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February 12, 2023

Brakes - for the Toad

When we first bought Rufus, over a decade ago, we knew there would times we would want the Jeep to be towed.  Our 1997 Jeep TJ can be towed 4-down with both front and rear differentials placed in neutral.

We tried a Brake Buddy that sat on the floor and manually push the brake pedal when the RV brakes were applied.  But with the short wheelbase of the Jeep TJ and it’s stiff suspension, it would quickly become dislodged.  This made our first trip to the Cactus League Games a bit exciting ...

I then installed a unit from SMI called the Stay-In-Play.  It is permanently mounted and activated by simple toggle switch providing power to the vacuum unit and a deceleration sensor.

But alas it finally failed, as we discovered on our last trip to Borrego coming down from Ranchita!  SMI was purchased by Demco and makes a similar unit.

Certainly the new manual has added color to the graphics and the schematic.  A nice touch.

I started with the morning sun’s glare, even though I thought this might be an easy exchange if I could reuse the old tubing and wires.  

That was not so.  I broke the original SMI desecration sensor and switch while removing the seat.  Then I noticed the Demco unit is physically larger than the SMI unit.  But it still fits nicely under the seat.

The diode block on the left provides brake light indication to the unit and prevents feedback

When doing a test fit I discovered the vacuum tubing was a different diameter, ARG!

It finally all came together in the long shadows of the evening.

We will be hosting a birthday gathering tomorrow for Fran’s sister.  Fran will be making a Macadamia Nut cake from the last harvest of this season.

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With the rain and a few storms have kept us inside, often at the puzzle table.

This is puzzle of our neighborhood.  The missing house shaped piece is centered around our home.
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Fran likes to do the borders first, while I tend to work toward the border
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Grandson is a big Mandalorian fan.  This is 'family' puzzle with large and small pieces.
Note the upper left corner is twice the size of the upper left.

Storm damage can be found all along the beaches.  Here’s a photo news article showing the beating the OB Pier experienced, the entire article is at NBC7.

OB Pier Jan 2023
The pier is closed ‘indefinitely’.  Which means WOW Cafe is closed ‘indefinitely’, along with my favorite fish tacos ….

Mission Beach also took a hit when the Sea Wall was breached.  A News8 YouTube video can be seen HERE.

Mission Beach Jan 2023
I am happy to report the Boardwalk was quickly restored and the Royal Rooster was undamaged … Fran’s favorite fish tacos.

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12 comments:

  1. Hi Jeff and Fran! Joe never attempted to install the braking system we have in the MH for Pearl. Kudos to you for starting and finishing the project…good job Jeff ! I love macadamia nuts and the thought of Frans cake made my mouth water! Your puzzles are amazing…each one special and unique! That’s pretty cool to have a puzzle of your neighborhood. Have you considered framing any/or all of them? Hope WOW Cafe is up and open for fish tacos soon!

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    1. Thanks Gay! I too hope the WOW is back soon, even if a temporary location, not on the pier. I don't frame any of the puzzles as we trade them within the family and I'll fun ones a few times.

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  2. I bought a brake system like your first one and it never worked correctly. Luckily, my MH is so big and heavy, I don't feel it back there so, I just quit using one. Those storms are wreaking havoc on your beaches. That's unfortunate. Hope the weather gets back to somewhat normal soon.

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    1. Thanks Doug! I was wondering what you used on your TJ, but you're right the WL is much heavier than our Sprinter Van mod. Bet you don't get pushed around the way we do.
      For sure the storms in the Southwest have been near Biblical !!!
      Safe travels!

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  3. Why can't anything be easy? Great job on the braking system install. I will probably have to do one as well when we get our jeep set up to tow.

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    1. I probably made it more difficult than it needed to be. Take your time, or have it installed :)

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  4. Jodee GravelFebruary 14, 2023

    Having a tow brake system was a priority when we started out and I've always been glad we had it when driving in the mountains. This new one doesn't have a light on the MH dash for when it engages in the Jeep which I'm not as happy about. Sad to see the damage along the waterfront, I guess Mother Nature doesn't appreciate the importance of those fish tacos!! Love the family puzzle, I've never seen one.

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    1. Although we do not do a lot of towing, we do have to cross the local mountains to reach Borrego. I have a 12v transmitter in the Jeep that activates off the brake light switch. And the receiver is in the MH. Works great.
      Mother Nature has been active everywhere this year. Altho a high of 60 is cold for us at least it's not snowing!

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  5. I'm a puzzle fan also and have a dedicated table set up with one always in progress. I even found a website where i can turn any of my photographs into a puzzle and then "do" it! Way too much time spent......

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    1. I find the puzzles an easy way to spend some time on these short cold days. We don't have a dedicated table, so have to share the dinning room.
      That's a good idea to have your photos turned into puzzles.

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  6. Very cool puzzle and Macadamia nut cake! Mother Nature is getting irritable for sure.

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    1. I thought we were done with the Macadamia nuts, but that wind blew done a bunch I cold not reach ... more than enough for another cake!

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