I'm interested in either the invisibrake or SMI Air Force One. Which one do you recommend? Money is not a factor.
TOAD is a 2015 Ford Expedition Limited EL 4x4. Weighs almost 7,000 lbs with my gear.
I have a fancy for the SMI for ease of installation, then there are others.
Hi Scott I have the Air Force One and like it lots. :) Good thing money is no object. :D
Lots of extra's in the AF1 kit should fit your bus and toad.
So the AF1 is truly proportional. Where are you guys tying into your air lines on the bus?
I know you did not consider it, but I would look at the Roadmaster 9100.
Simplicity pays off.
Tried and true works
My .02 cents.
Good Luck with your decision :)
I use M&G brake system. Nothing to remove or install each time we hook up. I get the air from the rear brake system.
Same here on the M&G. We needed to go with the M&G 2.0, the standard M&G wouldn't fit our Jeep. Everything is under the hood, only a small cable to the brake pedal. System also has a breakaway feature. Tapped into the rear relay valve for bus air. We like the setup but have yet to road test it. USA parts of aluminum & brass vs plastic.
I'll 3rd the M&G brake system. Simple hook up plus has the breakaway feature.
Jason
Same here. M&G. Been using it for 15 years now on 3 different toads. Love it !
You can go to their website and make sure it will work on your toad, if not, you can use the 2.0 like Dan has.
Quote from: Scott & Heather on March 12, 2019, 02:33:48 PM
So the AF1 is truly proportional. Where are you guys tying into your air lines on the bus?
On the AFO you tee into the air supply and the applied pressure line 1/4" line to the reserve tank, 1/4" to the quick connect on rear bumper. The AFO can be moved from one vehicle to another, M&G is vehicle model specific. Both units have a break away system. AFO unit has the reserve tank mounted to the coach with just a thin control box easily mounted any where under the hood of the toad, M&G reserve tank is mounted under the hood in addition to to an actuator mounted between the Master cylinder and the vacuum booster. both are very effective in regards to braking. I have installed hundreds of each while @ B&B Coach and prefer doing the AFO because of the space saving size of the unit and ease of set up. The M&G if you go that route requires a more detailed set up and testing after installation.
I been using the M&G for years no complaints on 2 Jeeps,Lexus,Chevy pickup and GMC Envoy,M&G is a good family owen business in Texas to deal with lol you talk to one of the owners when you have a problem
As you will read in the April issue of Bus Conversion Magazine, I chose the Roadmaster BrakeMaster system for towing my Jeep for all of the reasons mentioned in the magazine. I have since changed to the Roadmaster Invisibrake system for my Lexus which I will write about in a future issue of BCM because it doesn't take any work to hook up. It operates the brakes by reading the brake signal on the toad, which is activated by bus brake lights. I love it. Check it out at www.http://roadmasterinc.com.
M&G 2.0 is not vehicle specific and the reserve air for break away is on the towed (toad) vehicle.
I have the Invisibrake. Once you have it adjusted, it works well. My big concern was to have break away braking and be legal. Even pulling my car (3750lbs), my bus is not over weight (34,750lbs with 36,000lbs GVW). And it can easily be transferred to the next car. Plus, no air lines going to the bus. Good Luck, TomC
All this is great awesome
Info. I'm
Digesting it. The invisibrake sounded good but it's not truly proportional so it does take constant adjusting right? Still leaning towards the AFO but there's a lot of votes for the M&G. More shopping...sigh.
It really doesn't matter if the braking on the towed is proportional. The main job is just to brake the car enough that you effectively take the weight off the bus. In my case, I've pulled my car behind the bus for about 15 years without any auxiliary braking system, without problem. Only reason I installed it now was to have break away emergency braking and to be legal-for insurance reasons. My transit bus has giant brakes (14.5 x 7 front 14.5 x 10 rear) that even pulling the car will put you through the windshield. Good Luck, TomC
Quote from: Scott & Heather on March 18, 2019, 03:40:10 PM
All this is great awesome
Info. I'm
Digesting it. The invisibrake sounded good but it's not truly proportional so it does take constant adjusting right? Still leaning towards the AFO but there's a lot of votes for the M&G. More shopping...sigh.
I like my InvisiBrake system and knew it was non-proportional when I bought it. I talked to Roadmaster and they do have one that is Proportional but it doesn't affect stopping distance much. My toad stops just fine without the proportional braking system so I am happy with what I have.
There will be an article describing toad brakes in the April issue of BCM which may help. Stay tuned.