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air force one braking

Yahoo Message Number: 111616
We like our Airforce. There are basically three kinds of systems.

One has a box that sits on the floor in front of the driver's seat of the car and attaches to the brake pedal. When an electrical signal from the coach (activated when the coach brake lights go on), a piston pushes the brake pedal down. This is the “brake buddy†system.

The second is a system where the air pressure from the coach air system is connected to a very small pressure reservoir mounted in the car. The air pressure changes on the coach system when the coach brakes are activated are translated into a piston that is mounted onto the brake pedal of the car that has a small cable attached the firewall of the car. When the coach brakes activate, the piston on the brake pedal of the car PULLS the brake pedal towards the firewall, activating the car brakes. This is the Airforce System.

The third is a system that taps in the car Master Brake Cylinder. I can't recall the the manufacturer of these systems. This system translates the coach system into the fluid system that a car uses.

I like the airforce system because when the car is not hitched to the coach, it is invisible. There is nothing to hook / unhook or remove. Hitching is very easy with only an airline to hook up between the coach and the car. It is also very proportional. I have installed two air force systems on each of our two tow cars that we use. The installation was easy. I had a truck repair place install the coach side air outlet. It was very inexpensive.

The airforce system is not cheap, but I believe it is very reliable and will last a long time. Probably longer than the car. It is easy to move from car to car if you replace the car.

Hope this helps. e-trailers.com has a number of interesting tutorials on the different brake systems as well.

Jim and Jona Seifert

jim.jona.seifert@... 2007 Country Coach Intrigue Ovation 530 42' Coach #12150

525 Cat C13 Allison 6spd

Toads: 2014 Ford F150 / 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser w/ REMCO DS Disconnect.
Airforce 1 Brake system
Blue Ox Aventa II Towbar
Jim and Jona Seifert
2007 Intrigue 530

Re: air force one braking

Reply #1
Yahoo Message Number: 111617
Probably any shop that works on RVs and has experience with Class A coaches, or even Class C coaches can do it. It not too tough to do. There are videos on the e-trailer website that detail how to do it. Even your local car dealer could do the car- side and the local truck repair place could do the coach side. You will also need wiring for turn signal, etc. I like the type that DOES NOT tap into the existing system but rather adds bulbs, to avoid electrical feedback into your car system. People swear by both the tap in or separate brake light system. Potato Potatoe Blue Ox Tow Bar is the ONLY way to do. Mine is over 20 years old and still strong as an OX.

Jim and Jona Seifert

jim.jona.seifert@... 2007 Country Coach Intrigue Ovation 530 42' Coach #12150

525 Cat C13 Allison 6spd

Toads: 2014 Ford F150 / 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser w/ REMCO DS Disconnect.
Airforce 1 Brake system
Blue Ox Aventa II Towbar
Jim and Jona Seifert
2007 Intrigue 530

Re: air force one braking

Reply #2
Yahoo Message Number: 111652
Jim -

Helpful comparison; thanks.

One situation you didn't touch on is braking of the toad when relying on retarder or Jake brake to reduce coach speed without applying the brakes.
Does Air Force system help out under those conditions? If not, is there a system of similar high quality that does?

Ken Schaffer
Wannabe

Rubicon Recon (toad to be)

Re: air force one braking

Reply #3
Yahoo Message Number: 111657
New user here. Saw the air brake question. I have not used the Airforce One but have used the M&G Engineering system. It works like the Air Force One System. I installed it on a Ford Explorer and also a Chevy Silverado. I find this system trouble free and easy to use.
Tom
2007 Allure 430 Hood River Triple slide
#31570
'18 Silverado w/ M&G Braking system

Re: air force one braking

Reply #4
Yahoo Message Number: 111658
Ken,

The last thing you want is the toad brakes being applied when the Jake brake is in use. Can't think of a better way to burn up the toad brakes in a real hurry.

Barney

07 Inspire 52059

 

Re: air force one braking

Reply #5
Yahoo Message Number: 111659
I have the Air Force One on my Inspire fir over 6 years with absolutely no problems. It does not apply the brakes to the Toad unless you actually apply the brakes in the coach. This is one of the reasons that I decided on this unit. I did not want the toad brakes to be applied going down the hill with the Exhaust brake on.

Craig Spiess

2007 Inspire #51959


Re: air force one braking

Reply #7
Yahoo Message Number: 111665
Interesting.

I have read in the past that it is desirable to have toad brakes helping Jake or retarder rather than have toad's weight "pushing" the coach down a steep hill.
Both views make sense to me on the surface, but I can appreciate your explanation on a long descent. That would be unkind to the toad...
Thanks for your explanation. Always learning.

Re: air force one braking

Reply #8
Yahoo Message Number: 111667
We also have an AirForce One brake installed on the coach and toad. We like it a lot, every easy to connect and disconnect (i.e., one air line and safety cable) from the toad and provides good proportional braking. It does not operate when using the Jake brake. For what it is worth the AF1 has a component that isolates the coach air brake system from the car. The idea being if the air line to the toad were to break it would not affect the coach brakes.

Frank 2000 Magna 5766

Re: air force one braking

Reply #9
Yahoo Message Number: 111671
Ive owned CC's for almost 20 years, with 4 different toads, and not once Have I ever had to have a break job after traveling over 300,000 miles. The first coach had an exhaust brake the second an engine brake. No issues with either one. I will admit one time left the parking brake partially engaged and had to have the rear pads replaced just for my peace of mind. But there were no failures. TWI 98 Allure 30255, and 2004 Intrigue 11731

Re: air force one braking

Reply #10
Yahoo Message Number: 111722
Has been answered. But technically the airforce only works when the service brakes on the coach are activated not the exhaust brake system. I believe that the m&g system taps directly into the brake fluid lines. Accomplishes the same thing and I've heard great reviews from it. I just didn't have the expertise to drain and then re-bleed my brake system
Jim and Jona Seifert
2007 Intrigue 530

Re: air force one braking

Reply #11
Yahoo Message Number: 111739
The M&G system uses a cylinder that mounts between the master brake cylinder and the vacuum booster. There is no impact on the brake lines or brake fluid system, so there is no need to drain and re-bleed the brake system
Tom
2007 Allure 430 Hood River Triple slide
#31570
'18 Silverado w/ M&G Braking system

Re: air force one braking

Reply #12
Yahoo Message Number: 111752
My issue with the M & G is you need to have enough room to install the cylinder that was needed. My toad did not have enough room according to M & G so I went with Air Force One. No regrets. Simple to use, worked great.

Jock Vargo