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Stay on budget with this proportional braking system. More reliable than a portable system, cheaper than a permanent one. Pressure reducer protects cars with active or continuous-power-assist brakes, such as hybrids, from damage.
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A braking system is a must when towing a vehicle behind your motorhome. Without it, the weight of the towed car can create a safety hazard, strain your RV's brakes, and affect the warranty of both your car and motorhome. Most states legally require a supplemental braking system, so if you don't use one and you end up in an accident (which is more likely since your RV takes longer to come to a full stop), your insurance and liability headache just doubled. You also won't have any breakaway system; if there's an accidental disconnect, there's nothing to bring your car to a stop.
This simple device ensures that the BrakeMaster will work with vehicles that have active or continuous-power-assist brakes, most commonly found on hybrids. Active or continuous-power-assist brakes maintain braking ability even when the engine is off, so that minimal pressure is needed to engage the brakes. Many braking systems are designed to work with cars that don't have active brakes; on a car that does, they have the potential to use too much force and cause damage. The pressure reducer lets you set the BrakeMaster to the right pressure to avoid overbraking.
Roadmaster's BrakeMaster offers you truly proportional braking, meaning that when you apply the brakes in your motorhome, the braking system will engage the brakes of the toad (towed vehicle) at the same time, with the same intensity. Whether it's a gradual slow down to a red light or a sudden stop in an emergency, the toad and the RV will brake together.
This is a huge advantage over inertia-based systems, where the braking is triggered by sensing the forward momentum of your toad. While often effective, this method creates the potential for false braking, where something as simple as rough terrain can activate the system when it's not needed. Not only does this make for a rough ride, but it can prematurely wear down your toad's brakes over time. The BrakeMaster will only turn on when you need it, so you can avoid any false braking.
To achieve proportional braking, the system connects directly to the air brakes on your motorhome, typically by using an open port on the air brake relay valve. An air line routes back to a quick coupler on the rear of the motorhome, mirrored by a quick coupler on the front of the toad. The RV's coupler connects to the car's coupler with the included air jumper.
Another line then runs from the quick coupler at the front of your toad to the reservoir of the breakaway system, which mounts under your hood. If your car ever accidentally becomes disconnected while you're towing, this breakaway system will trigger and send a reserve of pressurized air to the brake pedal to bring the car to a stop.
From there, an air line connects to the brake pressure reducer, also mounted under the hood, and then down to the quick coupler attached to a bracket under the dash. When you're ready to flat tow, attach the actuating cylinder to the driver's seat and the brake pedal, plug the cylinder into the coupler, and connect the RV and toad with the air jumper. Voila, the whole system is connected.
When you put on the brakes in your motorhome, the same pressurized air that passes through the air brake relay valve to the RV's brakes travels almost instantaneously to the cylinder clamped to the toad's brake pedal. The cylinder actuates and presses the pedal down, braking the car at the same rate and with the same intensity as the RV.
The BrakeMaster is a hybrid between a portable system and a permanent system. Most of the components are permanently installed on the RV and in the toad, while the actuating cylinder is removable. Attached to the driver's seat and the brake pedal, the actuator is more secure than the typical portable system and has more accurate, reliable braking.
For most installations, you'll be able to connect directly to an open port in the air brake relay valve with the included fittings. It should be identified as the "service brake" port; if it isn't, use the steps in the instructions to identify the correct port. On the odd chance there is no open port, you'll have to pick up an extra T-connector.
The breakaway system installs under the hood of your towed car. It's best if the reservoir is mounted vertically so it's easy to drain any moisture that builds up over time, but it can be tricky to find a spot in the engine bay where you can access the drain valve on the bottom, so make sure you plan ahead. You also need to find a spot where it won't be exposed to any direct heat or moving parts.
Next, mount the reducer under the hood. Select a mounting surface that's strong enough to hold the bracket in place and somewhere where it's out of the way of any moving parts. You also need easy access to the control knob and the air pressure test port on the front of the bracket.
To mount the actuating cylinder, you're going to need to install a custom seat adapter (sold separately). If there isn't one available for your year/make/model, you can use a universal floor plate (450650-01 - sold separately) instead.
Installing the BrakeMaster is a big undertaking, but once it's done, setup only takes a few minutes. To connect the actuator, just clamp it around your brake pedal and pin the other side to the bracket under your driver's seat, and plug in to the quick connect under the dash. Plug the patch cord into the quick couplers on your RV and toad, and you'll be ready to flat tow.
While this system is a more budget-friendly option, there are more connection points than comparable braking systems and they are more likely to develop leaks. It can also be difficult to find space in your toad's engine bay for all the components, especially on newer models. The complicated installation requires careful precision, so you'll really need to know what you're doing. This is not for the casual DIYer!
Included with this system is Roadmaster's BrakeAway. A breakaway system is an absolute must for safe flat towing. In an emergency situation where the toad becomes detached from the RV, the breakaway switch will immediately activate the brakes and bring your vehicle to a stop.
The BrakeMaster also comes with an indicator light for safety and peace of mind. This light, mounted on the dash of your RV, is easy to see while you're driving, and will light up when the brake pedal of your toad is depressed. This lets you know that the system is working and your toad is in fact braking.
Most supplemental braking systems have a method of letting you know you when they activate, but not all of them are checking if the toad is actually braking. There could be an error that causes the system to activate without actually applying the toad's brakes. Or your brake pedal might actually be continuously depressed when it shouldn't be. But unless you have a system that's monitoring your vehicle, you won't know it until the damage is already done.
The indicator light that comes with the BrakeMaster connects directly to your toad's brake light switch. That way the indicator only lights up when your brake pedal is depressed and a signal is sent to the brake lights.
Flat towing can be a much more convenient way to take your car RVing with you than using a trailer or a tow dolly. It'll save you storage space both at home and at the campsite, and it takes less time and hassle to hook up.
To flat tow your vehicle, there are 5 basic components you're going to need: a tow bar, a base plate kit, a safety cable set, tow bar wiring, and a flat tow braking system.
| For the RV | Between the RV and Towed Car | For the Towed Car |
|---|---|---|
| Hitch | Tow bar | Base plate |
| Wiring plug | Safety cables | Braking system |
| Wiring adapter cord | Wiring kit/diodes |
The custom-fit base plate installs on the frame of your toad so you can connect the car to your RV with a tow bar. Hook up safety cables between the vehicles to ensure that the toad does not separate from the motorhome if the tow bar becomes detached. Tow bar wiring syncs your vehicle's signal lights with your motorhome's tail lights, as required by law in most states. Finally, the flat tow braking system - also required in most states - activates the brakes in the toad when you hit the brakes in the RV, making for smoother, safer braking, and preventing wear on your motorhome.
Alternate Instructions
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 Customer Reviews)
Stay on budget with this proportional braking system. More reliable than a portable system, cheaper than a permanent one. Pressure reducer protects cars with active or continuous-power-assist brakes, such as hybrids, from damage.
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