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Old 02-26-2014, 06:20 AM   #15
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We had ours installed by Hitch King in St Petersburg, FL. They did a great job. We also went with the emergency break away system. Just one more cable to clip during setup / breakdown but good piece of mind.

I wish w would have installed a second indicator light that was tied to the toad's brake light switch so we knew when the brakes are activated. When you go over big interstate bridge humps the surge indicator lights with the bumping but I don't think the brakes are actually applied....
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Old 02-26-2014, 09:22 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by patsikes View Post
We had ours installed by Hitch King in St Petersburg, FL. They did a great job. We also went with the emergency break away system. Just one more cable to clip during setup / breakdown but good piece of mind.

I wish w would have installed a second indicator light that was tied to the toad's brake light switch so we knew when the brakes are activated. When you go over big interstate bridge humps the surge indicator lights with the bumping but I don't think the brakes are actually applied....
It depends on how much slack is in the cable.
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Old 02-26-2014, 01:43 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by patsikes View Post
We had ours installed by Hitch King in St Petersburg, FL. They did a great job. We also went with the emergency break away system. Just one more cable to clip during setup / breakdown but good piece of mind.

I wish w would have installed a second indicator light that was tied to the toad's brake light switch so we knew when the brakes are activated. When you go over big interstate bridge humps the surge indicator lights with the bumping but I don't think the brakes are actually applied....
patsikes,
I did just what you're thinking about. I did install an indicator that told me, that my toad brakes are actually being applied. Here, in brief, is what I did. At the time, we were using an '04 Jeep Rubicon for a toad. Well, I'm the kind that uses the stock tail lights for toad lights. I don't, and never will, install additional sockets and bulbs. It's a preference thing.

And, because it was wired it that way, you get conflicting signals to the toads lights, when the brakes are initiated and, a turn signal is applied from the coach. So, to remedy that, I installed a simple, small, toggle switch in the door jamb of the jeep. It was a two way toggle. What I did was, cut the brake switch out put wire from the jeeps brake switch. I then sent it to the middle pin of that toggle.

On one of the two remaining pins, I ran a wire, through the appropriate plugs etc. all the way to the dash on the coach, to an LED. Then, I ran a wire from the remaining pin on the toggle, back to the cut wire and tied into it.

Now, when it comes time to tow the jeep, I flip the toggle to the front and, when the jeeps brakes are applied by the Ready Brake, the signal from that switch, is sent to the dash on the coach and the LED lights up, telling me the brakes on the jeep, are ACTUALLY being applied.

Then, when it comes time to drive the jeep, we flip the toggle to the rear and, the signal from the jeeps brake switch, is sent to the jeeps tail lights, just as it would normally. It was a simple system to setup.
Scott
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Old 02-26-2014, 02:20 PM   #18
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I used a simple brake light switch that a tie wrapped to a frame. When the pedal is pushed (even slightly) down... The switch closes, hence turning on an indicator light on the dash of the MH. The power is taken from the MH so that the toads power is untouched... using another brake switch ia a great way to isolate the MH power backfeeding into the toads power.

Amazon.com: Tru-Tech SLS66T Brake Light Switch: Automotive

Ultimately, you need real braking feedback from your toad... its good to know your surge brake is working but having only that feedback leaves you guessing if your toad is braking.

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Old 02-26-2014, 07:29 PM   #19
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This has gotten a little off topic from the original posters question, but as Joe said... if you eliminate the slack between the readybrake and the toad eye hook, when your indicator lights up on your dash, your toad brake should engage.
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Old 02-27-2014, 05:37 AM   #20
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Thats the thing, just because that surge light turns on doesn't mean that the toad brake are on.... how would you "really" know. Honest answer is you dont.... I tuned my setup where the toad brakes activates only when I step on the MH's brakes. You can only do this by having both brake indicators as feedback.

you need slack on the cable for turning radius, you don't want to eliminate the slack... if the cable dont have enough slack (when making turns) the cable will tighten against the guide post and pull the brakes on the toad (and this is all without the surge brakes engaging). There was a thread here awhile back where a cable was fraided due to rubbing on the guide posts (his cable did not have enough slack)... and this was within a year or so of use. I dont see how you can tune the brakes setup with this system without feedback from the toads brakes. IMO, there are alot of readybrute setup out there that engages the toad brakes unnecessarily due to the slack of the cable... is this bad, maybe not... but I wouldnt want the toads brake engaging when making a turn around a corner.

One way to check if this is happening.... on an empty parking lot, make a tight turn with the toad attached. Stop in the middle of the turn and check for cable play. If your cable is rubbing and tight on the guide post check if the toad brakes are being applied. You may need to re-adjust the cable so this wont happen....
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Old 02-27-2014, 07:37 AM   #21
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Redridge, that's a good idea to check the slack in a tight turn. I'm going to try that the next time I tow. However, if the brake cable gets tight enough to apply the TOAD brakes in the tight turn I would expect the indicator light on the MH dash to come on. I've never had that happen, unless I just missed it.

In answer to the original post, I'm very happy with my ReadyBrute. It's built with quality. The system is activated and powered by Newton's law. Very dependable pretty much anywhere on this planet.
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Old 02-27-2014, 10:13 AM   #22
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Redridge, that's a good idea to check the slack in a tight turn. I'm going to try that the next time I tow. However, if the brake cable gets tight enough to apply the TOAD brakes in the tight turn I would expect the indicator light on the MH dash to come on. I've never had that happen, unless I just missed it.

In answer to the original post, I'm very happy with my ReadyBrute. It's built with quality. The system is activated and powered by Newton's law. Very dependable pretty much anywhere on this planet.
if you just installed the surge brake indicator light then NO, the indicator light will not turn on.
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Old 02-27-2014, 02:29 PM   #23
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Although a toad brake indicator would be preferrable, I still believe the way the system works, it comes down to proper slack. Not too much as to frey the cable on turns... and certainly not too little... so the brakes engage.
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Old 02-27-2014, 04:02 PM   #24
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I think we worry too much about if the brakes are engaging or not. I can tell the toad brakes are working just by the feel of our motorhome as we stop. Prior to towing a vehicle we towed a motorcycle in a small enclosed trailer that did not have brakes because the combination of the trailer and motorcycle was light enough to not require brakes. As soon as we started towing the vehicle with the ReadyBrute Elite we noticed the motorhome stopped quicker and with less brake effort. It is obvious to us that we are stopping in a shorter distance with the toad then we were with the motorcycle and trailer even though our toad weighs more than twice what our motorcycle and trailer weighed. I'm comfortable with the idea that our "seat of the pants" experience indicates the toad brakes are being applied as indicated by the led dash light. Now that's not to say that having a separate indicator showing that the brake pedal in our toad was moving isn't a cool thing and would be fun to have. But I don't worry about it. And really, if I did have that set up all that really indicates is that the brake pedal moved, but not how much it moved. So if someone wanted to get really anal about it they could say that type of light only indicates the pedal moved but you still may not be actually applying the brakes, which gets you back to where we are and that is going by your "seat of the pants" experience.
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Old 02-27-2014, 06:21 PM   #25
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yeah install the brake indicator cause its fun...
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Old 02-27-2014, 06:29 PM   #26
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To the OP, yes I like my Ready Brute Elite tow bar with brake. Used it again today and it worked as designed.
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Old 03-08-2014, 06:13 AM   #27
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FWIW I can see the lever working the brake in the rear camera. I love the the Ready Brute Elite. Easy install.
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Old 03-09-2014, 10:14 AM   #28
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Love mine as well. I did the whole install myself. One day of labor and $1400 worth of parts.
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