Best Flat Tow Braking System for 2021 Buick Encore GX and Motorhome with Hydraulic Brakes  

I first purchased the stay-n-play then looked at the installation instructions. Then looked into having it installed, they wanted $2800 minimum. I returned it and purchased the Blue Ox. My son helped me install it on a 2014 Ford Explorer. Very happy with it. My other son also purchased the Blue ox for his 2024 Jeep Cherokee and he has no complaints. Go with the Blue Ox. It’s easy to set up when towing.

I had both systems and if I had to do it again I’d go with the portable patriot. Takes two minutes to hook it up and if you change cars later you can take it with you for the new ride. I also think its more like your regular brakes. When you hit the brakes theres no lag or hanging up when letting off the brakes. I use it in a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland and love it. In my built in unit that i had on a Jeep Rubicon you could feel the jeep braking before the coach would. I didn’t like that especially going down hills.

Love our Blue Ox towing system… worked flawlessly towing our 2013 Wrangler over 3,000 miles this winter. Easy to set up and remove….totally recommend this system for flat towing!

We have used our Patriot Braking system on a 2019 Ford Fiesta and a 2017 Chevy Equinox with no problems except set-up on the Equinox. I solved that problem by reading the manual. The brake setting needs to be hybrid for the Equinox. We tow behind a 2021 Odyssey 24B, with a Blue Ox tow bar setup. No issues encountered so far.

I can't compare the two systems, but I can describe our experience with the Blue Ox Patriot. We've just returned from our 2nd southern migration with many trips in between for a total of 10K total miles. We used the Patriot system towing a Jeep Cherokee JL 4 door for all of those miles. The Patriot system hasn't been perfect, but support from eTrailer and Blue Ox has been outstanding! The Blue Ox Patriot monitor failed to power up at about the 1 year mark, and the Patriot brake actuator became nearly impossible to set up at about 18 months. For the failed monitor, we received a new or reconditioned unit from Blue Ox within 3 days, but correcting the actuator setup problem required returning the unit to Blue Ox for 'service.' We dropped off the actuator at FedEx on a Tuesday afternoon and received the serviced unit on the following Saturday. Blue Ox called after the actuator service to explain what they'd done without suggesting the reason(s) for failure. The unit now sets up first time every time, but we're stationary for a few weeks. I'd like to be able to report that the failures are behind us and won't repeat, but I won't know that for a few years. Whatever happens, I'm confident that Blue Ox will stand by their product and their commitment to customer satisfaction.