• As a general rule, you will want to make the least amount of changes to your Class C Motorhome or your dinghy as you possibly can.
  
  
• When you start making these modifications, you simply make things less clear, and this could potentially open the door for service manager excuses... I can just see a service manager pointing to the modified hydraulic line, vacuum line, master cylinder, or any other component, and saying, "That’s what caused the problem!".
  
  
• Bottom line, the more modifications required the more failure possibilities there are. The fewer the modifications the better it is. This is especially important if you attempt to perform these modifications yourself.
  
  

• It seems that there are no perfect solutions in any type of RV braking system. Even if you choose not to use some type of vacuum assisted braking mechanism and go with a straight mechanical device, you may inadvertently cause problems.
  
  
  • For anyone who has attempted to stop their vehicle when the engine is not running, it soon becomes apparent that a great amount of force is required. This is because our modern automobiles and trucks have vacuum assisted brakes, steering, etc. When there is no vacuum assist on our cars/trucks things simply become much harder.
    
    
• Normal vacuum assisted braking only requires around 20 lbs of pressure. However, non-assisted brake pressure (like when the engine is not running) can go as high as 200 to 400 lbs when attempting to stop a dinghy from, let's say 60 mph. That's a lot of pressure that could potentially break the brake pedal mechanism.
  
  

• Assisted braking systems only require around 20 lbs of pressure. Therefore, if you choose one of the RV braking systems that utilizes the charged vacuum assist design that comes integrally with your dinghy, you will be better off... from an applied pedal pressure perspective.
  
  
  • It is also important for your system to be able to handle an emergancy breakaway... if the dinghy breaks loose from your motorhome at highway speed, there must be enough pedal power to stop it in a reasonable distance.
    
    
    

• There are a few things to go over here:
  
  
  • A good dinghy braking system can be adjusted in the motorhome so as to better control the sensitivity of response... simply put, you do not want the dinghy brakes coming on prematurely and "riding the brakes", or coming on too late and not give proper assist.
    
    
  • Riding the brakes can cause premature wear and/or fire. This can happen while descending a mountain grade, backing up, or negotiating speed bumps.
    
    
    • The best designs can sense a motion differential and match the brake pressure that has been applied to the motorhome service brake.
      
      
    • Those designs that use some type of delay mechanism to compensate for control issues only delay braking and complicate the issue.
      
      

• You want a system that will not require constant adjustment after installation. It will, however, require some periodic adjustments as the situation requires. This should be a no-brainer process.
  
  
• Your RV braking system should have some type of light and/or sound indicator showing the braking status in the motorhome. The motorhome driver should be able to continually verify the braking operation and not simply assume that it is working as expected. It is an additional advantage to be able to verify this operation while driving solo.
  
  

• You will want your dinghy towing brake system to:
  
  
  • be easy to connect and disconnect.
    
    
  • be simple to stow
    
    
  • not require adjustment each time it is used
    
    

• SMI Stay-IN-Play... http://smibrake.com/stay-in-play-duo.html
  
  
  • A vacuum assisted unit that has the smallest actuator in the industry... activation of the towed vehicle's brakes require BOTH deceleration and the brake lights from the motorhome.
    
    
• M&G Car Braking System for RV coaches with HYDRAULIC BRAKES... http://www.m-gengineering.com/
  
  
  • A vacuum assisted unit that uses a coach mounted "power pack" with a quick disconnect arrangement between the two vehicles.
    
    
• Unified Tow Brake... http://www.usgear.cc/unified_tow_brake.htm
  
  
  • A vacuum assisted unit that provides both progressive and proportional braking... comes with installation CD video.
    
    

• RoadMaster/BrakeMaster... Add-a-Brake Portable Supplemental Braking System
  
  
  • A Direct proportional baking system... not vacuum assisted.
    
    
• BrakeSafe Braking System... http://www.blueox.us/Brakes/brakesafe.htm
  
  
  • Does not tap into the towed cars braking system.
    
    
• BrakeBuddy... http://www.brakebuddy.com/Products/BrakeBuddy-Vantage-Select-Boost
  
  
  • Does not tap into the towed cars braking system... Offers Full Braking or Proportional Braking.
    
    
• MountainMaster Tow Brake... http://www.towbrake.com/mmaster.html
  
  
  • Does not tap into the towed cars braking system... unit will trickle charge the towed vehicle battery.

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