Alternate Brake Indicator Light for Toad
Recently, I switched from towing a Rav4 with a tow dolly to flat towing a Honda Fit. Flat towing is expensive compared to the tow dolly but boy, it sure is convenient.
Because we have a motorhome with air brakes, we opted to use SMI’s Air Force One braking system. It includes a small LED indicator that lights when the brake is actuated on the toad (toad is lingo for towed vehicle).
Typically the LED indicator is mounted temporarily on the back of the toad’s rear view mirror or dashboard. Other locations include securing it to the towbar. In most cases, it requires a separate electrical connection with additional wires and connectors.
I didn’t care for the extra wire and connectors dangling from the towbar. Instead, I attached the LED indicator to the air dam of the car (pictured below). This allowed for a permanent connection and eliminated the extra electrical connector. The upward angle of the air dam allows the indicator to be easily seen in the rear camera monitor. The LED is attached using VHB Two-Sided Tape (amazing stuff).
It sometimes pays to think a little outside the box.