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When you press the brakes in your RV, you want your towed car to respond instantly and evenly. The Demco Air Force One uses the same air pressure from your RV’s brake line to apply your toad’s brakes with matching force and timing. It reacts in real time—not from inertia—so you won’t get false braking on dips or bumps. This setup meets FMVSS safety guidelines for air-braked RVs and keeps your stops smooth, straight, and predictable across every mile.
If the unthinkable happens and the towed vehicle separates, the integrated breakaway switch activates the system’s reserve air supply and brings it to a controlled stop. The Air Force One also seals off the motorhome’s air supply in a breakaway, keeping your coach brakes fully functional. It’s a full-circle safeguard that gives confidence every time you roll out.
Most braking systems push hard on the pedal because the engine’s vacuum boost isn’t active while towing. The Air Force One solves that by reactivating your vehicle’s vacuum-assist system through the same air pressure used for braking. The result is natural, even braking with less strain on the pedal and less wear on your car’s components.
An LED indicator light mounts in the towed car, showing exactly when the brakes are applied. It connects to a reed switch on the actuator, so you’re seeing real pedal movement—not just activation signals. The light is visible through the RV’s backup camera, or you can add the wireless Coachlink (SM99945, sold separately) for an easy in-cab view.
Once installed, the Air Force One is always ready. Its low-profile components mount permanently under your hood and along the RV’s frame, staying out of sight and out of the way. Just connect the coiled air hose and the breakaway cable, and the system automatically powers on. No setup, no bulky boxes—just plug in and go.
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.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
92% were satisfied with this product
8% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
Great product, quick delivery, and well packed. Nicole helped me understand everything I needed for my supplemental braking system.
This system has worked great for my flat towing of my Ford Ranger. Had my local dealer install the system for me and have had not one single issue with the operation.
Just finished a 10,000 mile trip trailering a 2014 Jeep Wrangler with Air Force One braking system and we are very satisfied with the product. No issues or failures and once installed, it is very easy to use. We can connect and disconnect from the Air Force One and our Blue Ox towing system in 2-3 minutes.
Joe T.
5/17/2020
After a year, we are still happy with the AF One. We had one issue where it didn’t work and it turned out we let a little grime get into the air fitting. Took some time to figure it out but we cleaned with compressed air and the problem went away. Lessen learned it to keep rubber covers on the air fittings when not in use.
I purchased a Blue Ox base plate, Air Force One braking system, and a light kit for my 2013 Durango. I could have not asked for an easier process with selecting and ordering, also the tutorials and videos were a great help in determining what was the best system for me . Everything arrived as planned and in great condition. This is not my first time using etrailer.com and my prior experience was equally good.
Ken G.
10/23/2017
After using the items I reviewed, about 6,000 miles, I am more than satisfied. The towing setup is easy to hook up and unhook and the braking system is second to none. All of the installation was completed by myself and a friend, both of us have a technical background him more than me and we found the videos of the installation extremely helpful.Thank you for following up and providing excellent products as well as support services.
Installation was easy, compact and out of the way. Had a little problem finding controller location due to clearance. Ended up using velcro on top of the fuse box to hold the controller in place.
Randal
8/17/2023
Questionable? This year it Felt like the truck in tow was pushing me during mid to heavy braking. Pulled over a couple of times to verify pedal was being pushed down. Verified vacuum lines from your system to the brake vacuum line was tight. It acted like the vacuum assist was not working. I need to find time to ask you about this problem.
Katrina B.
9/18/2023
Randal
10/23/2024
1st year it worked great. 2nd year felt like I was getting pushed when braking. 3 year I was either getting used to the pushing feeling or it started working. Checked all the air lines... No leaks. Vent seems to be blowing out more air? Before next year think I will checkadj back brake shoes. Maybe that is what is causing the push feeling from my Dodge Dakota.
Excellent quality parts
Easy to install and works great.
The Air Force one was not an easy install for me because I’m old and I don’t get around like I used to but it was not impossible. However, in my opinion, it is the best supplemental braking system for flat towing. The best part about it is my Allegro Bus came with the system already installed on the coach and once you install it on your towed vehicle you don’t have to deal with any of that to get on the road. If it takes me more than ten minutes to hook everything up and get in the coach ready to drive away then I've done something wrong.
Thomas
11/6/2024
Love the Air Force One system. You install it and you’re done. Very effective. Couldn’t be happier.
Pulled entire length of route 66 and then some. We had absolutely no issues with all of our etrailer equipment. Thanks for all of your help.
I’ve fitted it to my Jeep Wrangler then taken of and fitted to our new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Works perfectly . I had used our 53ft coach without it and in an emergency stop, was a problem stopping in the rain. Now we have had a couple of fast stops and it works great, would be without it.
I've had an Demco Stay-n-play for years....I got the AFO for my new Cherokee and so far the installation has been fairly routine. I've called Demco for Tech assistance and they've been very helpful.
Ron
3/19/2025
Not well. Just took my first long trip. Batterydrained to the point it wouldnt recharge. Had to buy new one. I had line from RV to towed vehicle, but it still discharged.
William was very knowledgeable and was a great help in educating me on the items needed. I look forward to working with William and Etrailer in the Future. Thanks!
I purchased this as part of a package which included; Hitch and wiring for my 2022 Equinox, Base plate, Tow Bar, brake System and connecting air hose, break away cables, LED tow lights with wiring harness, and a trickle charger to keep the Equinox battery from going dead while I was towing it behind my class A RV.
I had etrailer do the install of all the components on my car and RV. All the workmanship was excellent and done in the amount of time they said it would take. Also because they did not have a video of this equipment being put on this year and model vehicle, I gave them permission to make a video(which added a extra day and a half to the install)and the installation was free. Everything has worked perfectly and I couldn't be happier. Etrailer is my go to for anything towing and also RV parts.
Jay
1/7/2025
I love being able to unhook the car and get in and go with out fumbling around with moving a break system in the drivers seat and unhooking wires. I only have the one car to tow so I would not need to move it to another car. When slowing down or coming to a stop I cant even tell the car is back there. I cant imagine not having a breaking system let alone one I had to move everytime I got in the car
Works great with air brake system on my RV. Really like the plug-in and go. Moderately easy to install and had good installation instructions. Wished I had gotten the unit sooner. Tech staff were great at helping me locate main air supply on my rv. Would highly recommend. I installed unit on '23 Jeep Rubicon and 2003 40'Beaver motorhome.
Fred
3/24/2025
It has worked great. We tow a 24 Jeep Rubicon behind an 03 Beaver. I installed the unit myself. Had to be creative on location to mount controller but had no problem getting it installed. I would recommend this unit to everyone using air brakes.
Kate F.
3/24/2025
Thank you very much for checking in with me. We've had good luck with all the Demco equipment we purchased!
Since everything we bought was Demco, I would have appreciated a better solution for mounting the AirForce One/umbilical electrical connections L-bracket to the Demco base plate. Same goes for the AirForce One emergency brake-away switch. I understand that every vehicle is unique and may not be able to accommodate mounting these devices on the base plate, but in the case of our base plate which was specifically for the Ford Maverick, there was plenty of room for these devices to be mounted to the base plate. Since I didn't think it was wise for me to drill into the base plate without knowing the specifics of where it would be safe to drill without reducing the strength/integrity of it, I ended up tie wrapping these devices to the base plate. By using heavy duty tie wraps on the brake/electrical L-bracket and a single medium duty tie wrap on the brake-away switch so it could swivel, I was able to achieve what I wanted. But having the L-bracket mounted with threaded bolts and a single point bolted swivel mount for the brake-away switch would have been preferred.
We love our Air Force One braking system. The confidence it was done right by etrailer allows us to tow our 4x4 van without worrying about it!
Vehicle 2016 GMC Canyon Diesel.
Installation of the SMI Air Force One supplementary braking system was not too difficult. The instructions from SMI were good as was the video from etrailer. The only reason that I didn't give it a 5 star is because the air cylinder installation on the brake pedal was complicated by an unusual shape of the brake pedal arm. I eventually found a solution.
Tapping into the truck's vacuum line was a little difficult but the kit included everything I needed to T into the vacuum line and install the check valves.
All in all not a bad installation, this summer we'll see how it holds up.
I wouldn't use anything else! Once this system is installed it's literally plug-and-play. Nothing to move or install into the car, each time you tow. Just plug it into the coach's air break system and you're done. Install video from etrailer made it even easier to complete.
You do need a bit of mechanical guidance/assistance as you're connecting to both your vehicles and coaches breaking system but it has worked flawlessly for over 11,000 miles and in some pretty intense traffic.
"Out of sight, out of mind" would be the best description I could offer for the Air Force One supplemental braking system! When properly installed, it's effective as well as quick and easy to hook up. Connect the tow bar, safety cables, safety switch cable, tow plug and air line, you're done! Five minutes at most.
I did add a couple of features to my towing system:
1. Using a relay and the extra wire in the connector to the coach, I installed the LED indicator strip on the dash of the coach; no need to rely on the back-up camera to verify operation of the brake cylinder. Coaches that have a tow connector are usually equipped with a power wire to the cab for electric brakes - this wire is a good way to get the indicator signal to the front of the motorhome.
2. I used the 12 V power connection from the coach to connect a charging wire to the car battery to ensure it would not discharge; I used an auto-resetting breaker with a rating below the glass fuse in the 12 V circuit to prevent a fuse from blowing if the charge current gets to high.
In all, a great investment! I have an article I wrote on the install if anyone is interested.
I believe the AFO is the best supplemental braking system for air brakes on the market today. Probably the most expensive also. A lot of work to install but a good system that is truly proportional and safe to use with an air brake system.
Bruce P.
12/14/2021
We have used our AFO for over 12,000 miles towing a 2018 Chevrolet Colorado. It seems to be working fine but is really hard to know for sure. It is difficult to see the LED light strip in the camera during bright daylight. When I installed the AFO, etrailer was very helpful even returning my call on a Sunday. I also added a plastic stub next to the connectors on both the RV and toad that very conveniently stores the plastic cover when the brakes are not connected so they do not get lost. I tried to contact etrailer with my simple improvement but no one seemed interested.
AF1 is amazing so far. I did the installation by myself. I have a 2014 Honda CR-V and bought it for towing. Watching the video helped me through it. The car installation portion was pretty straight forward. The video is better than the instructions overall, but I read through the entire instructions before beginning. I was able to install the RV tank without putting the rig on a lift. Depending on how big you are and flexibility, it can be done with the RV on the ground...it just takes longer. Also, I would recommend knowing where you are going to mount your RV tank. I mounted the tank near the rear and didn’t have enough brake tube after doing the car. Picked up an extra 20 ft at Autozone or order the tube with etrailer.
The customer service center is very helpful too. Many thanks to Mariah for the outstanding assistance. Finally, I would say that if you order the brackets to mount the emergency brake away for your car, you may have to cut them down with a grinder. It is so much nicer not putting the brake buddy in the car now. Looking forward to enjoying it on trips. I drove the rig about 20 miles yesterday, and the light came on and I honestly couldn’t tell the car was back there other than looking in the video and seeing the light on the car during braking. Highly recommend this unit.
Darryl W.
7/28/2021
5.0 Product is working great! No issues. Minor adjustment to brake cable after a year. It took 5 mins.
Installed it myself and with the exception of nervously making sure that I cut the correct air brake lines, it was a good installation experience.
I haven't installed it yet but expect to enjoy it based on other review. While watching the videos to help me make my decision, I thought the unit I was buying had the wireless dash monitor as compared to the LED that mounts on the towed vehicle mirror. When I opened the box, I realized what I bought. I see you can purchase the dash monitor separately so ordering it today. If you want the dash monitor, make sure you purchase the correct kit.
Easy install. Works like a champ. I'm not thrilled with their proprietary air hose connectors. I ordered a spare hose to have on hand.
Gwendolyn Y.
5/4/2026
That's a really smart idea to have an extra hose. I have heard a few cases of them growing legs and walking off magically at a pit stop.
This is the second Air Force one I have purchased. The installation instructions are great. Etrailer installation videos are very helpful. I would highly recommend this braking system if you’re in the market.( and have air brakes)
Kate F.
9/17/2025
can definitely see why you’d want to install this one again! It’s also our installers’ favorite system to work with. I’m sure it gives you peace of mind knowing your wife, as a traveling nurse, has the best products to keep her flat towing safe and reliable =)
Condition: Surface Scratches
Notes: Item has minor cosmetic scratches.
Condition: Surface Scratches
Notes: Item has minor cosmetic scratches on the operating unit. Otherwise unused and in good condition for its application.
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Robert
3/8/2022
After one year and more than 10k miles have not had a single problem with the Air Force One braking system on my 2019 Ford Ranger.