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NSA Surge Braking System

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I have been using the NSA surge brake for approximately four years. I tow a Dodge Dakota PU (4200 lbs)

with my Holiday Rambler 40' DP and have been happy with the performance. When traveling down a steep grade the brakes will activate and release frequently, I was concerned that the toad brakes would overheat, but I have checked them several times after going down these grades and the brakes have been warm but no signs of extreme over heating. I recently inspected the toad brakes (15k miles of towing) and found to be in good condition.

I did have the hydraulic cylinder seal develop a small leak after a year of service, NSA replaced, no questions asked.

Jim

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I've been using the NSA system (Ready Brake) for over 10 years. It works great. I've never had any problems with it. Not sure about a hydraulic cylinder in mine - just a spring and a shock absorber - this is a section from the NSA FAQ page:

Going down a steep grade mountain pass will the Ready Brake activate?
No. We have engineered the Ready Brake not to activate until you step on the brake pedal of the motorhome. In our Ready Brake we have an oil filled shock absorber and a 250 lbs spring. The weight of the towed vehicle has to over come both of these before it will activate.

When traveling down a steep grade the motorhome and the towed vehicle are traveling at the same speed so the Ready Brake will not activate. If you use jake brakes on the motorhome they will not apply enough pressure on the Ready Brake to activate it.

The quicker you need to stop, the more braking your towed does. You need to fine tune the length of the cable at first but after that, it's quick to hookup and unhook. I've used it on several vehicles - just use a different cable for each one. I'd recommend them to anyone that wants a simple, straightforward, easy and quick to connect/disconnect system to provide a variable force braking system.

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Hello out there.

I just joined FMCA. Looking forward to getting acquainted.

I've used a ReadyBrake for several years towing my 99 Wrangler with my Jayco Greyhawk. The only problem I had was the plastic "shroud" on the cable would get torn off where it passes through the "thing" . . . sorry about my descriptions of the parts. I don't know what to call the "thing". I complained to NSA and received another cable. The same thing happened again. I must have been doing something wrong. Anyway, I sold the Jayco and just bought a 2007 Pace Arrow 36D. I haven't been out yet, but I'll be hooking up again in a few days. We'll see. By the way, it always worked without a problem.

I have bought a brake signal system that will tell me with a remote signal when the Jeep brakes are deployed. A lot simpler than the system that came with the ReadyBrake.

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We set up our first dinghy last fall, including the NSA ReadyBrute Elite, which incorporates the ReadyBrake surge brake. Due to my limited experience, I have no other points of comparison, but I found the NSA system easy to use. I'm also pleased with our 2015 Malibu as a towed car.

Wayne

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