Ready Brake Elite Problem?

[jrs]

Originally Posted by baraff

You don't say how old your ReadyBrute is but the newer ones have zerk fittings for a grease gun. Are you lubing the arms before each trip? I give mine a few squirts before a long trip and have never had a problem with the arms not locking.
Maybe give NSA a call, they can probably advise what the issue is and how to fix it.

Just received my ReadyBrute Elite tow bar and my directions on frequency of greasing says quote: "This does not need to be done more than once a year depending on how much you tow".

Don't want to start an argument and was surprised with this frequency recommended by the company.

[Poohbear7278]

I had mine to lock in the collapse position on one side one time
But I was turning and going downhill a little so now I get as straight as possible and back up to try and get one locked and then the other one usually locks before we leave the campground.

[les.warden]

Originally Posted by Poohbear7278

I had mine to lock in the collapse position on one side one time
But I was turning and going downhill a little so now I get as straight as possible and back up to try and get one locked and then the other one usually locks before we leave the campground.

Ha! I had that happen to me once. Looked in the camera and the Jeep was tracking but off center. What the what??!!!??? Stopped and let the short one loose and it expended and locked long on take off. No damage done but looked strange in the rear camera.
That’s when I dug and found out about turning the wheels towards the unlocked side. Works every time.

[les.warden]

Originally Posted by Rex2010

Thank you Les, I used your directions when hooking up my ReadyBrute Elite and turning the wheel towards the arm that did not lock and pulling forward worked perfectly. I printed it out and will keep with my sheet for setting up the CRV for towing.

Glad it worked out for you. Safe travels!

[britcon]

Tried the hookup & pull the MH forward approach. Found that sometimes both arms would not lock. Go around first corner and see the Jeep tracking weird.

Have found best way is to collapse the arms, and have wife approach. Try to center toad as much as possible. Connect towbar to toad. If arms are extended roughly same distance, back up slowly until they lock in place, then complete cable hookups.
If arms aren't extended equally, turn the wheels of the toad toward the long arm so when you back up, you pull out the short arm slightly more. After a few times, you get a good feel for how much you need to crank the wheels to compensate. Remember to straighten wheels out after bars locked.

You can do a quick check that both sides are locked by feeling the bottom of the handle assembly. When locked, nut is flush with bottom. When not locked, nut is recessed up inside assembly.

[Chargerman]

I have a similar problem with my new Hercules tow bar. I contacted the factory and they were aware of the issue. On mine one arm is worse than the other. They told me it should snap in place if I pull on the are kind of hard and fast. There is an angle on the end of the lock pin that is supposed to help it jump over the head of the arm to lock it. On mine no matter how hard and fast I pull the arm out it will not jump over the head of the arm internally. My short term solution is to back my tow vehicle until the lock pin is up against the head of the arm and then I have to pull hard on the lock pin while turning it to get it to pull out and bypass the head of the arm. It’s a PIA. In talking to the factory they were aware of this issue and had a “let’s see how it goes” attitude when it was noticed during assembly testing. There clearly is a design flaw and they were/are aware of it. I made videos per there request but the owner was out for medical reasons and I have not heard back from them. Since this discussion has reminded me of the issue I will contact them today and keep you posted