Community Forums

Percival6 · 07-03-2020, 11:02 AM

I just purchased and installed a new Ready Brute Elite 2 on our 2005 Honda Pilot. Yesterday, as I was getting close to finishing the install, my son came over and asked why we needed a new tow bar. As I was showing him how loose the collar was where the arms attach to the 2" bar on the old tow bar, I started comparing the old Roadmaster Falcon 2 with the new RBE 2. It was then I realized that the RBE 2 does not have the feature that would allow the MH and the toad to be at different degrees of camber, i.e. entering a driveway at an angle, where the MH would be leaning one direction and the toad is leaning the opposite.

The Falcon 2 has the feature that would allow the 2" receiver bar and arms to rotate at any angle (even upside down) and after doing a search for the original RBE (1st generation?) the images I found appear to show that it also had this feature.

The new RBE 2 does not have this, the tow bar arms are essentially locked in the same horizontal plane as the MH and will not allow the toad to be at a different camber/angle than the MH. When I hooked it up for the first time, yesterday, it was difficult to align the clevis, making me wonder if this is even an all-terrain tow bar.

My question/worry is, are the stresses on the toad and MH going to lead excessive wear or damage to either? Has anyone encountered any problems? If there is anyone with engineering experience, what are your thoughts?

Alan_Hepburn · 07-03-2020, 01:00 PM

Why not send this question out to NSA - the people who make the Ready Brute?

MSHappyCampers · 07-04-2020, 09:47 AM

My original ReadyBrute Elite towbars rotate. That could be a real problem! Let us know what you find out from NSA. Thanks!

Biljol · 07-09-2020, 08:56 PM

Did you get an answer from NSA?

nvs4602 · 07-09-2020, 09:23 PM

I just had the NSA ready brake installed on our toad. But the installer said he didn't recommend the RBE for the reasons above. Hard to hookup.... he said he loves the ready brake but uses it with a roadmaster all terrain. So that's what we got. Only towed our car the 30 miles home. But worked good.

I have also ordered a roadmaster rock guard RM-4750 https://www.etrailer.com/search/Rm+4750

fcbbob15 · 07-09-2020, 09:32 PM

Following

DuraFlap Mud Flaps · 07-10-2020, 05:02 PM

Hey nvs4602

Looking at your photos it looks like you do not have mud flaps inside the fender wells of your coach. You may want to put some in there to stop the rocks where they start. That also helps protect your coach.

pilotspike · 11-03-2020, 08:38 PM

Anybody ever hear a followup to the reasons behind the lack of rotational ability on the new version?

j

Sue-Ken · 11-12-2020, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotspike

Anybody ever hear a followup to the reasons behind the lack of rotational ability on the new version?

j

I am interested in this as well.

I talked to someone at NSA. They could not explain the design change and stated no complaints so far.

Ken

CaptainSkip · 11-13-2020, 08:01 AM

I've got a Readybrake Elite II and haven't had any issues with it. Hooking up my Wrangler is a piece of cake. The sliding part of the arm rotates so I can make small adjustments as needed when aligning the arm to the towplate. I believe that these will still rotate even when the arms are locked at the extension length. That may be where the rotation occurs rather than at the pivot point on the hitch itself. I'll hook up the Wrangler and take it for a ride to check it out....I'll have the Commander in Chief ride on the front bumper of the Wrangler to watch the arms for me!

I've towed my Wrangler into a couple campgrounds that had horrible driveways that had hills, speedbumps and turns all in the same area and never encountered any issues at all.

If I was towing something off road maybe I'd be concerned but I don't take my RV off roading. I have my rear camera on all the time while driving and it's pointed right at the towbar and the front of the Wrangler. I was very nervous the first time I used it as I had never towed a vehicle before and you know what? Every where I went the Wrangler followed without a problem.

Bottom line, the engineers at NSA are a lot smarter than me so I figure they know what they're doing.....they're not government employees so I'm sure they're competent and knowledgeable. (I'm a retired government employee)

Sue-Ken · 11-13-2020, 10:47 AM

Captain,

I will await the video form the Commander in Chief.

Thanks,
Ken

Percival6 · 11-13-2020, 12:41 PM

Hi All,

The OP here, sorry I took so long to respond with an update. We went on a 1,600 mile, two-and-a-half week trip to Yellowstone and another 400 mile trip shortly after I posted the question here, as well as conversing with NSA customer service. NSA denied anything would ever go wrong, in a classic CYA sort of way, of course. I am still concerned about the long term effects and the potential for metal fatigue on the mounting points of the towed vehicle, and to a lesser extent the MH. I agree with CaptainSkip that it is easy to hook up and while the individual arms do rotate, I think this benefits the hook up process more than performance.

I had another concern that I encountered on the initial test drive. The cable snagged on the pivot bolt and caused the towed brakes to lock up briefly on a sharp turn. (This happened three more times while on the trip to Yellowstone.) Yes, the cable has the correct amount of slack in it, if it were any tighter I would not be able to connect/disconnect it. NSA had to create a support bracket to prevent this from happening on original RBE.

For whatever reason, they think that their newest version has somehow magically resolved the issue, but it hasn't. When I asked customer service about a solution, they denied there was a problem, and said that any modifications or additions to their design would void the warranty. Great customer service! Deny, then threaten!

Compared with my previous solution of the Roadmaster Falcon II and Even Brake, the RBE II is a step forward. The Falcon II was slightly easier to connect and disconnect, but the RBE II isn't too bad. One time the RBE II did give me a headache when disconnecting, took a fair amount of maneuvering to get it unbound and disconnected. The towed and MH were not that far off center, but it was obviously enough. I wonder if the lack of the pivot point caused it.

The performance still outweighs the drawbacks enough that their customer service didn't turn me off their product. But only slightly. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone at this point.

Tom

MSHappyCampers · 11-17-2020, 11:55 AM

Thanks for the update Tom! So what did you do to resolve the problem?

Vato · 11-17-2020, 02:39 PM

I made a little guide for the light cables and brake cable.. keeps both light cables and brake cable tidy and inline, no worries about light cables dragging the pavement

Or if you don't want to go that way you may be able to find a button head Allen bolt (smooth head) and replace the oe bolt

This is a RB1