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Old 03-10-2014, 01:35 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376 View Post
My only concern would be 1, drilling a hole through the brake pedal
and 2 hole to securely hold that pin to the brake pedal and
3, is the pin strong enough to withstand the side load from the cable?
Good point, I thought about degrading the strength of the pedal also by drilling a hole that size, so if I do it, I will use a bolt-on clamp type bracket vs drilling a hole that size in pedal arm assembly. I would think each pedal arm has its own strength component vs the applied pressures.
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Old 03-10-2014, 02:43 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376 View Post
My only concern would be 1, drilling a hole through the brake pedal ( it may make the pedal weaker),
and 2, to hold securely to the brake pedal and
3, is the pin strong enough to withstand the side load from the cable?
Rick,
I understand yours and others concern about the "possible" weakening of the brake pedal arm. Others have brought up the same concern in the past. Suffice to say that, I could stand on that brake pedal 'till I broke the seat back and that arm would not give way. That brake arm that you're looking at is in our present toad, an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 Extra Cab 4x4. It's 3/8" of an inch thick and right at a 1 1/4" wide at that point where the hole is drilled. And, yes that pin is by far, strong enough to handle the shear strength of the application of force from the cable pulling on it. It is a hardened steel pin that's pressed into the brake arm. A 1/4-20, grade 8 bolt would be the same.

I have done it in at least three different toads and not one of the brake arms has ever shown any sign of metal fatigue or, bending at that drill point. No one's forcing anyone to do this mod in this style. If you or anyone is concerned about the brake arm strength being compromised then, by all means, don't do it. Your choice.
Scott
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Old 03-10-2014, 03:48 PM   #17
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To the OP, you really didn't have to go to R/B for a replacement. All you needed to do was buzz down to your local hardware store or, Home Depot, Lowes etc. and pick up some of the exact same sized cable. And no, it does not have to be "Aircraft" cable. Regular cable will do. I know 'cause I've used it for several years. What's nice to have is a "Cable ferrule crimp tool" to make up your own ends. That and some "thimbles" for protecting the cable as it makes a 180 degree turn, coming out of and back into a ferrule.

Good luck on the re-install.
Scott
Just an FYI-If you have a vise grip plier it will crimp the ferrule easily.
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Old 03-10-2014, 03:59 PM   #18
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Gents,
As you know, R/B wants or, instructs you to attach the actuation cable to the brake arm permanently with their components. Well, I'm not a fan of that system due to, in my personal opinion, it permits excess wear and tear on both that cable and the interior of the cable housing. Some don't care about that and simply install the system as instructed.

So, what I did was install a component on the end of that cable that attaches to the brake arm, in a matter of a few seconds. That component is a sliding screen door roller. I simply ran the cable through a cable ferrule, then around the screen door roller and back through the ferrule. Then I crimped the ferrule very close to the roller so the roller would not slip out of the cable loop.

That roller, has a 1/4" hole in it. I installed a 1/4" pin in the brake arm at the same level as the cable is, as it comes out of the housing on the firewall. Now, when it comes time for getting ready to tow, all the wife does is, reach under the floor mat, grab that end of the cable, slip it onto the pin and put a "hitch" pin through the tip of that pin to keep it on there while being towed. DONE!

The other modification I did to the Ready Brake system is, instead of those seriously goof ball cable clamps in the connection cable used for adjustment of cable tension, I installed a Stainless Steel, marine grade turn buckle. Talk about waaaaaaaay cleaner and seriously more easy to make any adjustments to that cable tension.

These modifications made my R/B system much cleaner and, in my opinion, the system will last a lot longer due to the fact that, the actuation cable is not in use, unless the toad is being towed.
Scott





That's a great mod! Where did you get the pin that goes through the brake pedal and the nylon wheel that fits over it? Thanks!
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Old 03-10-2014, 07:22 PM   #19
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That's a great mod! Where did you get the pin that goes through the brake pedal and the nylon wheel that fits over it? Thanks!
Joe,
The pin can be had from just about any hardware store or even Home Depot or Lowes. Typically you'll find it in those specialty drawers at a well equipped hardware store. You know, the isle that has about a hundred of those drawers with all kinds of hard to find gadgets in them. I think it was about $3-4 dollars or so. As I stated, you can also use a grade 8, 1/4-20 bolt too. All you'd need to do is get one that's long enough so you can use a nut on the opposite side to secure the bolt to the pedal. Then, drill a hole across the tip of the bolt so the hitch pin can be inserted to retain the cable/wheel.

As for the wheel, it too can be found at Home Depot or Lowes or a nicely equipped hardware store. All it is, is a screen door roller. And, you can get either a nice metal one with a bearing in it, or, you can get what you see in the picture, a nylon one. I chose the nylon because it was what was available at the time.

As of yet, I see no evidence of any type of damage, fatigue or wear on that nylon wheel in the three or four thousand miles that this particular system has been used and our toad has been towed. As for using the vice grip pliers, yeah, you probably could use those. I picked up the cable crimpers (they look like a set of bolt cutters only they don't have cutting jaws, they have multiple sized crimp jaws in them). And, I just saw them at our local Home Depot for about $20.00.

I've used them all over the house for various little cable jobs. Very handy.
Scott
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Old 03-12-2014, 09:08 AM   #20
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Rick,
You said you have been using the Readybrake for six years. How many miles driving and towing have you put on your jeep in those six years? I've been towing with my Readybrute for a year now. Maybe changing out the cables after a certain number of miles/years in use would be a good idea. Taking them out and inspecting them once a year would be a good idea but the way mime are routed I'm not sure I could get them back in. Did you get any response from the company?

The issue of drilling a hole in the brake pedal arm was discussed at length on this forum a few months back. I doubt there has been any brake pedal failures since then but it's not something I would do.
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Old 03-12-2014, 10:23 AM   #21
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Thats the way i did mine works great.
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Old 03-13-2014, 03:24 PM   #22
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Rick,
You said you have been using the Readybrake for six years. How many miles driving and towing have you put on your jeep in those six years? I've been towing with my Readybrute for a year now. Maybe changing out the cables after a certain number of miles/years in use would be a good idea. Taking them out and inspecting them once a year would be a good idea but the way mime are routed I'm not sure I could get them back in. Did you get any response from the company?

The issue of drilling a hole in the brake pedal arm was discussed at length on this forum a few months back. I doubt there has been any brake pedal failures since then but it's not something I would do.
Hi all. The jeep has 105k miles of on the clock driving, 20k or so behind the RV, not on the odo.
The company offered to send me one for $10 plus shipping. Wayne, here on this forum sent me a spare he had for $10.
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