A Women's RV Forum run by Women RVer's!

I hope this is the right section to put this under.
Which tow system do you tow your car with? As in which company do you like? I just learned that with a lube pump, we can possibly tow our PT with its auto tranny. It's paid for, 4 yrs old, and low miles on it so might be the right choice rather than putting $20000+ into another new vehicle.
Thanks for any thoughts. Trying to keep Mel thinking forward to what we CAN do in future, and hope this news helps him.
Velda

I tow with a SMI/"Stay and Play" system, Blue Ox tow bar and four wheels down. I love not having to mess with a brake buddy.....and have not had any problem with my set up. (Knocking on wood.... )

Highly recommend Blue Ox for the tow bars. Great company to deal with.

I went to Remco site and everything they said I needed was by Blue Ox! I will be looking more. So does Stay and Play have built in braking or what?
Velda

Stay ad Play has a built in braking system that is automatically activated by the same electrical connection that activates the lights, etc. There is a small "thingy" attached up under the dash that activates the brakes. I don't have to set up a brake buddy or store a brake buddy for when I am driving the toad around town. I think the overall cost is not all that different for the different packages. I had also discussed the pros and cons with Nick Russell. He has had brake buddy assist type systems in the past and currently has a Stay and Play SMI System.

Tina, the "thingy" under the dash, does it have a knob or slide bar to adjust the brakes? It sounds like the brake controller on my pick up.

Stay n Play is just the braking system if you use it ... you'd still need the tow bars, etc. I have the braking system through Blue Ox - but if I was doing it over again, I'd probably get a different - just cuz they have so many others. However, I just had a person's braking system not work that used the brake lights like the Stay N Play does - so make sure those with that are always checking your lights. Theirs went out for some unknown reason, of course in the mountains, and they discovered the NEXT morning when they were driving that obviously the system couldn't be working right. Always something. That would not stop me from getting it ... just different systems have different things to watch for. The most basic braking system is a manual link that will brake the car whenever you brake the rig. It's also the lease expensive I've ever seen. But, you don't need to have the car brake all the time. I do like that I have different settings.

The brake settings can be adjusted and I was shown where the adjustment could be made but was also told that it was set according to the weight of my toad and my complete set up and it was suggested that I not mess with it myself. Nick Russell had mentioned that he had heard far less negative "stories" about the SMI systems and had a better track record with them personally than he did with his older system. But anything can happen when unexpected....

I have the Ready Brute Elite system. Braking is done with a surge brake unit incorporated into the tow bar. It is a simple mechanical system, no electronics to go out, nothing to set up each time it is hooked up, just clip the brake cable into the tow bar and go. It is quite a bit cheaper than buying both a tow bar and a brake system. There are adapters so it can be attached to different brands of base plates. I use a Blue Ox base plate. http://www.readybrake.com/

FinallyTime wrote:I have the Ready Brute Elite system. Braking is done with a surge brake unit incorporated into the tow bar. It is a simple mechanical system, no electronics to go out, nothing to set up each time it is hooked up, just clip the brake cable into the tow bar and go. It is quite a bit cheaper than buying both a tow bar and a brake system. There are adapters so it can be attached to different brands of base plates. I use a Blue Ox base plate. http://www.readybrake.com/

If I had known about this system when I first got my toad, I would have gone with it.

All the systems have pluses and negatives. The Ready Brake pluses for me would have been cost and the fact that it's mechanical and nothing to pull on the battery - little can go wrong with it - AND the ease of use. The major negative for me is that is brakes EVERY time you use the brakes in the motorhome. That is putting an extra toll on your car brakes.

The Stay n Play and other similar systems have the ease of use that's a plus for me and had I discovered it when I purchased, I might have gone with it as the pricing was similar. But had I known about the Ready Brake and it being 1/2 the cost and totally mechanical, even with the negatives, I'd most likely have gone with that system at the time.

The Blue Ox Patriot (which I got) and which is similar to a Brake Buddy - doesn't have anything to do with the brake lights which I liked and I can adjust the braking (and was given suggested settings for mountains, or level, etc) - either in the car or from in the rig. I had trouble off and on with mine from day one. But at Q a few weeks ago, I talked to the people from Blue Ox - and one of the guys there to do conditioning of their tow bars is an expert on the Patriot - and he had me bring it and the car in - and discovered that my seat in the car is "soft" - in other words softer than what it was looking for - and therefore causing all the problems - and why it would sometimes work easily and others not. Since he adjusted it (for free - even though warranty was long up) it's worked like a charm. Takes me no time at all to set-up - BUT that almost no time is a PITA when the weather is bad - and then either of the above two systems would be preferable.

Like everything else with rv's, it's a personal decision. They all should work.

And all the tow bars should work, also - I just have had such a great experience with Blue Ox, so highly recommend them for the tow bar part of the package.

The Ready brake does not activate every time you use the motor home brakes. During the initial setup the cable length is adjusted so the toad brake does not activate during light braking. I have the optional indicator light on the mother home dash. It takes a fair amount of pressure before the light comes on. It is also proportional, the harder you step on the motor home brakes, the harder the toad brakes. I am really happy with this system.

FinallyTime wrote:The Ready brake does not activate every time you use the motor home brakes. During the initial setup the cable length is adjusted so the toad brake does not activate during light braking. I have the optional indicator light on the mother home dash. It takes a fair amount of pressure before the light comes on. It is also proportional, the harder you step on the motor home brakes, the harder the toad brakes. I am really happy with this system.

Nice to know. One of their salesmen told me differently ... why am I not surprised !!!! If my system hadn't been fixed, I was planning to purchase this one. I'll do so more readily if the time comes with your knowledge!

I have the United Tow Brake system. That was the best available to me without having that stupid box to pedal thingy in my car. It works off a vacuum system on my car and I have had zero trouble with it. I had it moved off my old toad to this car and it works flawlessly. I have a Roadmaster Tow Bar and am really very happy with it. Roadmaster (in Vancouver WA) reconditioned it for me couple years ago as one of the arms was binding...replaced all the bushings and arms and it works perfect now.

They have newer and probably better systems now but I am happy with mine so if it isn't broke I am not changing hah I just ordered new sensors for my Tire Pressure Monitoring system. Another peace of mind for me 10 sensors for $400 cause I already have the monitor. They said these are newer and work better and last longer...I hope so.

karen

Karen, who makes your tire pressure monitor system? Thanks
Velda

Pressure Pro I got the new sensors from L&S Solutions

karen