I have written many articles on Supplemental Braking Systems that are posted on this web site and try very hard to be objective when evaluating any system. The analysis of the operation, design and quality of a supplemental brake from paper records is fairly easy to do. Deciding whether to recommend one system or another is another thing. I have personally tried six different systems by installing the brake on my toad and using it for a few thousand miles. I also do a few comparative tests that are not scientific because it is impossible to duplicate the exact same conditions over a few years of evaluations. I don’t have the funding to get samples of all the systems, mount them on the same toad, and test them behind the same coach. Comparing the effectiveness of various systems that has been reported in my articles is based on common sense and a few thousand miles experience towing with the brake installed on my toad.

I recently installed the M&G Engineering System on my CRV and have driven this combination for about 4000 miles. I found this supplemental brake to be very effective and easy to use. My coach is a diesel pusher, so the compressed air necessary for the air over hydraulic system to work was readily available. I previously described this system, but will repeat here how it works. A model specific cylinder is inserted between the vacuum assist unit and the master cylinder. A rod is inserted into this cylinder that extends brake pedal rod so that there is not change to the operation of the toad brakes when driving solo. To get enough room to install this cylinder took a little pulling to get the existing brake lines to move enough to accommodate the cylinder. This insertion is the only modification made to the toad. When towed, this air over hydraulic cylinder that is unique for every model vehicle is powered from an air line that comes from the rear axle of the coach. This new air line is "t’ed" into the brake lines providing air pressure to the rear brake hubs. Two standard air line quick disconnects are used to join this line to the cylinder in the toad. The only connection between the toad and the coach is this one air line. Connecting and disconnecting is a breeze and takes less than one minute. You can see immediately that the toad’s brakes are applied at the same rate as the coach’s brakes. I was reluctant to test this system because it makes two modification to existing brakes, one by adding the cylinder to the toad and the second tapping into the brake lines of the coach. The Break Away Option requires an air accumulator tank being installed on the toad. This tank has a check valve so that pressure is stored after the service brakes on the coach have been applied a couple of times. A standard Break Away switch operates activate an air valve that uses this stored pressure to apply and hold the brakes on the toad. After reviewing the installation and experiencing the effectiveness of this design, I find it very acceptable for installation on Air Brake Coaches. M&G Engineering can be reached at 1-800-817-7698.

The M&G System for hydraulic braked coaches is more complex because an auxiliary air compressor and proportioning valve connected to the coach’s brakes are required. The system is more complex because there are two more components to adjust and possibly fail. Because of the additional components, the M&G System is more expensive when applied to a coach that does not have air brakes.

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