laptop near the driver which communicated with the box in the car to let us know what it was doing when or if we wanted to do a manual brake.
I found this something I liked when roads were prone to being icey, etc. as I was able to use the car brakes at the rear to begin slowing rather than other systems where the RV brakes first before the car gets the idea of slowing down. One of the things, I have picked up from towing trailers is that I do not want the front slowing down before the back!

The RVI brake also had a breakaway /safety thing that was just a simple small lanyard that pulls a pin if the car totally broke away from the RV! One of those things you hope you never need but often required by different states. We did not want to get into sorting where we could go by which laws to break!!
For lights, we went with possibly more expense but far less trouble to use and had the tail, brake, and running lights wired to just plug into the RV 7 pin trailer hitch. We also used that power point in the connector to pass charging from the RV to the tow car battery! Kind of a theoretical idea but if we wanted to tow all night, we did not want to let the car lights run that battery down too far!
My advise might be this?
Choose the installer for the most experienced and capable at installing custom items on cars as that is where the real work is done.
Don't cut yourself short on looking at the connect/disconnect process. Saving money is good but this is one where cutting corners may make you hate yourself!
Having a car that is right to tow without major mods is one biggie that will help!

Best of luck in the trek!

 

[Snipechief]

After talking with the so called expert installers (who are totally useless) unless it's easy for them and won't interfere with there on-line surfing while trying to field mt questions, I'm just going to do it myself. With my disabilities it won't be easy and it will be painful. I'd rather suffer and do it myself instead paying someone who can't even read simple instructions. I'm fed up with lame excuses and $hitting customer service these days. What's happened to our workforce? I'll suffer doing this work, but at least it'll get done right. Rant over.

 

[Morich]

Maybe time to begin to look at this as three different parts that all have to add together?
I have to look at each part, rather than the whole mind bending thing!
Kind of like making breakfast? The eggs are one part that require different thinking and skills than the toast or glass of juice! None of them too complex but lot of small points that need to be done as different functions but combine to work at the end!
Tow bar? More or less covered if you have one that works. Does it have some way to make it attach to some base plate made by somebody? Can you install or is that a hire out? I found the base plate on my cars required lots of fender removal, etc, that other people had to know more about than me! Also have a lift was a biggie for my cars as they were too low to slide under!

Wiring is kind of a last decision as it mostly needs to fit the brake system you get.
If you have some limits on moving around, the hookup ease may get to be a biggie to make easier?
I only know the RVI brake for real world doing it, so this is what we had. Not the only way but a place to start to compare/shop for what you want/need.

The box set in the floor, plugs into a 12 volt outlet that will stay powered as you tow. Does the JEEP have an outlet or does it go dead as you two? Lots of things about the toad car to make it easy or a trauma!
Is it good to two four down by arranging 4 wheel or transmission?
Once set in the floor and the Claw snapped over the brake pedal, the power is plugged in and you push a set of buttons that go through a routine to check the install is good. Push a button on the box and it presses the brake connections, This finds if the box is setting against a hump at the front of the driver's seat that most cars have. It keeps the box from sliding away as the brake is pushed. Do that 3 times as it talks to you and then if it senses all good, it says OK!
Got the safety cables and brake away tether attached at the RV? Go inside and turn on the little laptop and it connects to the car box. It has a big circle to push to test the car is braking when pushed. We had the wife watch the brake lights or pedal to see the brakes were going on!
We did this as part of the check before starting each time as we also had her checked the lights on the RV and car. Turn signal, stop and all lights as I watched in mirror!
Light check and braking check were all one thing?
There was also a small tether cable that hooked from some solid part of the hitch on the RV and to a switch with a pin which was on the car. this switch had wiring to the box and small plug to the box. The switch and wiring were left on the car full time but hookup was clipping the tether to a ring at the front.
Idea being that when the car moved to far from the hitch, it pulled the pin out of the switch and car brakes were then set solid to stop a run away!

The lights can be a totally separate operation and can be as simple as magnetic lights hung on the car or as hidden as wires run from the trailer plug on car front to the lights in the back.
WE did not want the mess of mounting things on the car and risk of scratches or falling off. Just one we were willing to pay to not have to move or worry about anything on each hookups. Wiring tether cable stayed on the tow bar, so it was a mater of adding the Bar to RV and car, plug in the cable at RV and car, check and ready to go!
Heavy awkward bar was the bigger part as it also needed big cotter pins and locks to keep it from any chance of "walking away"?
I tend to trust people more if I know they can't steal it!

Ideas, ideas, and lots more ideas!

 

[RayIN]

For your 2024 Jeep, consider the M&G 2.0 braking system..It is expensive, and worth every penny. It's truly a one-time set and forget system.

 

[Cheryl Bisson]

A big second on the M&G system! We've had ours for 8+ years and love it. Not a single problem since having it installed.

 

[dickb46]

We've used the original "Break Buddy" for our last three coaches and the last two tow cars, It seems like forever.
The only (five minutes, one time) mod to the vehicle is running a breakaway socket line from the front of the vehicle through the engine compartment and into the cabin.
Hooking up the Break Buddy amounts to setting it in front of the driver's seat, hooking the claw to the break pedal, adjusting the driver's seat to sit right behind it, plugging it in to the lighter outlet, plugging in the break away cable, and turning it on(the ACC needs to be on).
The machine itself takes the most time of hooking up. It has a compressor and when it's full it bleads the breaks of any "power break" function so that the breaks act as manual break.
I looked at the newer versions last year but chose to live with what we have. (the newer ones are waaay pricy)
dickb

 

[Snipechief]

I managed to tow our jeep wrangler 3000 mi using the NSA Ready brake system. I had to re-ajust the cabling after 1000 mi of use because it wasn't working well if at all. Once I found a really level spot I re-adjusted the cable with the recommended 2" of slack.
Now the brake is working, but i think it could be better.
So I'm wondering how well this nsa system really is. I wonder because most modern vehicles use a power assist on the brake master cylinder which makes it easier to apply the brakes without having to use 2 feet to push down on the brake pedal. Without power assit it takes a lot of force to accomplish this.
Without the vehicle running how well does the nsa system actually work? In my opinion not real well. I mean it slows the toad down but it's not great.
I didn't have time to install the led brake monitor light, so it's difficult to tell when it is actually braking. It definitely doesn't tug the motorhome like our 5th wheel brakes did.