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Old 10-18-2015, 02:13 PM   #1
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Trailer brake issue with Ram 2500

Went on the maiden voyage with my new trailer this weekend. First thing I noticed is that the trailer brakes didn't seem to work very well.

I have the truck set for "Heavy Electric" and the tech at Camping World tested the electricals on both truck and trailer (as I stopped there before leaving town as soon as I realized there was a problem).

They say the trailer brakes are signalling fine, but the truck isn't putting out enough amps.

Question: When I manually pull the lever on the trailer brake controller and it goes up to 99, should the trailer brakes lock up? Should it bring the truck to a sudden halt when going low speeds (under 5MPH)?

When I do this, it sort of drifts to a very slow stop, and I think that's a symptom, but before I take the truck to the dealer this week, I'm trying to understand the problem a bit to see if I'm doing it wrong.

The way the tech tested it didn't seem right to me. He said it never went over 3 amps, but I watched while he was using it and the display never rose above "30", when I brake, I see it go up to 80 or even 90 sometimes... so I'm skeptical as to what the real problem might be.

Any advice (especialliy from other Ram truck owners) is appreciated!!!

Truck and trailer are in my sig.
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Old 10-18-2015, 02:18 PM   #2
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The trailer brakes may need to be adjusted.
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Old 10-18-2015, 02:25 PM   #3
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Did you check your gain setting?
General rule: Heavy electric is for over 30 ft. - Light electric is for under 30 ft.
A new trailer has to settle the brakes for the first couple hundred miles.
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Old 10-18-2015, 02:51 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ALJO View Post
Did you check your gain setting?
General rule: Heavy electric is for over 30 ft. - Light electric is for under 30 ft.
A new trailer has to settle the brakes for the first couple hundred miles.
I actually wonder how much of it may have to do with this. Last time I towed a large trailer was 2 years ago, but everything worked great.

It did seem like to me (on the 40 minute drive back home this morning) that the trailer brakes were starting to work better, but I'm not sure how much of that is wishful thinking vs. reality, it's not a huge change, anyway. Maybe I'll hold off for a few weeks and see if it improves.

That said, I'd think the trailer brakes would already be "settled" given they had to tow it to Oregon from Indiana to deliver it to me?

I have the gain set to 8.0 (maximum is 10). I would think this would be WAY too hot for most trailers. Last trailer of size that I towed I had it set at 4.5.
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Old 10-18-2015, 02:55 PM   #5
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Have you come across RV Crashes ?

Have you come across RV Crashes ?

Nobody wants to be reminded off what can happen on the road with your RV. Tire blow outs, wind turn over, poor set ups or just plain stupidity. Across our travels this year we seen one TT and three 5er’s from under 30 to mid 30 ft.
Then we have a son who is a Tow Truck Driver had to clean up seven units during the summer season. He said most time the chassis is separated from the shell. He sail also speed and wind factor was cause #1 and poorly set up situations #2 and river error in one incident. Luckily in all incidents no one was seriously hurt. Then yesterday a friend told me his unit burnt down due to unknown cause.

Things can happen fast………
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Old 10-18-2015, 03:02 PM   #6
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oops should have been new tread
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Old 10-21-2015, 03:47 PM   #7
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A little late to the party. Did you ever get this figured out? I have my RAM set on Heavy Electric, gain at 4.5 or 5, and it's doing fine. If you have yours set on Heavy at 8, I would expect you'd notice that.

Have you inspected the drums? Could be grease in them? Unlikely, but I guess it could happen. I've also read about the auto-adjust breaking and causing problems, but that seemed to be a one-off situation.
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Old 10-21-2015, 05:34 PM   #8
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A little late to the party. Did you ever get this figured out? I have my RAM set on Heavy Electric, gain at 4.5 or 5, and it's doing fine. If you have yours set on Heavy at 8, I would expect you'd notice that.

Have you inspected the drums? Could be grease in them? Unlikely, but I guess it could happen. I've also read about the auto-adjust breaking and causing problems, but that seemed to be a one-off situation.
Same for me setting to Heavy with gain at 5.0. If I go any higher than 6 on the gain, the TT brakes will lock up.
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Old 10-23-2015, 01:49 PM   #9
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I have a 2010, therefore don't have heavy vs. light electric. Just a 0 to 10 gain.

I have never been able to manually lock up my brakes, but nor have I ever had control problems with the trailer not slowing down. Most of my trips I don't even know the trailer is back there even though it is 8500# +

The brakes don't grab as I start to slow down, I don't get brake fade either. The factory unit does NOT perform like my old prodigy unit, but that doesn't mean it isn't working right. After many queries into Dodge have been unsuccessful in getting information as to HOW this unit works. What parameters does it measure? Is the slide scale directly proportional to total output amps, or in delay time applying those amps? Is amp output directed by accelerometers, or brake pressure to the master cylinder?

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Old 10-23-2015, 01:56 PM   #10
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I have a "14 Ram 2500. I have mine set to light electric @ 6.0. Works well with my Jayco.

Dan
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Old 10-23-2015, 06:45 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by ecksdude View Post
Went on the maiden voyage with my new trailer this weekend. First thing I noticed is that the trailer brakes didn't seem to work very well.

I have the truck set for "Heavy Electric" and the tech at Camping World tested the electricals on both truck and trailer (as I stopped there before leaving town as soon as I realized there was a problem).

They say the trailer brakes are signalling fine, but the truck isn't putting out enough amps.

Question: When I manually pull the lever on the trailer brake controller and it goes up to 99, should the trailer brakes lock up? Should it bring the truck to a sudden halt when going low speeds (under 5MPH)?

When I do this, it sort of drifts to a very slow stop, and I think that's a symptom, but before I take the truck to the dealer this week, I'm trying to understand the problem a bit to see if I'm doing it wrong.

The way the tech tested it didn't seem right to me. He said it never went over 3 amps, but I watched while he was using it and the display never rose above "30", when I brake, I see it go up to 80 or even 90 sometimes... so I'm skeptical as to what the real problem might be.

Any advice (especialliy from other Ram truck owners) is appreciated!!!

Truck and trailer are in my sig.
There is an article in the last issue of trailer life that talks about problem that is occurring with some trailer brakes and the Dodge brake system. The "expert" for trailer life was suggesting putting an after market controller as there is to date was no known fix for the problem. That article is in Trailer Life - November 2015- page 71
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Old 10-23-2015, 07:22 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by gcloss View Post
Same for me setting to Heavy with gain at 5.0. If I go any higher than 6 on the gain, the TT brakes will lock up.
On my 2014 RAM 1500 I started out with Heavy and 8 gain when the trailer was new. After a couple of trips I was able to back it down to 6 and it's been doing pretty well there. Mine never locked up at 8 but I could tell it was tugging harder and harder after the first couple of trips.
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Old 10-23-2015, 08:32 PM   #13
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It's been a busy week, so I haven't really got around to it yet.

I did pick up the trailer and bring it home today (family coming over to see it this weekend), and the brakes are suddenly working much better. Still not as tight as I believe they should be, but something definitely changed sitting in a parking lot for a week. I dunno. It could be a while before I have a chance to take the truck into the dealer. I will update here if I find anything out.

Controller set to 8 and braking still quite sluggish, but not *as* sluggish. <shrugs>
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Old 11-24-2015, 02:51 PM   #14
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ttavasc - your experience seems to be similar to mine now.

The brakes are definitely much tighter after a few tows.
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Old 11-24-2015, 03:37 PM   #15
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If you have the self adjusting brakes the dealer should have manually adjusted them before you took possession of the trailer. It is specified on the manufacturers website but never done by the dealers. It takes a while for the shoes to seat and wear in, that is something that I also noticed on my maiden voyage and it took a first few hundred miles before I really noticed a difference. If you drive it over gravel use the override to try and lock the brakes, it's almost impossible to lock them on pavement with a heavy trailer. I also use a digital laser to check the temp of all wheels from time to time.
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