Brake Buddy Vantage update..A Reply from BB

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi makemineatwostroke,

I would agree with you better if I had contacted them after the 30 days. But, I first contacted them with the problem well within

the 30 days. As you can read in my post above.

They then sent me a solution that they claimed was the problem. Unfortuneatly, It's not always easy to take long trips to test

the device in the winter time around here. Besides, I was under the impresson that the problem was resolved. On the phone tuesday.

they did offer to test the unit at the factory but, Frank allready made up his mind that wouldn't resolve my problem. He was confident that

all the mirror's in my coach was preventing the remote from working. So, why would I choose to send the unit back. I allready know that the

remote works close to the unit, it just doesn't work at my drivers area. Too far? At that point, Frank is the one that brought up, "in theese cases,

we would refund your purchace price" When I made the phone call tuesday, I was expecting them to send me another remote...

Nick-

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Nick,

Doesn't the remote just tell you when the brakes are applied?  Why couldn't you mount the remote at the back of the buss and hardwire a lite to the dash. At least you could use it.

Richard

Richard,
Great idea and I can do things like that.  but, I have spent over a thousand dollars so I wouldn't have to rig things...
Thats my point. Besides the remote allows you to adjust the brakeing power too. I's suppose to anyway.
Nick-

[makemineatwostroke]

Nick, I would call them and have a prepaid shipping label sent and return the unit to them there maybe something wrong.I know people that have the unit on 45 ft S&S and don't have any problem.I am sure your state has a lemon law for items over a certain price so if you don't get any satisfaction after repairs look at that option but they have always been help to me so I can not say anything bad about the service I hope you get it worked out       good luck

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Update,

My wife called and said that Frank Rodriguiez from Brake Buddy called the house.

The message was for me to send them my unit back to them and if they are not able to resolve

the problem, they will refund my money. He also stated they will cover shipping too. 

I will do that and give them another chance!

I called the extention he left my wife and had to leave him a message. I need to know where he wants me to ship it.

So I'm waiting for a return call from Frank.

Nick-

[makemineatwostroke]

Nick, glad your getting it worked out and thanks for the update and now just maybe the 4 guys that sent me the nasty emails will have a better outlook on the problem.

[Gary LaBombard]

Makemineatwos,

I am not one of the guys that may have sent you a nasty email and wouldn't have.  You were only trying to tell of good service you received.  I went off half cocked too but didn't write you.  When one of us has a problem like this and at the cost of what it was I sort of reach out and get pissed all over again too as I have been taken over the coals a lot of time out of my own ignorance.  I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer but man I hate to have to always be on guard when dealing with people, selling or buying.  I am not a good salesman either, if I was I wouldn't of given more of my Cd's away than I certainly sold on my conversion. 

I am glad that other considerations will now be considered to help get this situation cleared up for Nick and I believe the pressure that was exerted by some of us may have helped, at least I hope so. 

There was no need for this to have happened if this unit could not have been tested more than once and then it failed.  But rules are rules of the manufacturer and I will not bad mouth these guys anymore if they do as they say they will for Nick.  But, I would recommend anyone wanting a unit like this to not consider the darn ole wireless unit if this has happened to many others as reported on RV.net.  It's your choice.  Heck, I hate looking at wires too but some technology can be aggravating especially when it is really expensive and such a short time for testing is expected to satisfy the buyer and seller. 

I do not always like the end results published in the Motor Coach Magazine in the section that has for complaints and the magazine tries to get it resolved.  Many times the wording of the eloquent responses is nearly the same thing as sticking up their middle finger to the the person making the complaint.  I get really annoyed with manufacturers that just will not make an effort to go the extra mile at times if their product is as good as they try to say or dictate that it is. 

A resolution to satisfy a customer would always be my first choice if after I received my merchandise back for inspection / repairs or replacement and could see that this merchandise was not ABUSED.  That I can agree with but I know Knick pretty well and know this was not anything he did that caused the BB failure, at least I am putting my respect and support for him as I truly believe this to be true.

I know, I am rambling on again, Well Nick, let us know how this turns out.  We hope we did not cause you any embarrassment by some of our actions but if it made these guys look differently at this particular situation then so be it, especially if you get your bb repaired, fixed or replaced.

Now that the nice weather is here or nearly you will have time to check it out.  There is going to be a few rallies coming up real soon, two in NC, one in SC too.  Don't forget to let us know how everything turns out. 

Take care.
Gary

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi makemineatwostroke,

I'm very sorry if you recieved some flack from members.

At the same time, I'm very flattered that theese guy's are looking out for me... The one time I had to call upon my fellow members and friends

they were instantly Shinning Stars on my behalf.  I only came to you guys because I struck out handeling it myself and that don't happen often!

It sure feels good to have such careing folks go to bat for you!  I hope I have only expressed integrity in my postings and offerings of help to others

that instilled your trust in me.

Again, A Big Thank You to all that helped!
Nick-

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

UPDATE..

A week ago wednesday, I recieved my BB unit back from Brake Buddy. When I opened the box I thought they were playing a joke on me.

My BB unit was in 3 pieces... Yes Broken! A repair order inside the box was hand writen and said that they repaired the actuator arm on the unit??

The actuator arm was not broken when I sent it back to them.

Anyway, I called the company and asked if this was a joke. They assured me that it was NOT! I then took pictures of the broken housing and e-mailed them to

the company. Later that day, I recieved a phone call asking me to return the unit again but, this time they stated that they will refund my money.

I recieved comfirmation from UPS that they recieved it back on tuesday of this past week and I am awaiting my refund.


After compairing all the other units on the market this week, I have decided to purchace the SMI Stay in Play unit that is perminatly mounted in the toad.

It has am actuator arm that you mount on the brake arm up under the dash and a controler unit that mounts in the engine compartment which generates

vacuum to the booster unit. The system is fully proportionate and needs two signals to activate. Brake light from the bus and deceleration. The unit also has a

brake away switch.

http://www.smibrake.com/Items.aspx

Installation Instructions
http://by133w.bay133.mail.live.com/mail/ReadMessageLight.aspx?Action=ScanAttachment&AllowUnsafeContentOverride=False&AttachmentIndex=0&AttachmentDepth=0&FolderID=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&InboxSortAscending=False&InboxSortBy=Date&IsMessageSafe=True&MessageCodePage=20127&ReadMessageId=48c4a260-3d7b-4408-ab82-70ebe8deb2ff&n=1420141113

Thank You to everybody that helped us out with Brake Buddy!

Nick-

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Here is general info on the stay in play units


Vacuum
SMI™ utilizes the towed vehicle's own vacuum assist power brakes in applying the towed vehicle's brakes. DUO utilizes a self-contained electric vacuum pump while Air Force One incorporates a patented vacuum generator to energize the power booster.  All the other systems that do not use the power brakes must literally stop with brute force.  It simply is not necessary with the SMI™ product line.



  Smaller is Better
SMI's exclusive patent pending brake actuator is the smallest in the industry. Smaller is better. The actuator is mounted completely out of site and never needs maintenance. By attaching directly to the firewall there is no possibility of the cable getting caught in a pulley and the floor mat. Because SMI systems are semipermanent, they require no set up for towing.



  Activation Signals
No other system available today utilizes two separate signals to activate the towed vehicle brakes. All others are either surge, brake lights, or inertia-only activation signals. The SMI™ DUO combines both the coach brakes and inertia. This provides an unmatched ability to eliminate unwanted and unnecessary activation. "Two signal" activation avoids the need for delay (terrain sensing technology or surge suppressers) found with inertia-only systems. With the SMI™ DUO, you must have sufficient inertia (controlled by you) AND the brakes of the coach applied. Once met, with NO DELAY, the towed vehicle brakes are gently and progressively activated.



  G-Force Control
Is more sophistication better? We think not. Since 1996 SMI™ has set the pace for G-Force Control with simple and reliable electronics. More sophistication is not necessary with properly designed systems for each application. In addition, the more sophisticated a product is, the more likely it is that a failure will occur. SMI™ products are simply the most reliable easiest to install and use products available.



  Proportionate And Progressive
Stay-IN-Play DUO is a progressive system that automatically applies the correct brake effort. You set the sensitivity once and DUO does the rest. The harder you are stopping the harder the towed vehicle brakes, automatically. Because DUO utilizes the power brakes, a proportionate balance between the coach and the car is built into the DUO.  There is no need for a complicated control, just turn it on...and tow. 

Air Force One is a 100% true proportionate brake system. AFO is activated from the same air used to apply the coach brakes. This is the only way to get true proportionate braking. All others are progressive. In addition, AFO energizes the towed vehicles power brake system automatically creating the ability to provide a proportionate balance of brake effort between the coach and the towed vehicle.  If the car needs to brake 10% of the load, it does.  If the car needs to brake 25% it does.  Best of all, you do not have to think about it. 



  Coach Notification
Many of the systems on the market today will notify you at the driver's seat that something happened in the car. Very few, however, get this notification signal directly from the position of the brake pedal on the towed vehicle. SMI™ notifies you when the brake pedal of the car is depressed from the car's factory brake light switch. By using this signal, you know that the towed vehicle brakes are depressed. No other signal is as reliable and solid.



  Owner Installation
Many of our customers have helped in developing our simple, step by step process for installing either product. Installation times vary depending on the model you select. The SMI™ product line does not require any permanent modifications to your towed vehicle and no holes are necessary in the floor of your car, as is necessary with many of the competing products. Remember, pedal pressure is only about 10-15 pounds, so wear and tear on your car is eliminated. Competing products can damage the fabric and leather due to the excessive force required to stop a vehicle without power brakes.



  Complete Units
Each SMI™ product is shipped complete incuding the breakaway system and coach notification of the brakes in the towed vehicle. There are never any extras to buy, it's all included.



  Tow Ready
Your SMI is always ready when you are.  No set up and no take down.  Simple technology and ease of use combine to give you years of trouble free traveling

[JackConrad]

Nick,
   Glad to hear you finally got this resolved.  The SMI Air Force One unit sounds similar to our M&G. Jack