Community Forums

SarahW · 03-08-2012, 07:04 PM

CoolTech harness and umbilical received today! Hubby reports that the instructions look very straight-forward and should be a no-brainer.

tropical36 · 03-08-2012, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

CoolTech harness and umbilical received today! Hubby reports that the instructions look very straight-forward and should be a no-brainer.

Well, hooray so far and as long as these people ship, then talking to you isn't so important.
Big thing is it's operation when connected as a toad and having no feedback between the systems, without fuse or battery disconnects even though I think Cool Tech is saying different in their online brochure and then something different again in an email to one of our members. Sounds like you got the deluxe kit with the 7 to 4 umbilical cord that also includes a battery post disconnect.
I was thinking a 7 to 6 umbilical from Blue Ox, so as to have 2 extra pins for a READY BRAKE coach monitor.
How this pans out will be interesting, so do keep us informed and up to date on it's progress.

SarahW · 03-08-2012, 09:26 PM

We got the ReadyBrake coach monitor, but I'm not sure we're going to install it. Frankly, it looks a little cheesy and I'm not sure we want to drill a hole in the dash for it. We also have no use for the battery disconnect, but the kit with it was cheaper than buying the other two parts separately.

Rich and Cork · 03-09-2012, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

We got the ReadyBrake coach monitor, but I'm not sure we're going to install it. Frankly, it looks a little cheesy and I'm not sure we want to drill a hole in the dash for it. We also have no use for the battery disconnect, but the kit with it was cheaper than buying the other two parts separately.

You should not have to drill any holes. There is a rubber grommet on the driver's side of the firewall you can push wires through. It is on the left side.

SarahW · 03-09-2012, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich and Cork

You should not have to drill any holes. There is a rubber grommet on the driver' s side of the firewall you can push wires through. It is on the left side.

Thanks. I was thinking more of the mounting of the indicator light; it's kind of small. Guess I need to take it out of the package and see if it's worth the trouble. I'm also wondering about routing those wires all the way down the length of the coach.

SarahW · 03-11-2012, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tropical36

How this pans out will be interesting, so do keep us informed and up to date on it's progress.

Well, the CoolTech harness was installed this weekend.

It was a fairly simple installation, just as others have said. Plugged into the driver's side rear tail light and the wiring was run along the frame under the Jeep to the front. All the Jeep's lights work perfectly, both when plugged into the moho and when not.

tropical36 · 03-11-2012, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

Well, the CoolTech harness was installed this weekend.

It was a fairly simple installation, just as others have said. Plugged into the driver's side rear tail light and the wiring was run along the frame under the Jeep to the front. All the Jeep's lights work perfectly, both when plugged into the moho and when not.

You couldn't ask for anything better than that, so no battery disconnect of any kind and if you decide to use the Ready Brake monitor, then all should be required is the change to a 6 pin receptacle for the Jeep and a 7 to 6 umbilical cord between the units, right?

SarahW · 03-11-2012, 11:03 PM

Nope, no battery disconnect. I don't know what the monitor would require as far as changing the receptacles; we don't plan to install it so I haven't looked at the instructions.

We have the Blue Ox baseplate installed, the Ready Brute cable and breakaway cable installed, and the wiring done. All that remains is to put the towbar on, hook up, and go!

tropical36 · 03-12-2012, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

Nope, no battery disconnect. I don't know what the monitor would require as far as changing the receptacles; we don't plan to install it so I haven't looked at the instructions.

We have the Blue Ox baseplate installed, the Ready Brute cable and breakaway cable installed, and the wiring done. All that remains is to put the towbar on, hook up, and go!

Sounds good all around and don't think you could have a much better system. I'm planning on close to the same, except will probably use the monitor and do as I said with a coiled Blue Ox umbilical. Also will probably use the Demco base plate, especially with the cost savings as they are now.
By the way, who did you order your Ready Brute stuff from and did you get the Ready Brake as well? The Elite is what I want and maybe you have the same.
I'm wondering how many tie or mount something flashy on the top dead center of the toad's steering wheel and I'm thinking of a bright colored scarf maybe? Just something that I can see in my rear camera, so as to make sure the thing is tracking straight going down the road.

SarahW · 03-12-2012, 09:58 AM

We ordered the "ReadyBrute Elite" towing package from TowBarsUnlimited.com for $1459, FREE SHIPPING AND NO TAX. Here's the description of the kit...

Ready Brake RB-9050 tow bar kit with Brake integrated into it, Blue Ox base plate and wiring. INCLUDING SHIPPING

This package includes the RB-9050 Ready Brute Elite self locking motorhome mounted tow bar with Ready Brake integrated, safety cables, DL-300 in dash light monitor, RS-5000 Readystop Brake Away, tow bar cover and Blue Ox base plate of your choice plus a BX8869 bulb and socket wiring kit and BX8862 6 wire coiled cable.

We didn't use the Blue Ox coiled umbilical nor the light kit because we chose the CoolTech harness and umbilical, but we are keeping them as "back up" spares just in case. This was the best deal I found; Vince is great to work with and will answer emails and phone calls immediately.

I have read that many people tie something light colored on the top of the steering wheel, which we might try so we can see how it's tracking. Now I'm trying to figure out which stone guard or mud flap configuration will work best as that is the last piece we will be buying for the towing setup.

tropical36 · 03-12-2012, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

We ordered the "ReadyBrute Elite" towing package from TowBarsUnlimited.com for $1459, FREE SHIPPING AND NO TAX. Here's the description of the kit...

Ready Brake RB-9050 tow bar kit with Brake integrated into it, Blue Ox base plate and wiring. INCLUDING SHIPPING

This package includes the RB-9050 Ready Brute Elite self locking motorhome mounted tow bar with Ready Brake integrated, safety cables, DL-300 in dash light monitor, RS-5000 Readystop Brake Away, tow bar cover and Blue Ox base plate of your choice plus a BX8869 bulb and socket wiring kit and BX8862 6 wire coiled cable.

We didn't use the Blue Ox coiled umbilical nor the light kit because we chose the CoolTech harness and umbilical, but we are keeping them as "back up" spares just in case. This was the best deal I found; Vince is great to work with and will answer emails and phone calls immediately.

I have read that many people tie something light colored on the top of the steering wheel, which we might try so we can see how it's tracking. Now I'm trying to figure out which stone guard or mud flap configuration will work best as that is the last piece we will be buying for the towing setup.

Glad to hear that you are happy with this company and Vince, who I have talked with myself. I had pretty much made up my mind to go with TowBarsUnlimited, so this kind of confirms that decision. I'm just waiting for confirmation on another unrelated issue next month before ordering and installing. So far, so good, so hopefully we can proceed with this project. I do appreciate your help, which has been straight forward and informative. Do keep us up to date and especially after you've pulled the Jeep and properly tested your installation. I'm somewhat interested in how the surge brake adjustment performs under most conditions, as well.

SarahW · 03-12-2012, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tropical36

Glad to hear that you are happy with this company and Vince, who I have talked with myself. I had pretty much made up my mind to go with TowBarsUnlimited, so this kind of confirms that decision. I'm just waiting for confirmation on another unrelated issue next month before ordering and installing. So far, so good, so hopefully we can proceed with this project. I do appreciate your help, which has been straight forward and informative. Do keep us up to date and especially after you've pulled the Jeep and properly tested your installation. I'm somewhat interested in how the surge brake adjustment performs under most conditions, as well.

Vince has been outstanding to work with. For instance, I was not paying attention when ordering

, and had placed each component separately into my cart. After I placed the order, Vince emailed me that he was REDUCING my total cost because I could get the "package" much cheaper. Now THAT is good service. He also made sure that I received the tracking number(s) for my shipments, which arrived fast and in great condition. I would not hesitate to recommend Vince and TowBarsUnlimited.com.

We are quite anxious to test the tow bar setup and in particular the supplemental brake, to see if we need to adjust anything. I believe we will be taking the moho to Livingston TX in a week or so to have it 4-corner weighed at Escapees, so this will be a 1 1/2 hour road test that doesn't take us far from home. I'll let you know how everything performs.

tropical36 · 03-12-2012, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

Vince has been outstanding to work with. For instance, I was not paying attention when ordering

, and had placed each component separately into my cart. After I placed the order, Vince emailed me that he was REDUCING my total cost because I could get the "package" much cheaper. Now THAT is good service. He also made sure that I received the tracking number(s) for my shipments, which arrived fast and in great condition. I would not hesitate to recommend Vince and TowBarsUnlimited.com.

We are quite anxious to test the tow bar setup and in particular the supplemental brake, to see if we need to adjust anything. I believe we will be taking the moho to Livingston TX in a week or so to have it 4-corner weighed at Escapees, so this will be a 1 1/2 hour road test that doesn't take us far from home. I'll let you know how everything performs.

All sounds good and yes I think we discussed some kind of a package discount.
On another note and since you're obviously in to forums and Jeeps, you might be interested in joining this one, if you aren't already a member... Jeep Wrangler Forum - Jeep Wrangler Owners Community

SarahW · 03-12-2012, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tropical36

All sounds good and yes I think we discussed some kind of a package discount.
On another note and since you're obviously in to forums and Jeeps, you might be interested in joining this one, if you aren't already a member... Jeep Wrangler Forum - Jeep Wrangler Owners Community

Yep, I have already signed up at a couple of Jeep forums! I probably won't post much there, but I like to read 'em. We aren't "hard core" Jeepers; just wanted a good TOAD for the moho.