WHY A TOW BRAKE, & WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE?
Let us help you decide
Okay.
Here's the deal. You finally own the motorhome you've dreamed of
for years. You've reached a point in your life when you can slow
down and travel to places you've only read about in books. Of
course you'll chart a course with numerous destinations, where you
can explore all the interesting places around each stop. This
means you're going to need to tow your street vehicle in order to
get around. With the added weight of the towed vehicle to your
motorhome and all the road hazards that you will encounter, you
recognize the need for some sort of tow brake.
After all, the safety of you as a driver, your passengers, your
motorhome and your street vehicle are at stake.
WE KNOW YOU HAVE A CHOICE, SO WE'LL GIVE YOU THE FACTS AND
LET YOU MAKE THE LOGICAL CHOICE.
FIRST OF ALL, WE UTILIZE YOUR TOWED VEHICLE'S OWN POWER BRAKES
No other product on the market today utilizes the towed
vehicle's own power brakes. That's why it's called Unified: It
utilizes the power brakes of both vehicles. This exclusive,
patented feature sets us leagues apart from other available tow
brakes. Just think about this since it has happened at least once
to all of us; Your engine suddenly dies, you push on the brakes
and get nothing. That's because with the engine not running the
power brake booster is no longer able to get vacuum. Now consider
this; If you install ANY other tow brake, that's the kind of
braking you'll achieve in your towed vehicle because the engine is
not running and they make no provisions for supplying vacuum to
the power brake booster. No matter how hard the other guys push on
a DEAD brake pedal they can't get much braking.
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Here's how we achieve braking power. We supply a 12 volt vacuum
pump that mounts in the engine compartment of the towed vehicle.
Each time the Unified Tow Brake is activated, a signal is sent to
the Power Module located in the towed vehicle. The Power Module
computer engages the vacuum pump to replenish vacuum to the towed
vehicle's power brake booster. The Power Module also sends a
modulated signal to the supplied Electronic Solenoid which is
hidden under the driver seat of the towed vehicle. The Solenoid is
connected to the brake pedal lever with a push/pull cable that is
hidden underneath the carpet. By modulating the current to the
solenoid, we can vary the amount of pull on the pedal to slow the
towed vehicle to whatever degree is needed. This allows the towed
vehicle to deliver the same powerful braking performance while
towing, that you would get while driving the vehicle.
Other tow brake units on the market today cut into the brake lines
or master cylinder of either the motorhome or the towed vehicle.
U.S. Gear feels this approach is not only frightening, but causes
some real safety concerns. We therefore designed our unit to steer
clear of tampering with either vehicle's brakes. Any time the
brake lines are cut, the potential is there for air to get in the
line, and cause the brakes to fail. In addition, we did not want
the installation to void the manufacturers warranty. So, after
months of talking with hundreds of motorhome owners and listening
to their feedback, U.S. Gear has incorporated all of the features
they've been demanding. The Unified Tow Brake monitors and adjusts
for both road conditions and terrain ALL BY ITSELF from the
motorhome's cockpit. The computer software is the key, and here's
how it works...
WE
UTILIZE STATE-OF-THE ART TECHNOLOGY
As with the utilization of power brakes, no other tow brake
offers a remote control unit in the cockpit of the motorhome. The
Patented Remote Control unit, which mounts to the transmission
gear shift/selector lever, or any other convenient location houses
the computer "brain", and is wired to the Power Module installed
in the towed vehicle. Under normal operation, the Remote
Controller progressively modulates the braking effort of the towed
vehicle to mirror the braking effort applied to the motorhome's
brakes through the use of multiple accelerometers and computer
software package. The use of multi-accelerometers allows the
controller to sense gravity, eliminating the need for the
controller to be perfectly level when installed, never having to
adjust level on the fly. The computer constantly checks for
inertia change by sensing the vehicle's deceleration and
constantly sends a signal, telling the towed vehicle how much
braking force to apply. And what's more, if the brakes on the
motorhome fail there is a manual feature that can help slow the
vehicle down. The driver can simply depress the override
thumbswitch lever and apply brakes to the towed vehicle for brake
assistance.
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WE OFFER PROPORTIONAL AND PROGRESSIVE BRAKING
Once
again, due to the use of our controller, no other product on the
market offers BOTH proportional and progressive braking.
Everybody's talking about their importance, but what do they
really mean?
Proportional Braking: When towing, there are 2 vehicles
which have a combined weight of x amount. So the question becomes,
how much braking should be accomplished by the motorhome, and how
much should be accomplished by the towed vehicle? You want it to
be in direct proportion to each vehicles' own weight. Our unit
provides proportional braking via a signal adjustment (or gain) to
the towed vehicle's brakes from the Remote Control unit.
Progressive Braking: (Often referred to as modulated
braking). In essence, this means that when the motorhome brakes
are applied, whether hard or soft, a mirror effect occurs in the
braking of the towed vehicle. In other words, the more braking
force applied to the front vehicle, the more force applied to the
rear vehicle. The light bar on the Controller labeled Braking
Effort indicates your current level of progressive braking. Other
units only have one pre-determined "average" push on the pedal for
brake assistance. So what happens if you're in a panic situation,
and need ALL the braking you can get? Is one pre-determined
"average" push on your towed vehicle's brake pedal going to be
enough help? We think that if you're in an emergency and have to
stand on the brakes, you'd probably prefer the full force of both
vehicles' power brakes to slow you down. With our unit in a panic
situation, you will in fact stop faster by using both vehicles'
power brakes full force than if you were driving the motorhome by
itself.
WE END THE NEED FOR ASSEMBLY, THEN DISASSEMBLY
Now that you recognize the vital importance of installing a tow
brake, would you want to go to the hassle of re-installing and
re-adjusting EVERY TIME you connect or disconnect your vehicle
from the motorhome? This is just a time consuming and frustrating
nuisance. Plus, all elements of the other tow brake units have
cylinders, plates and wires attached to the brake pedal, and
littering the drivers side floor.
Let us greatly simplify matters for you! Install the cable,
pulley and solenoid one time, with all elements hidden underneath
the carpet and seat. Install the Remote Controller one time on the
gear shift/selector lever, or the face of the dash. When you're
ready to drive your street vehicle, disconnect the umbilical cord.
When you're ready to tow again, reconnect the umbilical cord. The
only time you might want to disassemble is if you upgrade to a new
motorhome or towed vehicle. No big deal! It can be transferred to
any vehicle at any time. Enough said?
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OUR
BREAK AWAY FEATURE COMES STANDARD!
We've mentioned the road hazards you're likely to encounter as
you enjoy the freedom of the road. There is always a chance that
for whatever reason, your towed vehicle could separate from your
motorhome. Other manufacturers recognize this hazard as well, and
offer a break away feature as an add-on option at an additional
cost. At U.S. Gear, we always put safety first, and so we built
into the unit a break away feature that is standard with each kit.
It immediately brings the vehicle to a stop should separation
occur. There's even an audible warning if the umbilical cord
disconnects. And guess what? Our unit, with the break away feature
included, sells for the same price as other units WITHOUT this
feature. Still the logical choice!
Unified Tow Brake ONLY from U.S. GEAR
The Unified Tow Brake by U.S. Gear represents a major
advancement in towing technology. This technology was available
for decades to travel trailer and fifth wheel customers, and now,
thanks to U.S. Gear is available for all class "A & C" motorhomes.
You have a choice, so which would you prefer?
