Customer Letters
I'm letting you know how well I was treated by one of the companies that
advertise with you. I bought a Brake Buddy from (formerly) Concepts
Inc. in the summer of 1998. Recently it developed an air leak and the
compressor was running too hot. I called Dan Decker and he told me to
send it in. Today I received it from them, like new, with an updated
compressor installed. The invoice said NO CHARGE, so I called Dan to
see if a mistake had been made. He informed me that I have a
three-year warranty. I tried to pay the UPS freight, but he wouldn't
hear of it.
Not only does the Brakebuddy perform to my satisfaction without any
electrical hookups, except plugging into the lighter, the company backs the
products to the hilt. If anyone needs a brake controller for his
towed vehicle, I suggest calling (formerly) Concepts.
B. Rule, Anchorage Alaska
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Just a follow up to your article in the April issue of Motor home. We had
been contemplating the purchase of a brake system for our toad. The toad
is a '95 sable, which is put behind a 34 ft. Ford chassis, class A motor home.
I really did not like the idea of splicing into the existing brake system of
either vehicle, and the string system didn't look workable. In January,
we were ready to leave for Florida and I saw an ad for the Brakebuddy, by
(formerly) Concepts. I called them Monday, and they were able to
overnight the unit to me, and we were ready to leave on Thursday, as planned.
We had good driving conditions down I-75, from Michigan to Florida. I
left the unit set as was set at the factory. The system worked really
good. We went form Jacksonville to Sumpterville, and left the unit off
the toad, to see how much difference the stopping was. I could not
believe the difference. When the unit was attached, I believe that the
stopping distance was shorter than with the motor home alone.
It is such an easy unit to work with. You set it on the floor of the
drivers seat, clamp the clevis around the brake, with the 2 screws, slide the
unit forward, slide the seat up to the unit, plug it into the cigar lighter.
The air compressor will take a minute to fill, hit the test button and you are
ready to roll. I don't think that it takes three minutes to hook up or
remove the unit.
As you can see, I am completely sold on the unit and would not drive without
it. They now have the BrakeAway completed and the total Brakebuddy and
BrakeAway are certified for use in Canada. The people that I have dealt
with at (formerly) Concepts are the most cooperative and friendly people that
you would want to work with.
Sincerely,
D. R. Nie, Manager
From an experienced RV'r
Just a quick note from an experienced RV'r to keep you updated on my practical
experience with the Brakebuddy.
We recently completed five weeks on the road covering over 3,800 miles of
Western and North Western real estate. We were in 16 campgrounds and
traveled 8 states which all adds up to a lot of connecting and disconnecting of
the towed vehicle. The more experience we have with the Brakebuddy, the
faster and easier it is to use.
One experience in particular was on a rainy interstate in Oregon outside
Rosenburg when I was passed by a small pickup truck. I didn't see him
coming up on my left until he cut in front of me to make the exit he was about
to pass up. He cut me off. missing my front bumper by only a few
inches. Had it not been for the Brakebuddy, I know the resulting accident
would have been very costly for us both in time and money and perhaps even
fatal for the driver of the pickup. My wife credited my driving skills
with avoiding a serious accident, but when I felt the added stopping power of
my Brakebuddy I knew it wasn't any skill on my part that I was able to avoid a
certain collision. It has already paid for itself with this one incident.
If we ever have any doubt about the value of the system, the issue was resolved
in that instant. It is the cheapest insurance we ever had.
Brakebuddy may not be the best thing to come to RV accessory equipment in
recent years, but it is near the top of my list.
Sincerely,
R. M. Lewsader
Tinkerer loves his BrakeBuddy
I have just returned from installing and testing a device on my tow car that
could save me money for brakes on my RV and possibly a lot more, an accident.
The unit is called a Brakebuddy. It sits on the floor of my tow car, a
'96 Saturn station wagon with automatic transmission. It takes less than
3 minutes to install, plug into the cigar lighter and clamp to brake pedal and
you're ready to go.
The first stop I made surprised me. It was at a stop sign at the bottom
of the hill in front of my house. I've stopped there many times before
with and without a tow car. This time I stopped easier, quicker and with
less effort. It was amazing.
The Brakebuddy has a built-in air compressor with gauge and regulator.
When activated, the air cylinder connected to the brake pedal presses it to
stop the car. I found that a pressure of 40 pounds worked best for my
size car, it weighs 2300 lbs. One other adjustment is made. The
sensitivity which translates to activating at every stop, no matter how slight,
to panic stops. There are 5 positions for this knob.
I added for this test a light in my RV connected to one of the stop lights on
the Saturn. With this light I could see when the brakes came on and not
just feel them stopping.
I tested the unit for 3-1/2 hours trying all sorts of stops with different
adjustments. To say it exceeded my expectations is an understatement.
It stopped in 1/2 the distance or less with the Brakebuddy.
Yours Truly,
K. R. Day
Happy in the Adirondacks
I purchased a Brakebuddy system, including the Brakeaway and the remote
including transmitter during the FMCA Rally in West Springfield, MA last month.
I have found the system very easy to set up and excellent in the breaking
operation.
Earlier this month I towed my Honda CR/V wagon (3,100 lb.) behind my Adventurer
Motor Home for an entire week in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State.
The rolling hills gave the Brakebuddy a good workout to say the least. I
am very satisfied with your product and highly recommend it to those towing
vehicles behind their motor home.
Thank you for making a good breaking system.
Sincerely,
W. J. Glander
Nod of approval from British Columbia
Just had a verbal approval and vote of confidence from our motor vehicle
inspector testing the Brakebuddy. The tests have proved that the
Brakebuddy greatly improves the stopping distance of a motor home especially
when towing a heavy motor vehicle and improves the stability and safety when
towing a lighter motor vehicle.
Please regard this as an initial confirmation that the Brakebuddy has proven
itself as a viable system for reducing stopping distances of motor homes when
towing motor vehicles.
B. Mikkelsen, Vehicle Inspection Section
Commercial Transport and Inspection Department
Ministry of Transportation & Highways
British Columbia.
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