Braking systems question?

[zduke4x]

I am in the market for a braking sustem for the Saturn I just bought to tow behind my 310 motorhome with Blue Ox towbar.....

BUT I have a question none of the people who sell them can explain to me.....When the key is off in a toad, the vacuum system and hence the Power Brakes become manual and I can barely exert enough pressure for a stop let alone a hard, quick stop...Brake Buddy just said "it works" but are they that strong to really work or are they kinda working....on our wallets?

Does anyone understand the engineering here?

[Navigator]

I have a Saturn, and it is so very light, that if I had a motor home, I would not bother with aux brakes. IMHO
Dick

[74Argosy24MH]

I have a Saturn and a Brake Buddy. It is set so unless it is a hard stop the mh does the braking. But in a hard stop you can feel the Saturn drag on the mh for a half second of so after releasing the brakes.

John

[thenewkid64]

JEM,

I have the same setup. Saturn with a BB, and works the same. It all depends on how you set the BB up.

There is a sensitivity setting. This determines how much deceleration the BB feels before engaging. The other setting is a regulated Air pressure setting. This determines how hard the Air piston fires to actually apply the brakes. The manual for the BB lists the S Series Saturn as a 40 PSI setting.

When I have the Saturn packed with stuff ( like on the way to Sarasota) I set it on 45 PSI. The air pressure setting is calculated based on the weight of the toad.

[zduke4x]

The Brake Buddy, Roadmaster, etc.....all must really push on that stiff pedal without the toads engine on for assist...as Brake Buddy said.....it just works....thanks...jem

[87MH]

I have a VIP system (quick acting electric motor instead of air pressure) for the Saturn.

The older I get (more conservative), I wouldn't even think if getting on the road without an electric brake system.

35 years ago it was a whole different story - I guess I'm just lucky to have outlived most of my stupidity.

[zduke4x]

Dennis...
Went to the Vip website and it is impressive....have you ever needed service or heard about the service behind the 10 year warranty?....jem

[87MH]

No, never needed service, called them up once with a couple of questions, and they were very helpful. I spent some time researching prior to purchase, and I really liked the "control" function (you can apply the brakes to the toad independently from the MH if you wish). There seemed to be other folks around on some of the other Forums who spoke highly of the service from VIP.

The complete package is a bit smaller than Brake Buddy, but I believe the installation would be comparable.