SOOO Confused

klutchdust wrote:

Kennyg wrote:

lanerd wrote:
I think your dealer is trying to sell you something that he sells and is feeding you a line of bs. And to charge 3200 bucks is simply outrageous!!

However, to answer your question, a simple 12v line from your mh to the toad's battery (with fuses at each end) will keep your toad's battery charged whenever using the Brake Buddy.

Installing the Readybrake is not that difficult. You only have to drill a small hole in the firewall for the cable. The rest is fairly simple to do. I installed one on my buddy's jeep along with the breakaway cable, base plate, and light system in about four hours total. He's been pulling his toad now for a year or so and just loves the system and ease of use.

If you have access to a drill motor and 3/8 drill bit and a few tools, you should be able to do it easily.

Good luck..

Does the hole you drill for the cable need to be directly behind the brake petal so the cable is not pulling on an angle. It seems that if on an angle, the pull would not be sufficient to activate the brake.

Yes, there are specific requirements for the cable to be connected to the pedal. I installed mine on my Jeep and it is pretty straightforward.

Actually, the instructions that come with the Readybrake specifically states that the cable can indeed be at a slight angle....in fact, it states that if the jeep is an automatic, there will be factory hole made in the firewall for the clutch version of the jeep and can be used for this purpose.

However, I opted not to do this and drilled a hole as close as I could get directly behind the brake pedal...I even ran the cable for the brakeaway cable through the same hole.

Ron

Popsie wrote:

klutchdust wrote:

afrescop wrote:

Kennyg wrote:
Have yet to decide whether to go with the Brake Buddy "Patroit" system or the "Ready Brake" system! The local RV center swears by the patroit system and says the readybrake will create problemd with the toad brake sytem because of the constant braking and its response you do while on the road.
I drive a 2006 Liberty Jeep and one of the drawbacks I saw with Patroit was the need to plug into Jeeps 12v sytem via cigarette lighter and reset the Patroit everytime you turned key off on RV; I.E. stop for gas and before starting on down the road you would need to go thru start procedure on the Patroit. They also say the ready brake would eventually brekdown due to and salt clogging up the cable sysem. Plus, the RV center wants over $3200 to install the patroit system.
Need some input; Advise as to your experience with either or both of these two systems. Last, which would be the easiest to install on my own and if its the Patroit system how would I avoid the 12v draw on the jeep??
Thanks in advance for all your comments.

I could see $3,200 if it were to include the Blue Ox base plate, tow bar and Patriot with installation.

When we stop for gas or anything else, if I do not turn the ignition key "Off" then there is no need to reset the Patriot. Even if it is off the setup procedure takes all of two minutes.

I bought the Patriot because Winnebago warns against using a surge type toad brake in the owner's manual. Ready Brake is a surge system.

Exactly what is Winnebago's concern with a surge brake system.

I don't know Winnegago's concern from Shinola - however, the type of system that Ready Brake uses is subject to Hysteresis. So, if you step on the brake (especially if you hit the RV brakes hard), the toad pushes forward into the back of the RV. This movement is mechanically transferred to the toad brake through a lever and a cable. Then the cable pulls on the toad brake pedal as though a driver had stomped on the pedal. The toad would then pull backwards from the RV releasing the pressure on the lever and cable, and letting up on the brake. Then the toad (not braking any longer - but the RV is still braking) overtakes the back of the RV and which causes the lever to pull the cable connected to the toad brake pedal and the toad slams on the brakes and the whole cycle starts over again. The remedy for this herky jerky braking, is to use something like a shock absorber to stifle the repetitive action of the lever pulling on the brake cable. I would expect that the Ready Brake system includes some sort of damping mechanism to mitigate this problem. However, in the real world the toad's momentum and the effectiveness of the toad's braking system would vary from toad to toad. So the ideal would be to have a damping mechanism designed to fit the particular toad's mass and brake system. My guess is that the Brake Buddy uses a damper that is sort of in the middle of the road so that it works fairly well for most toads, but could be a problem pulling a heavier than usual toad.

That's just my opinion, YMMV :)

I have a 30ft. Itasca Cambria and pull a Jeep Wrangler using the Ready brake system. To be clear the toad when braking does push against the rv through the receiver however there

is no jerky jerky movement as the shock absorber/pressure device stops this from happening. i videoed my system in action and even with sudden stops and sudden accelerations

the jeep doesn't jerk or pull hard. Jeeps are heavy,3760 pounds plus whatever else is inside, and this system is in my opinion the best out there. I seldom read about problems with them after some simple adjustments.

Surge brakes have been used on trailers for a long time. BIL has a 20ft. trailer with surge brakes built into the hitch that they use to haul a front end loader/grader and that beast is heavy, no issues after 20 plus years.

Kennyg wrote:

lanerd wrote:
I think your dealer is trying to sell you something that he sells and is feeding you a line of bs. And to charge 3200 bucks is simply outrageous!!

However, to answer your question, a simple 12v line from your mh to the toad's battery (with fuses at each end) will keep your toad's battery charged whenever using the Brake Buddy.

Installing the Readybrake is not that difficult. You only have to drill a small hole in the firewall for the cable. The rest is fairly simple to do. I installed one on my buddy's jeep along with the breakaway cable, base plate, and light system in about four hours total. He's been pulling his toad now for a year or so and just loves the system and ease of use.

If you have access to a drill motor and 3/8 drill bit and a few tools, you should be able to do it easily.

Good luck..

Does the hole you drill for the cable need to be directly behind the brake petal so the cable is not pulling on an angle. It seems that if on an angle, the pull would not be sufficient to activate the brake.

Yes, there are specific requirements for the cable to be connected to the pedal. I installed mine on my Jeep and it is pretty straightforward.

Just go with the ready brake system, you won't be sorry. I love mine. And I tow with a Winnebago. I've had it now for over 2 years.

lanerd wrote:
I think your dealer is trying to sell you something that he sells and is feeding you a line of bs. And to charge 3200 bucks is simply outrageous!!

However, to answer your question, a simple 12v line from your mh to the toad's battery (with fuses at each end) will keep your toad's battery charged whenever using the Brake Buddy.

Installing the Readybrake is not that difficult. You only have to drill a small hole in the firewall for the cable. The rest is fairly simple to do. I installed one on my buddy's jeep along with the breakaway cable, base plate, and light system in about four hours total. He's been pulling his toad now for a year or so and just loves the system and ease of use.

If you have access to a drill motor and 3/8 drill bit and a few tools, you should be able to do it easily.

Good luck..

Does the hole you drill for the cable need to be directly behind the brake petal so the cable is not pulling on an angle. It seems that if on an angle, the pull would not be sufficent to activate the brake.

klutchdust wrote:

afrescop wrote:

Kennyg wrote:
Have yet to decide whether to go with the Brake Buddy "Patroit" system or the "Ready Brake" system! The local RV center swears by the patroit system and says the readybrake will create problemd with the toad brake sytem because of the constant braking and its response you do while on the road.
I drive a 2006 Liberty Jeep and one of the drawbacks I saw with Patroit was the need to plug into Jeeps 12v sytem via cigarette lighter and reset the Patroit everytime you turned key off on RV; I.E. stop for gas and before starting on down the road you would need to go thru start procedure on the Patroit. They also say the ready brake would eventually brekdown due to and salt clogging up the cable sysem. Plus, the RV center wants over $3200 to install the patroit system.
Need some input; Advise as to your experience with either or both of these two systems. Last, which would be the easiest to install on my own and if its the Patroit system how would I avoid the 12v draw on the jeep??
Thanks in advance for all your comments.

I could see $3,200 if it were to include the Blue Ox base plate, tow bar and Patriot with installation.

When we stop for gas or anything else, if I do not turn the ignition key "Off" then there is no need to reset the Patriot. Even if it is off the setup procedure takes all of two minutes.

I bought the Patriot because Winnebago warns against using a surge type toad brake in the owner's manual. Ready Brake is a surge system.

Exactly what is Winnebago's concern with a surge brake system.

I don't know Winnegago's concern from Shinola - however, the type of system that Ready Brake uses is subject to Hysteresis. So, if you step on the brake (especially if you hit the RV brakes hard), the toad pushes forward into the back of the RV. This movement is mechanically transferred to the toad brake through a lever and a cable. Then the cable pulls on the toad brake pedal as though a driver had stomped on the pedal. The toad would then pull backwards from the RV releasing the pressure on the lever and cable, and letting up on the brake. Then the toad (not braking any longer - but the RV is still braking) overtakes the back of the RV and which causes the lever to pull the cable connected to the toad brake pedal and the toad slams on the brakes and the whole cycle starts over again. The remedy for this herky jerky braking, is to use something like a shock absorber to stifle the repetitive action of the lever pulling on the brake cable. I would expect that the Ready Brake system includes some sort of damping mechanism to mitigate this problem. However, in the real world the toad's momentum and the effectiveness of the toad's braking system would vary from toad to toad. So the ideal would be to have a damping mechanism designed to fit the particular toad's mass and brake system. My guess is that the Brake Buddy uses a damper that is sort of in the middle of the road so that it works fairly well for most toads, but could be a problem pulling a heavier than usual toad.

That's just my opinion, YMMV :)

afrescop wrote:

Kennyg wrote:
Have yet to decide whether to go with the Brake Buddy "Patroit" system or the "Ready Brake" system! The local RV center swears by the patroit system and says the readybrake will create problemd with the toad brake sytem because of the constant braking and its response you do while on the road.
I drive a 2006 Liberty Jeep and one of the drawbacks I saw with Patroit was the need to plug into Jeeps 12v sytem via cigarette lighter and reset the Patroit everytime you turned key off on RV; I.E. stop for gas and before starting on down the road you would need to go thru start procedure on the Patroit. They also say the ready brake would eventually brekdown due to and salt clogging up the cable sysem. Plus, the RV center wants over $3200 to install the patroit system.
Need some input; Advise as to your experience with either or both of these two systems. Last, which would be the easiest to install on my own and if its the Patroit system how would I avoid the 12v draw on the jeep??
Thanks in advance for all your comments.

I could see $3,200 if it were to include the Blue Ox base plate, tow bar and Patriot with installation.

When we stop for gas or anything else, if I do not turn the ignition key "Off" then there is no need to reset the Patriot. Even if it is off the setup procedure takes all of two minutes.

I bought the Patriot because Winnebago warns against using a surge type toad brake in the owner's manual. Ready Brake is a surge system.

Exactly what is Winnebago's concern with a surge brake system.

Kennyg wrote:
Have yet to decide whether to go with the Brake Buddy "Patroit" system or the "Ready Brake" system! The local RV center swears by the patroit system and says the readybrake will create problemd with the toad brake sytem because of the constant braking and its response you do while on the road.
I drive a 2006 Liberty Jeep and one of the drawbacks I saw with Patroit was the need to plug into Jeeps 12v sytem via cigarette lighter and reset the Patroit everytime you turned key off on RV; I.E. stop for gas and before starting on down the road you would need to go thru start procedure on the Patroit. They also say the ready brake would eventually brekdown due to and salt clogging up the cable sysem. Plus, the RV center wants over $3200 to install the patroit system.
Need some input; Advise as to your experience with either or both of these two systems. Last, which would be the easiest to install on my own and if its the Patroit system how would I avoid the 12v draw on the jeep??
Thanks in advance for all your comments.

I could see $3,200 if it were to include the Blue Ox base plate, tow bar and Patriot with installation.

When we stop for gas or anything else, if I do not turn the ignition key "Off" then there is no need to reset the Patriot. Even if it is off the setup procedure takes all of two minutes.

I bought the Patriot because Winnebago warns against using a surge type toad brake in the owner's manual. Ready Brake is a surge system.

I think your dealer is trying to sell you something that he sells and is feeding you a line of bs. And to charge 3200 bucks is simply outrageous!!

However, to answer your question, a simple 12v line from your mh to the toad's battery (with fuses at each end) will keep your toad's battery charged whenever using the Brake Buddy.

Installing the Readybrake is not that difficult. You only have to drill a small hole in the firewall for the cable. The rest is fairly simple to do. I installed one on my buddy's jeep along with the breakaway cable, base plate, and light system in about four hours total. He's been pulling his toad now for a year or so and just loves the system and ease of use.

If you have access to a drill motor and 3/8 drill bit and a few tools, you should be able to do it easily.

Good luck..

We have the ready brute elite which includes the ready brake integrated into the tow bars. It was installed a year ago and we have driven 18000 miles with the jeep attached since then. We have had no problems whatsoever. We have traveled up and down mountains (up to 12% grades) on gravel and dirt roads, camped on the beach in sand, been through rain storms...just about any condition you can think of.

The brakes on our jeep are fine - no unusual wear at all. There isn't constant braking - it should be the same as using any other braking system. And no, going downhill with a ready brake system does not engage the brake. We don't have to worry about plugging the brake system into the jeep - the ready brake requires no electrical connection.

I'm not sure of what salt corrosion your dealer is referring to but we have had ours caked with pounds of Dalton Highway mud and... nothing happened. We washed it off and the brake works fine. There is some wear on the external cable from rubbing but we figure another few thousand miles and we will replace the external cable just as a matter of course. It will take all of three minutes and cost maybe $15 for the cable and hooks. All the parts on the brake are mechanical - mechanical parts are pretty easily replaced.

We are extremely happy with ours and would buy one again.