Best Jeep CJ-5 Flat Tow Brake Systems

The braking system and the lights are working, one year after I bought them. However, I am towing a 2016 Keep Patriot, and about 2_500 miles after install, the system started making an annoying clicking noise when I enter the Patriot, which stops after about 10 seconds and then starts up again, usually a minute or so later, for another 10 or 15 seconds. etrailer first said that they had never heard of.such a thing, then said that there are otherwise comments for Keep Patriot owners on forums. Still have no.fix. Also, at first I did not know that to store the tow bar, it must be pulled up so that the post fitting can moe to the position where it fits into the hole.in the smaii yellow bracket, which works well when used correctly. And store the coiled.wide in your tower vehicle.to prevent corrosion which will interfere with its function.

I installed the InvisiBrake on my 2019 Ford Fiesta SE Hatchback with the great help from my wife. Everything worked fine with the exception of the dash mounted light in the Coach. The light never would illuminate even though the brake was working perfectly. Spent many hours on the phone with Roadmaster tech service personnel. I finally gave up after hours of troubleshooting and installed a Roadmaster Brake Lite Switch. Problem solved, so I thought. Worked well for a couple thousand miles and then it didn't. I bought a new Brake Lite Switch which is yet to be installed. The InvisiBrake installation on the Fiesta is tricky because the firewall is completely covered with parts and wires. I was able to locate an area where a wiring harness exited and run all wires and vacuum line along side the harness. The InvisiBrake is mounted under the driver seat toward the back. I use a small mirror from the back seat floor to read the dial on the face of the InvisiBrake when I want to check the pressure.

My husband installed this himself and it took a couple of weekends to finish. It works great and was the perfect solution for our flat-tow set-up.

I had my local Cadillac dealer install the braking system in my Mini and it was done perfectly. Now I just flip a switch and the braking system is activated. I did have them hook up an extra wire on the RV harness. They ran the center 12 volt source to the Mini battery. That way, the system doesn't drain the battery on long hauls. An interesting side note: the system takes an extra half second to release the brake pressure to the car after my RV brake pedal is released. Therefore, if the pressure is set too high, you feel the car putting significant drag on the RV. This really helped to setup the system initially and is a daily reminder that the system is working as a little bit of drag for a half second is normal.

Lasted 1 year and started to intermittently stop working. We thought it was the power cord so we replaced it. Now, 2 years after more significant use, it doesn’t work. Actually had our tow vehicle crash into our rig breaking our etrailer tow bars, put a hole in our radiator, ruined the grill and fiberglass damage. If not for the upgraded chains we use replacing the cheap cables etrailer tow bars come with, our suv would have crashed into another car or worse rolled off the George Washington bridge! We were in heave NY traffic! Thankfully we got to the shoulder without damage to anyone else around us, BY drivers are not as mean as people say! Do NOT but etrailer tow bars or this brake buddy! Not worth the risk and look at the cost! I could see if we chose some cheap knockoff product, but this is significant money spent!! RV is a 2021 Tiffin Phaeton and etrailer tow bars are a year old.

Plug keeps getting loose on unit. I drilled a hole in the case and installed a tie wrap attaching wire to case no more movement of plug works great otherwise

Very touchy on where it is sitting on the floor in front of the seat. Must be lined up almost perfectly. Heavy and clumsy to get in and out and connected to brake pedal. Need to add an on/off switch to the power line on the controller otherwise it is transmitting a signal on Jeep brands all the time that interferes with the remote key lock. Quite disappointed with hit and miss braking operation while in use and sending braking signal to driver when it is not braking.

I bought a complete flat tow parts fir a jeep wrangler. I decided I could install myself. Your installation videos made it nearly a piece of cake. From a quote I got from a RV service business, I saved several thousand dollars installing myself. etrailer is the place to for your RV needs!

The Brake Buddy has been working great. I just wish they had made the plug a more standard mount. It doesn't fit the standard mount point on my Roadmaster baseplate. I had to make a little bracket to adapt it.

I choose the Brake Buddy Stealth for my 2021 Jeep Wrangler because I wanted a “stay in place” brake system and felt it would be a clean looking installation. I finished the toad side of the installation today and thought I’d leave some notes on what turned out to be a bigger project than I’d anticipated. Again, this is my experience on the 2021 Jeep Wrangler 2-door. Your experience on other vehicles may vary. I started this install after installing a Demco Tabless Base Plate. Right out of the blocks, there’s really no convenient location to mount the cable connector to the Demco baseplate. I chose to mount it to under side of the bumper on the driver’s side. To provide clearance and a route for the wires, I had to cut a notch into the plastic air dam. I used one of the already screw screw holes and used self tapping screws in the other three locations. For added strength I epoxied the connector to the bumper as well. Since the bumper would be unremovable if the connector were hardwired, I added a waterproof connector. The kit is stingy with wire lengths, so I substituted my own wire. The Stealth unit itself i mounted beneath the driver’s seat. Don’t be fooled into believing there is clearance when testing with the driver’s seat positioned for rear seat access. Once the seat is returned to normal operation it lowers a bit and the box keeps the seat from being move forehand aft. I solved the problem by installing 5/8” thick nylon washers under the rear end of the seat slides. I also cut away a bit of the carpet under the front, inboard corner of the box. You will need to remove the driver’s seat in order to attach the front screws of the box. Be sure to disconnect and isolate the neutral battery terminals to prevent inadvertent air bag discharge. After removing the interior trim from the A-pillar, the door sill, and the driver side foot well, The wiring and cable tucked nicely away along with the OEM wiring and wiring for my taillights. I mounted the pulley horizontally behind the brake pedal. Installing the vacuum pump was my biggest worry and challenge. Instructions are to zip tie it “somewhere”. That seemed pretty casual for a safety system. I chose, instead, to fabricate an aluminum bracket that attaches to the lip of the engine compartment and to the wheel well (this latter attachment point is necessary to keep the pump from vibrating). Finally, the kit comes with 3/8” fittings to tap into the brake booster vacuum lines. The Jeep, however, uses 8mm nylon tubing. Brake Buddy, via etrailer.com, stated that the tubing would stretch and all would be good. Again, this felt casual for a safety system. Instead, I purchased an 8mm check valve and a 8-6-8mm barbed tee through Another online retailer to do the job right. I had to heat the Jeep tubing to fit even the 8mm tee, so the is no way the larger 3/8” fittings would have worked. See photo of my finished vacuum line installation. Bottom line, it was a POA install, but looks great. Hopefully it will stop the Jeep when towing. I’ll find out soon. :D