Archive for June, 2009

2009 Jeep Toad

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

2009 Jeep Sahara Toad

I just bought this Jeep Sahara 4dr/4wd and had it equipped with a blue ox base plate, blue ox tow bar and a Brakemaster 9000 braking system.

This Jeep weighs in around 4269 lbs and is towable without major modifications. Just put the transfer case in neutral, transmission in park, disconnect the negative battery cable, key in accessory possition, hook up and go.

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I took this unit for a “test tow” pulling it with a 400 cummins / Freightliner chassis coach. While driving down the interstate, I couldn’t see the jeep in my mirrors but kept my backup camera manually turned on just to keep an eye on things.

You wouldn’t even know that you were towing anything – I felt like I had the exact same power going up hills as I did without the toad. That 400 Cummins is a workhorse.

I’ll be taking this unit into Canada July 2009. I’ll be paying close attention to the fuel consumption so I can compare with / without the dinghy behind the motorhome.

More to come .. in July.

Posted in Four wheels down, Jeep, Jeep Toads | No Comments »

Brakemaster 9000 review

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

I had the Brakemaster 9000 installed in my jeep and although it works very well, I am kicking myself that I didn’t go with the Airforce One system. It seems to be much more elegant and hidden.

Here’s a picture of the mechanism that “pushes” the brake pedal. It is mounted to the brackets that fasten the drivers seat to the frame. Since the jeep has power brakes, you can imaging how hard the brake pedal must be pushed when the jeep isn’t running.

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The system requires a small modification to your air brakes on the coach. There is a quick connect on the back of the coach and the same on the front of the toad.

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When I press the brakes in the coach, the brakemaster places equal pressure on the jeep brakes. I’ve tested it with someone walking next to the toad and it seems to work just fine. Sounds simple enough but I would definitely recommend getting a competent RV tech to install this for you. Rumor has it, if you are entering Canada and you don’t have a braking system, they will not let you enter the country pulling a toad.

Posted in Accessories for Tow Cars, Braking Systems | 2 Comments »