Best Honda Odyssey Tow Bar Braking Systems

I purchased this BB Classic 3 in October 2020 after my old BB Classic that I purchased in 2008 failed to hold pressure for the piston. I bought this for my 2017 Jeep Wrangler but due to (1) the depth and unevenness of the driver's floor board, (2) the seat adjustment bar prevents BB Classic 3 from pushing against the seat and (3) the adjustable legs are not long enough to reach the seat and brake pedal properly, the BB Classic 3 fails the auto start test every time due to not being able to level. I talked to Hopkins MFG techs several times trying to resolve the issue (wiring checks, power cord checks, etc.) but to no avail. This situation makes the BB Classic 3 dangerous to have in service because not being level it will think something is wrong and keeps the brake applied (piston will not retract after applying the brake). So after talking to other Jeep Wrangler owners I determined that a platform was needed for the floor board on which the BB Classic 3 could rest. I constructed a platform that was approximately 3" off the floor board and rested on the floor board under the seat and on risers toward the brake pedal. This platform is level on the floor board both length-wise and width-wise. After placing the BB Classic 3 on the platform with clevis and power cord installed and legs in the lowest position, I tested the auto start and had 8 successful tests in a row!!! Also the brake away test was successful too. I still need to make a short drive test while in tow behind the motorhome. Hopkins really needs to advise customers that the Classic 3 will not work properly as is on a 2017 Jeep Wrangler due to the configuration of the driver's side floor board.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Product seems to be good out of the box but haven't used it yet. A significant issue is that the installation instructions are incomplete and some connectors were not included in the packaging. Of particular note is that once you install the Dash Mount and drill a home in the firewall to put the wiring through, there are no instructions about how to connect them. I had to go to the eTrailer website where a found a video of an installation on a Jeep. The narrator did a good job of explaining the connections. Thank God for YouTube.

I have successfully completed the installation of the following items that I purchased from etrailer: > Nighthawk RM-676 tow bar > RM-524458-5 base plate > DEMCO Stay in play DM86VR > RM-152 diode wiring kit > RM-156-25 charge wire kit > RM-88400 brake switch relay kit I work slow but methodically. I had no issues other than the high degree of difficulty for a 68 y/o man working alone. This project exceeds the abilities of someone NOT mechanically inclined. There is also the need for some specialty tools. I found that feeding the wiring through the dash, firewall, and underbody was more difficult than installing the front baseplate. Overall, I am satisfied with the function of this installation. I am glad I did it myself rather than having it done. Tow vehicle: 2021 Entegra Emblem 36U Towed vehicle: 2018 Ford Fusion Platinum Energi

Evidently Roadmaster had made some slight alterations from the depiction, for the better. The fuse wiring was a spade end with two fuse holders built in. The holder closest to the spades was for the original circuit and the other for the new circuit. This was very handy. I had watched the installation video and thought it would be fairly easy; therefore I attached the terminals to the green, black, and white wires before even going to the CR-V. I did however purchase different spade connectors as I thought I may want to remove the brake relay switch in the future for another vehicle should I trade. Also the yellow connector is quite large and the video showed bending the wire over itself so that it would hold on the smaller wires. This was a wise decision. What was the problem was the wiring in my CR-V. The video showed similar size wiring from the brake switch. What I found was smaller wire, loomed very close to the brake switch. Evidently Honda had made some modifications. I believe the wire was 22 gauge and there was no real way the blue or yellow connectors would have worked. That said, after disconnecting from the switch, stripping the loom back to get some exposed wiring, cutting and using the 22-16 gauge connectors, drilling a hole for the ground screw, etc. the switch worked perfectly. I did vary the fuse location from the 7.5 Amp #29 Occupant Detection System (ODS) to the 15 Amp #28 Washer as I figured it would less likely interfere with any operation.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

I choose the Brake Buddy Stealth for my 2021 Jeep Wrangler because I wanted a “stay in place” brake system and felt it would be a clean looking installation. I finished the toad side of the installation today and thought I’d leave some notes on what turned out to be a bigger project than I’d anticipated. Again, this is my experience on the 2021 Jeep Wrangler 2-door. Your experience on other vehicles may vary. I started this install after installing a Demco Tabless Base Plate. Right out of the blocks, there’s really no convenient location to mount the cable connector to the Demco baseplate. I chose to mount it to under side of the bumper on the driver’s side. To provide clearance and a route for the wires, I had to cut a notch into the plastic air dam. I used one of the already screw screw holes and used self tapping screws in the other three locations. For added strength I epoxied the connector to the bumper as well. Since the bumper would be unremovable if the connector were hardwired, I added a waterproof connector. The kit is stingy with wire lengths, so I substituted my own wire. The Stealth unit itself i mounted beneath the driver’s seat. Don’t be fooled into believing there is clearance when testing with the driver’s seat positioned for rear seat access. Once the seat is returned to normal operation it lowers a bit and the box keeps the seat from being move forehand aft. I solved the problem by installing 5/8” thick nylon washers under the rear end of the seat slides. I also cut away a bit of the carpet under the front, inboard corner of the box. You will need to remove the driver’s seat in order to attach the front screws of the box. Be sure to disconnect and isolate the neutral battery terminals to prevent inadvertent air bag discharge. After removing the interior trim from the A-pillar, the door sill, and the driver side foot well, The wiring and cable tucked nicely away along with the OEM wiring and wiring for my taillights. I mounted the pulley horizontally behind the brake pedal. Installing the vacuum pump was my biggest worry and challenge. Instructions are to zip tie it “somewhere”. That seemed pretty casual for a safety system. I chose, instead, to fabricate an aluminum bracket that attaches to the lip of the engine compartment and to the wheel well (this latter attachment point is necessary to keep the pump from vibrating). Finally, the kit comes with 3/8” fittings to tap into the brake booster vacuum lines. The Jeep, however, uses 8mm nylon tubing. Brake Buddy, via etrailer.com, stated that the tubing would stretch and all would be good. Again, this felt casual for a safety system. Instead, I purchased an 8mm check valve and a 8-6-8mm barbed tee through Another online retailer to do the job right. I had to heat the Jeep tubing to fit even the 8mm tee, so the is no way the larger 3/8” fittings would have worked. See photo of my finished vacuum line installation. Bottom line, it was a POA install, but looks great. Hopefully it will stop the Jeep when towing. I’ll find out soon. :D

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Installation in 2014 2-door Jeep Wrangler JK with manual transmission The seat in my Jeep is very different from the pictures in installation videos. There is absolutely no way the main unit can go under the seat 'crosswise'. Additionally the heavy cross bar at the rar of the seat doesn't allow the unit to be positioned fore-aft without a bit of additional work. I found that installing oriented for-aft running the cable under the carpet gently curving to the left and turning back to the pulley worked pretty well. It's using up some foot space for rear seat passengers, but we very rarely carry passengers so it works for us. There is a fairly large 'hump' in the floor under the unit. I screwed down the rear most tabs with some rubber washers underneath, and then used the longer self-tapping screws in the kit to attach the front tabs without creating any stress in the unit.. just a little snug does the job. For most of the screws I used 3/4", the included 1" are much longer than necessary. Likely could have used 1/2" in most places. So far it seems to work pretty well. I dropped a start mostly due to the documentation being a bit vague and poorly worded. For example regarding testing when disconnected from the motorhome, the instructions seem to imply that you connect and then disconnect the dummy plug and it should apply brakes. When I tried that the unit indicates breakway (flashing green light), but did NOT apply brakes. After some fiddling around, I found that I needed to have the dummy plug installed, connect fuse (or disconnect for a few seconds and reconnect fuse) and THEN within 3 minutes pull the dummy plug. That's very different from the manual which states "may be tested by attachinga and removing the dust cap". Installation manual specifies installing the pulley with the cable connection pointing down without any mention of other options. This is a bit disconcerting, videos of Jeep installs seem to always run the cable in from the left side. How is the end user to know if that's okay? Maybe it was okay when the videos were made, or the videos are wrong..etc. A brief mention that in cases where the cable can't be routed below the pulley, running it through the side/top..etc. is okay. Lastly various areas of the documentation say to call, they are open 8AM - 5PM CST. I only found ONE mention that they are open Monday-Friday... it's a simple detail that should have been caught a long time ago. I expect technical documentation to be accurate.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Second unit in 12 years. If I had just replaced the battery in the old one, I’d still be using it. Purchased this unit and love it. I hope it holds up as well as the last one.

Click to Enlarge

The BlueOx system has worked great. Installation was not terribly difficult... getting the wire through the firewall was the trickiest part... but not too bad. Haven't had any major issues with the system.

Click to Enlarge

I’ve towed close to eight thousand miles in the past year. I had an incident when someone thought it amusing to pull my hitch pin while I pumped gas. The hitch dropped off about a half mile later and my break buddy saved me from any serious damage. Just got home today from a 3600 mile trip and no problem.

I looked at several supplemental braking units and wanted one that was portable with nice features like wireless monitoring and parameter changes while flat towing my Jeep Wrangler. I reviewed the videos on the etrailer site for features and installation instructions, they’re well done and really helped with my buy decision and installation guidance. I decided on the Select 3 mainly because of the option for full or proportional braking, as I live in CA and take my RV through mountain passes often. The installation was straight forward with the help of the etrailer videos, very well done. The initial testing of the unit was a bit tricky, but it worked, after leveling the unit out. The first trip with the unit was from Southern CA to Paso Robles through the “Grapevine” pass and some other large hills, the unit worked well and gave me the extra braking I needed while flat towing my jeep behind my RV. During this trip, the unit was inconsistent in bleeding the brakes upon startup. I shared this information with etrailer in detail, and they sent me a replacement unit after trouble shooting. I want to thank etrailer for excellent support of a product which I entrust the safety of my family to while in use. The new unit has been wonderful on two other trips so far. I’m very happy with the performance and ease of use for the Select 3. It just takes a few minutes to position in the jeep, activate and get going down the road after the initial install was complete, which only took a few hours to run simple wiring. The unit is not very large or heavy, and easily fits in a normal storage compartment of the RV when we arrive at our destination. I look forward to many more trips with my family in our RV and the Select 3 giving us the supplement braking we need in our jeep on any road type.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Just completed a 6500 mile 3 month trip, California to mid Indiana, including Colorado Eisenhower and Wolf Creek passes, Brakemaster works great, no over braking, definitely helpful on those descents. Easy and quick to hook up. This is my second Brakemaster, and would definitely buy it again

I've been looking for a braking system for my tow vehicle for a while trying to determine which one I wanted. For ease of installation, ease of use both when I'm not towing and when I'm towing, I decided on the RoadMaster 9100. I then shopped prices and came back to etrailer where I found not only better or comparable prices but all the other items I am looking for as well.

Make sure you order the plate needed for your vehicle. Had to wait a week until that came in to complete the installation. Plus if you are placing in a Ford Edge, there is a firewall access behind the battery. Knowing this makes it easier to do. Also on the Edge you have to make a small extension to get the connectors easier to disconnect.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

For me it is the perfect towed braking system! Simple operating principle, easy installation, quick set-up and detach. Never needed for breakaway, but pre-trip test is always perfect functioning. Definitely saves on coach braking force needed. (Installed on 2015 Itasca 34T DP w/2007 Toyota Tacoma)

After watching the excellent installation video I had very little trouble installing this product. I like the fact that it is a stay-in-play system that literally requires only the flip of a switch to activate. The major components are all installed out of the way, yet are still easily accessible. As for the braking system itself, I find it operationally excellent and believe this product choice was a great one.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Haven't actually had the chance to tow behind yet so this is just for the install. It took me quite a long time to install but, that's not the products fault. Everything you need to do the job is included. I only give it 4 stars because the system uses the towed vehicles battery to activate the vacuum/compressor pump, so it would be possible to run the battery down as there is no charge circuit from the towing vehicle. I did choose to add one though. Other than that I'm sure it'll work fine. It was installed on a 1983 Vanagon.

Click to Enlarge

The installation went as planned. All parts fit and worked the first time.

Click to Enlarge

2021 Ford Ranger. The installation is not really technically challenging, but there are a lot of steps and you need to twist yourself under the dash for quite a bit of it. The main installation comment I would have is assume you are going to drill a hole in the firewall for the wires/air hose. Using the existing grommets is more work/risk than it is worth. There were several videos, but none specifically for my vehicle and I would have liked the specific detail on the air connection. We have about 800 miles towing with it so far and it definitely it helps with stopping, plus the break-away safety is good peace of mind.

Kit fits great! Hooked up a 2004 Workhorse to a 2002 Jeep Liberty. It might be preferable to be handy with some advanced mechanical skills and tools to install this efficiently. Directions are great but you do need to figure out your own locations for certain items like the break-away reservoir, compressor, routing lines and wires out of harms way, but not bad at all. Parts are great, everything there but added a couple different wiring splices of my own.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Make sure you order the plate needed for your vehicle. Had to wait a week until that came in to complete the installation. Plus if you are placing in a Ford Edge, there is a firewall access behind the battery. Knowing this makes it easier to do. Also on the Edge you have to make a small extension to get the connectors easier to disconnect.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

These installation photos are for the Demco Duo Play braking system install on a 2018 Ford Fusion Platinum Energy with push button start.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Great braking system. Installation directions were good and clear, but there are a lot of steps. It is easy to adjust properly once installed and has worked flawlessly for 2500 miles towing my 2015 Subaru Forester.

Click to Enlarge

I believe the AFO is the best supplemental braking system for air brakes on the market today. Probably the most expensive also. A lot of work to install but a good system that is truly proportional and safe to use with an air brake system.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

AF1 is amazing so far. I did the installation by myself. I have a 2014 Honda CR-V and bought it for towing. Watching the video helped me through it. The car installation portion was pretty straight forward. The video is better than the instructions overall, but I read through the entire instructions before beginning. I was able to install the RV tank without putting the rig on a lift. Depending on how big you are and flexibility, it can be done with the RV on the ground...it just takes longer. Also, I would recommend knowing where you are going to mount your RV tank. I mounted the tank near the rear and didn’t have enough brake tube after doing the car. Picked up an extra 20 ft at Autozone or order the tube with etrailer. The customer service center is very helpful too. Many thanks to Mariah for the outstanding assistance. Finally, I would say that if you order the brackets to mount the emergency brake away for your car, you may have to cut them down with a grinder. It is so much nicer not putting the brake buddy in the car now. Looking forward to enjoying it on trips. I drove the rig about 20 miles yesterday, and the light came on and I honestly couldn’t tell the car was back there other than looking in the video and seeing the light on the car during braking. Highly recommend this unit.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Great product! Install was much easier than I had anticipated and Demco has some great videos available of actual installs.

Click to Enlarge

Excellent product information on their website. Shipping was extremely fast, and product was well packaged. This kit is absolutely complete. As always. It is a pleasure to do business with etrailer.com