Flat Towing a Chev Pickup

FIRE UP wrote:
Vic,
The reason I say that about Ready Brake is this. MY system, the actuator in particular is worn out. I can literally push that actuator forward BY HAND! Needless to say, it's shot. Well, me being me, I tore that thing apart. Folks, there's noting scientific or miraculous about the inner guts of a Ready Brake.

All there is, is spring, about 1.25" in diameter by about a couple of inches long. It's a pretty stout little spring. There's also a small, again, about 1.25" in diameter, little piston. That little piston has some tiny holes in it. And, it's got about three or four O-rings around it. That piston sits in a small bore. Inside that bore with the piston is a ounce or two or three of oil.

So, as the actuator moves, due to your toad pushing on it, that spring and, the piston move forward. The piston is supposed to act as a shock. All that oil, is forced through the tiny holes, from one chamber to another. And, the spring, pushes it all back.

But, as stated, mine is worn out. That makes for un-necessary brake action in the toad. Well, in all reality, all I needed from Ready Brake was the four O-rings and, maybe their oil, if it was something special.

But, Noooooooooooo, they didn't want me doing this. THEY wanted me to package that 50 lb. actuator up and, send it all the way to them, so THEY could put the four O-rings in it and, replace the spring. Well, to say the least, that's ridiculous. I mean, I've got it apart, OBVIOUSLY I know how the system works, and, what's needed to bring it back to life. There's nothing complicated about this system. No adjustments, no settings, NOTHING that some high trained technician has to do that I can't do.

So, my decision to walk away is my own. While it's a pretty good braking system for the money and, for the most part, about 99.999% of folks that use it are happy, including me for quite some time, I'm not all that happy with that much "slop" in the tow system anyways. There's plenty of movement, in multiple directions that I've never really been fond of.

So, hence, I might be migrating over to the M&G system, especially since I've got an air braked coach which would make the that type of system work flawless. We'll see.

Mike,
This may have already been answered but, in case it hasn't, here's what to look for. I too have a KNOB that electronically controls the shifting of the transfer case. It has 2, AUTO, 4HIGH, 4LOW. The high and low are represented by arrows. But, what's not seen is an "N" for neutral. It's all the way on the right. On my truck, the parking brake is set, your feet have to be on the brake pedal, the trans must be in neutral and the engine running. Then and only then, you rotate that KNOB all the way counter-clock wise to the end of it's travel and hold it there for about, 5 seconds or so.

At that time, the N will appear in RED. And, you'll see a message on the dash gauge that states: Stabilitrack is now off. From that point, you put the trans in park, release the parking brake and, shut off the engine and remove the key.

Now, like I stated in my first post to here on this thread, go to YOUR owners manual and find all the sections that have to do with flat towing behind a motor home. You may have to flip some pages to get all the complete info for setup to tow. The reason I emphasize this is because there might be some differences in procedure for your model and year, as opposed to mine.

But, that's the way it's basically supposed to be done. Good luck.
Scott

And, thanks to all for the nice comments on my work. As stated, it was actually a pretty simple job. I did it on our previous toad, an '11 Honda CRV EX-L AWD and, I had to tear off the whole front of the car to do the same thing, what a pain in the A$$.
Scott

On edit: I see that Don had sent the basic same instructions for finding neutral on the transfer case knob, while I was typing mine. Oh well, no biggie.

Well I can honestly say that I understand your frustration with Ready Brake. However, I suspect their issue is their potential legal liability. In the event they support/condone your rebuilding/refurbishing their product by simply supplying the materials therefore, they are potentially/probably accepting any and all legal liability that may arise as a result of any damage(s) that occurs that is the result of an issue with the Ready Brake subsequent to the refurbishing thereof, not done by them. We live in what has become an extremely litigious society with the resultant extreme caution regarding the potential exposure to legal liability. It may be appropriate for you to rethink your position as you have expressed satisfaction historically with the product.