Ready Brake System

[Dadeaux]

I know this has likely been discussed but the words "ready" and "brake" are so common that a search on either renders thousands of topics.

I have ordered a Ready Brake system that I hope to self install on an Acadia and I would appreciate any advice or helpful hint that any can provide.

Thanks in advance.

Del

[rkennedy]

We have had a Ready Brake system on our Winnebago Sightseer to our '07 Subaru for a couple years. Love it. Talk to Russel at Ready Break (800-933-3372)and he will get you all set up. I suspect you may also need to order a DL-100 In-dash brake monitoring kit (little red light on the dash of your motorhome that lights when the brake on your Acadia is applied) . They also sell a light kit ($76) to hook up running/turn/stop lights that run off your motorhome electric system(not your Acadia battery). You will need to run those wires to your Acadia rear light module and may even need to install an auxilary bulb. Russel can advise on all this. I would encourage you to make sure your ReadyBrake hitch insert is fairly level with the base plate on your Acadia to prevent upward/downward binding and allow this trust brake system to work unimpeded.

Rick
Kansas City

[Dadeaux]

Thanks Rick, I have the lights wired that's an easy task for me and it is never necessary to buy the high priced wiring package, just pick up a couple of diodes for each light and a spool of wire, all for less than 20 bucks. The hitch mounting was not so easy so I hired that done and everything works very well.

I am now ready to install a brake system and I was hoping to tap into someone else's experience on the installation. I chose the Ready Brake because of its simplicity in both usage and design and BTW I ordered the DL-100 monitoring system with the brake.

Hopefully the installation is as simple as it looks.

[HarveyP]

I use a ReadyBrake. I did the install myself, not a difficult job. You'll be happy you have it. Harvey

[dkhender]

Very easy install, for both the ReadyBrake cable and the ReadyStop Emergency Breakaway. What took the longest was to figure out the best routing of the cables so they wouldn't interfere with any of the engine. Fortunately I had a fairly easy path to install the cables in my Chevy HHR.

[Dadeaux]

We got the ReadyBrake installed in time for our summer trip and it worked as advertised. The installation was not that complicated and day to day usage (hooking up and unhooking) went well. It extends the length of the hitch about 16 inches making other cables reach their limits was easy enough to overcome.

I truly believe that it is the most accurate braking system on the market.

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

Ready brake and ready brute here as well. We use the cooltech harness for the jeep. All works perfect.

[trophylite]

Has anybody had any bad experiences with the Ready brake because I am looking into buying one for a Jeep rubicon behind a 05 Dolphin...Looks fairly trouble free, but just wondering about any problems.......Thanks

[MoonchaserTX]

READY BRAKE PROBLEMS?
Good question to ask if anyone has had trouble with the Ready Brake combo system...lots of good words about it but no negative comments I can find here in the forum...wonder if the lack of negative comments since your post means nobody has had trouble with it?

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

Nothing wrong with ours so far. Works perfect every time.

[Wanabee FTer]

I can't imagine having any problem with the Ready Brake system, due to it's simplistic design. That is unless you are towing something close to it's weight limit of 8,000 lbs.

[danf7]

I am looking at this system. My question is does it have a way to power up the brakes? It would seem without some type of vacume system the brakes would not stop as well. Just an observation. I'm trying to find out about this before I buy one. Any input is appreciated.
Dan

[firedoc]

We have just taken our first trip with the new Ready Brake Elite. One possible problem that I have found with it is that it applies the brakes whenever the engine brake is used. That is - if you use your engine brake going down a hill you may find that the toad brakes are constantly engaged to one degree or another. This can be quite hard on the toad brakes. TRhe light on the dash does not rally tell you when your toad trakes are applied, it tells you when the contact device in the brake has made contact. Depending on how you have adjusted your cable (which is really just a trial and error method) you may be applying varying degrees of braking or no brake at all. You have just completed the circuit for the light to go on.

[Wanabee FTer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by danf7 I am looking at this system. My question is does it have a way to power up the brakes? It would seem without some type of vacume system the brakes would not stop as well. Just an observation. I'm trying to find out about this before I buy one. Any input is appreciated. Dan

Hi Dan,
The Idea is; the weight of the towd controls the pressure applied to the brake system.
The reason a vehicle is equipped with power brakes is so the person driving does not have to exert much effort to apply the brakes. The brakes will still work in the same way without a brake booster, but the amount of brake pedal effort will be much higher. It is the weight of the vehicle pressing up against the towing vehicle (RV) that will control the amount of brakes being applied. Since most towed vehicles weigh over 3,000 lbs the brake pedal effort is a non issue.

Firedoc,
Since the weight of the towd pushing up against the towing vehicle is what controls the amount of brakes that are being applied in the towd, I would think by adjusting the surge brake cable you would be able to minimize the amount the brakes are being applied to the towd until they are actually needed.
I agree with you about the Ready Brake dash warning system being inadequate.
Inside the MH, the Ready Brake dash warning indicator lamp only comes on when the surge unit is activated. It is not a true indicator of if the towd vehicle brakes are actually being applied. I did see on NSA's info page they used to have a dash warning light system that tapped into the towd vehicles brake light circuit, but it looks like it has been replaced with the surge brake indicator. I would suspect this is because it was a hassle to T it into the towds existing brake light circuit. I would suggest a call to NSA to see if they still have the other monitoring system. It may be a solution for your concern.