Seeking Tow Equipment & Vehicle Model Recommendation

[flyboy013]

We did a similar thing, but put a LED up on the dash to show when the brakes are applied. IIRC, we used the blue and black wires for the connection.

TJ

Yeah, I decided that the light at the feet wasn't the best place to be looking to verify if the toad braking system was working. I did a similar dash LED mounting. Mine was mounted in the plate of an unused button. May need to move it in the future if I decide to install a switch there.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Yeah, I decided that the light at the feet wasn't the best place to be looking to verify if the toad braking system was working. I did a similar dash LED mounting. Mine was mounted in the plate of an unused button. May need to move it in the future if I decide to install a switch there.

Very nice install! I would probably have used that location if I had thought of it. Easy place to mount the LED, convenient to the necessary connections and fully reversible. Glad I didn't put mine there, though, as I just used that location to install a dash camera on/off switch.

TJ

 

[MapNerd]

Flat towed a 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk for year one. Great car and zero issues, was just too small for our needs. If you’re traveling with larger kids or adults, or kids in car seats, go bigger. We recently traded in for a 2020 F-150 Supercrew and we love it and wish we’d done it sooner. Put a tonneau cover on it and all that bed space is extra storage. Everyone has tons of space and the interior is right on par with a well equipped luxury vehicle and boy howdy, that 3.5L twin turbo v6 ecoboost engine can put you back in your seat and turn your knuckles white real quick. Dead simple to set up for towing. The Cherokee had a confusing set of steps to follow and a tiny button that had to be pressed with a ballpoint pen.

We use the Air Force One for its simplicity, with a Roadmaster Nighthawk towbar and baseplate. The towbar is nice because it has integrated LEDs on the side. More Illumination after dusk is always better, though we try to get off the road soon after.

My Jeep setup was installed at *gasp* Camping World in VA. They did a great job.

I traded the Jeep for my F-150 while having my warranty work done in Nappanee. Dan’s was booked solid til November so I had the baseplate and wiring harness installed at Elkhart Hitch Shop, and the AFO installed at Cummins ONAN Elkhart. Both did excellent work though it would have been nice to do it all at one place. Elkhart Hitch doesn’t do AFO installs. Cummins said they would but it would cost me more than it should. They are an AFO dealer so they actually do those on the semi-regular. Baseplate installs they are less familiar with so it would have taken the tech more time, and since they charge a flat labor rate they said look elsewhere first. Nice that they were honest about it from the start.

 

[Desertboyz]

Is it shameful and flagrant to share a link to our Jeep Cherokee Limited/High Altitude for sale? Flat Tow Ready - equipped with a Roadmaster Baseplate, Invisibrake, and the Additional Jeep wiring harness assuring no dreaded "Death Wobble". Extended warranty to 2024 (Transferrable), plus 3 Prepaid Maintenance Services (Transferrable). We've enjoy this vehicle and it's been a fantastic Flat Tow vehicle but have a 2021 Jeep Gladiator on order.

2016 JEEP CHEROKEE LIMITED/HIGH ALTITUDE 4 X 4

2016 Jeep Cherokee Limited/High Altitude Package White/Black Leather *** 35,045 Miles *** Great Condition! READY TO GO! - ROADMASTER BASEPLATE; INVISIBRAKE; AND ADDITIONAL JEEP WIRING HARNESS (NO DEATH WOBBLE!) V6 with 9 Speed Automatic...

rvforums.com

 

[CaptainGizmo]

The AF1 system also has an LED array that is stuck to the back of the TOAD’s rear-view mirror. This is activated by a micro-switch on the actually brake pedal air ram. So, you have an absolute way of knowing that the brake pedal is being pulled, not just a brake light coming on.

When brakes are applied, the red LED array is easily seen in the Rear camera monitor.

 

[MapNerd]

Is it shameful and flagrant to share a link to our Jeep Cherokee Limited/High Altitude for sale?

I don’t think so, as long as there are no issues with it and/or you are upfront with a potential buyer with any there are. Maybe also post it in the classifieds.

 

[flyboy013]

The AF1 system also has an LED array that is stuck to the back of the TOAD’s rear-view mirror. This is activated by a micro-switch on the actually brake pedal air ram. So, you have an absolute way of knowing that the brake pedal is being pulled, not just a brake light coming on.

When brakes are applied, the red LED array is easily seen in the Rear camera monitor.

So this is where having an experienced installer is helpful. The AF1 system comes with a LED strip that can be placed on the toad’s rear view mirror such that you can see it via the coach’s rear camera (assuming glare isn’t a problem). At Dan’s they instead used the wires that run from the base of the coach’s steering wheel to the toad electrical connection to install the LED strip to shine at the drivers feet. While this is an improvement, the mod that TJ and I did improves on that such that you get a single LED that’s mounted on the dash.

Bottom line is that installers that are familiar with the system being stalled will generally do a better job as they know the various ins and outs. Another takeaway - these forums definitely help you apply lessons learned from others.

 

[MapNerd]

So this is where having an experienced installer is helpful. The AF1 system comes with a LED strip that can be placed on the toad’s rear view mirror such that you can see it via the coach’s rear camera (assuming glare isn’t a problem). At Dan’s they instead used the wires that run from the base of the coach’s steering wheel to the toad electrical connection to install the LED strip to shine at the drivers feet. While this is an improvement, the mod that TJ and I did improves on that such that you get a single LED that’s mounted on the dash.

Bottom line is that installers that are familiar with the system being stalled will generally do a better job as they know the various ins and outs. Another takeaway - these forums definitely help you apply lessons learned from others.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding but I’m not sure that is as surefire an indicator as the intended install. It might be easier to see the indicator, but if I am understandig correctly it sounds more likely to indicate the tow vehicles brakes are active when they might not be.

The way the LED reed switch works on the AFO is that there is a magnet attached to the rear of a piston, inside of the the air cylinder mounted near your tow vehicle’s brake pedal. When air is sent into that cylinder by the operating unit, the air pressure pushes that piston out of the cylinder, depressing your brake pedal. As that piston is forced to extend outside of the cylinder, the magnet mounted inside the cylinder to the rear of the piston moves away from the rear of the cylinder where the LED reed switch is mounted, and towards the brake pedal. The reed switch is activated when the magnet moves more than 0.010” of travel away from the reed switch, or just under an 1/8” (see page 25-26 of the Demco AFO install guide for more details). This means that the LED reed switch is activated by a mechanical process that almost completely eliminates any chance of false indication, save a few very specific circumstances that are easy to test for and easy to remedy if found.

The point I’m making is that it sounds like this mod may have circumvented that mechanical process in favor of tapping into the electrical wiring harness that sends the brake light signal to the two vehicle, in order to have a light inside the coach which is easier to see. While I can understand why one might do that, you should be aware that it may be more prone to indicating false positives (indicating brakes active when they aren’t), or positive negatives (indicating brakes inactive when they are) in the event of an electrical issue.

More likely though, I’m not understanding your post correctly.

 

[flyboy013]

Instead of the reed switch powering the LED mounted on the toad’s rear view mirror, the signal is sent via an unused pin in the coach/toad connection and up to the base of the steering wheel where the rest of the 7 pins terminate. The dash mounted LED is then connected to that otherwise unused wire.
We still have the benefit of knowing when the toad brake pedal is activated, the LED is just remotely located near the driver as opposed to having to look for the light in the rear view camera.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Instead of the reed switch powering the LED mounted on the toad’s rear view mirror, the signal is sent via an unused pin in the coach/toad connection and up to the base of the steering wheel where the rest of the 7 pins terminate. The dash mounted LED is then connected to that otherwise unused wire.
We still have the benefit of knowing when the toad brake pedal is activated, the LED is just remotely located near the driver as opposed to having to look for the light in the rear view camera.

You beat me to it! We used the same setup as @flyboy013.

TJ

 

[MapNerd]

So am I right to say that in your setup, there is assumption that if your coach is sending the electrical brake signal to your 7-pin connector, which in turn lights up your LED at the driver’s seat as well as your towed vehicles brake lights, that your towed vehicle’s brakes are applied, even though that may not actually be the case. The coach could be sending the electrical signal, which lights up your towed vehicles brake lights and your LED at the driver’s seat, but air isn’t making it to the operating unit or cylinder, or it is and perhaps the actuator is stuck, whatever the issue, the brake pedal is not actually being applied - or air was never released and the brakes are applied.

In both of those cases, your LED would not indicate any issue.

To be clear, I am not trying to say this is particularly unsafe or anything of that nature. There are several ways to ice the cake, each has its own strengths and opportunities. If anything, I’m just trying to point out the limitation here so that others considering the system can make an informed choice as to how they want theirs set up and so that if this never occurred to you, well it does now and you can decide whether or not to change anything.

 

[flyboy013]

So am I right to say that in your setup, there is assumption that if your coach is sending the electrical brake signal to your 7-pin connector, which in turn lights up your LED at the driver’s seat as well as your towed vehicles brake lights, that your towed vehicle’s brakes are applied, even though that may not actually be the case.

No. That is incorrect. The coach does not send an electrical signal to the toad via the 7-pin connector to have the brakes applied.

When the coach's brakes are applied, air is provided from the coach's ping tank to the toad's AFO system which applies the toad brakes; just as the system is designed by SMI. When the brakes are applied, the reed switch closes and sends a signal to the LED which has been remoted to the coach as opposed to hanging from the toad's rear view mirror.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

So am I right to say that in your setup, there is assumption that if your coach is sending the electrical brake signal to your 7-pin connector, which in turn lights up your LED at the driver’s seat as well as your towed vehicles brake lights, that your towed vehicle’s brakes are applied, even though that may not actually be the case. The coach could be sending the electrical signal, which lights up your towed vehicles brake lights and your LED at the driver’s seat, but air isn’t making it to the operating unit or cylinder, or it is and perhaps the actuator is stuck, whatever the issue, the brake pedal is not actually being applied - or air was never released and the brakes are applied.

In both of those cases, your LED would not indicate any issue.

To be clear, I am not trying to say this is particularly unsafe or anything of that nature. There are several ways to ice the cake, each has its own strengths and opportunities. If anything, I’m just trying to point out the limitation here so that others considering the system can make an informed choice as to how they want theirs set up and so that if this never occurred to you, well it does now and you can decide whether or not to change anything.

Well, I can never be absolutely sure that the brakes on the toad are being applied; the master cylinder could freeze up or lose its fluid, all four brake cylinders could freeze up, etc., etc. All I can go by is whether the toad brake pedal is being activated at that point in time. In my system, the signal that is triggered by the micro switch on the pedal activator is fed to the 6-pin connector on the toad and on to the 7-pin connector on the coach.

As part of our departure checklist, I physically inspect the pedal actuator cylinder (since I once had a problem with the pull cable) and observe the pedal actuation when my co-driver operates the coach brakes. If the toad brake pedal depresses, I consider that it is working correctly.

TJ

 

[MapNerd]

No. That is incorrect. The coach does not send an electrical signal to the toad via the 7-pin connector to have the brakes applied.

When the coach's brakes are applied, air is provided from the coach's ping tank to the toad's AFO system which applies the toad brakes; just as the system is designed by SMI. When the brakes are applied, the reed switch closes and sends a signal to the LED which has been remoted to the coach as opposed to hanging from the toad's rear view mirror.

I knew I was missing something. You tapped into the reed switch and are sending power back to the coach to light the driver’s led, so its the reed switch doing it’s normal thang that’s lighting up your LED at the driver’s seat. Purdy smart!

For some reason, I didn’t catch that you were sending the signal back to the coach via the unused pin in the 7-pin connector. I assumed you were just tapping the brake signal from your coach in the harness and sending it on to the tow vehicle and a signal back to your driver’s LED. This makes a lot more sense now.

 

[Kevin Roth]

I Chose the 2014 top of the line Honda CRV front wheel dr. Because:
Automatic Transmission
Light weight
Can be towed 4 down
Was able to install myself the BlueOx towing kit
Installed InvisiBrake brake system
No complaints after 3 years.
That’s my story.

Has anyone here installed Invisibrake on their own? I have a 2011 Honda CRV and I'm having troubles finding a decent installer.

 

[Kevin Roth]

I Chose the 2014 top of the line Honda CRV front wheel dr. Because:
Automatic Transmission
Light weight
Can be towed 4 down
Was able to install myself the BlueOx towing kit
Installed InvisiBrake brake system
No complaints after 3 years.
That’s my story.

Hi, did you install the Invisibrake yourself? How was that?

 

[MarkMaxPayne]

Has anyone here installed Invisibrake on their own? I have a 2011 Honda CRV and I'm having troubles finding a decent installer.

Yes, but... I still ended up visiting Roadmaster across the river in Vancouver, WA to have them move my brake cable pulley to a better location even though I thought I had followed the instructions perfectly (I didn't)... They even looked at my overall installation and then moved (for free) where I had mounted the breakaway switch. Great group of folks if you can ever visit in person!

One mod I made was to add a switch in the dash to turn the Invisibrake module under my driver's seat on and off. Why? Some dope decided pulling the brakeaway pin out (and keeping it) as I sat parked in a parking lot at work would be funny. I ended up installing the switch and carrying spare pins in my glovebox.

Best,
-Mark

 

[Buly]

Yes I did Kevin. It was not a big deal. There are videos on YouTube that show you how. But you still need some experience working around cars.

 

[Kevin Roth]

Yes, but... I still ended up visiting Roadmaster across the river in Vancouver, WA to have them move my brake cable pulley to a better location even though I thought I had followed the instructions perfectly (I didn't)... They even looked at my overall installation and then moved (for free) where I had mounted the breakaway switch. Great group of folks if you can ever visit in person!

One mod I made was to add a switch in the dash to turn the Invisibrake module under my driver's seat on and off. Why? Some dope decided pulling the brakeaway pin out (and keeping it) as I sat parked in a parking lot at work would be funny. I ended up installing the switch and carrying spare pins in my glovebox.

Best,
-Mark

Thank you so much, Mark!