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Post by gabebillings on Aug 19, 2020 17:46:13 GMT -5
So this is my first vehicle with trailer brakes. Odd that I never heard anyone at the dealer mention anything about them, so I guess they just assumed I knew what I was doing. After looking at options I decided the best choice would be to get an OEM brake system that fit in my Ram 1500. I ordered from a company online after watching their install video, which seemed doable. I got it installed and flashed the truck with their included module and everything seems to work fine.
Where I'm a little hazy is the operation. My choices in the truck are basically light and heavy electric, and a gain setting from 0 to 10. So after I finally got the hitch installed at the dealer and was driving out of the lot, I started playing with the brakes. Based on stuff I'd read from others online, I'd be able to get the trailer brakes to lock up when using the manual override. That never happened. I finally had it on heavy with the gain almost maxed out and it felt like it was assisting on the brakes, but nowhere near being able to lock them. I tried a near panic stop with the truck brakes and that seemed to work well enough that I felt ok taking it home.
So now after doing more reading, I see that even self adjusting brakes may need an initial break-in period to burnish the brakes and get them working fully. I read a couple of different suggestions that said to get up to about 40 mph and then use the manual override to bring everything to a stop, and to go through that entire process maybe 10-20 times with a minute or so cooldown between stops. I'm planning on taking the trailer out this weekend for a weighing trip and some backing practice, and I was going to try to find a quiet chunk of highway to try and get my brakes working.
Anyone else have experience with brand new electric brakes like this?
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ZanderMan
Weekender RV’er
Needs monitoring
Posts: 63
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Post by ZanderMan on Aug 20, 2020 16:12:15 GMT -5
So this is my first vehicle with trailer brakes. Odd that I never heard anyone at the dealer mention anything about them, so I guess they just assumed I knew what I was doing. After looking at options I decided the best choice would be to get an OEM brake system that fit in my Ram 1500. I ordered from a company online after watching their install video, which seemed doable. I got it installed and flashed the truck with their included module and everything seems to work fine. Where I'm a little hazy is the operation. My choices in the truck are basically light and heavy electric, and a gain setting from 0 to 10. So after I finally got the hitch installed at the dealer and was driving out of the lot, I started playing with the brakes. Based on stuff I'd read from others online, I'd be able to get the trailer brakes to lock up when using the manual override. That never happened. I finally had it on heavy with the gain almost maxed out and it felt like it was assisting on the brakes, but nowhere near being able to lock them. I tried a near panic stop with the truck brakes and that seemed to work well enough that I felt ok taking it home. So now after doing more reading, I see that even self adjusting brakes may need an initial break-in period to burnish the brakes and get them working fully. I read a couple of different suggestions that said to get up to about 40 mph and then use the manual override to bring everything to a stop, and to go through that entire process maybe 10-20 times with a minute or so cooldown between stops. I'm planning on taking the trailer out this weekend for a weighing trip and some backing practice, and I was going to try to find a quiet chunk of highway to try and get my brakes working. Anyone else have experience with brand new electric brakes like this? I think it's a common source of anxiety. I'm not sure that in a controlled situation that you ever truly do a panic stop. I came up on a right-hand turn a bit more rapidly than expected and ended up locking the trailer brakes and everything went better than I should have expected. It depends on your brake controller as to how you get feedback and set it up for optimal performance. My Tekonsha has an LED on top that goes from green to yellow to red depending on the voltage being sent to the trailer brakes. I have never seen it go red, even on manual override. I think the first step in setup is leveling, then dialing in the brake amplification. It's mostly seat-of-the-pants feeling when you're making normal braking... panic stops will follow if you have it dialed in for normal operation. |
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Post by gabebillings on Sept 2, 2020 13:56:05 GMT -5
Funny story about this... So I took the trailer out on the weekend to check out the brakes and then go weigh it. I found a spot out near our airport that was perfect; three chunks of road in a little triangle, one section had one dead end so there was a stretch of road that was long enough for me to get up to speed without really worrying about anyone being behind me. So I tried the thing about burnishing the brakes. I did it maybe 4 times. Then I pulled into a turn out and thought I'd get out and just check things out, just to make sure everything was ok.  Basically the wheels were no longer in the same plane. Given what I'd just been doing, I basically through I'd wrecked them by using the brakes like I'd been doing. I freaked out, and called my wife and told her I broke the trailer. Then since I didn't know what else to do, I called the salesman I'd bought it from, since he told me he'd been an RV technician prior to getting into sales. I explained everything, and he eventually sent me to talk to their repair manager. I explained everything again, and a few minutes in he said, "You said you were pulled into a turnout?" Then everything kinda clicked in my head, and while I was still on the phone with him, I pulled out of the turnout and onto the side of the road where I got everything straightened out. Then I jumped out and checked the wheels again. Of course they were fine. So I had a brief moment where I wasn't really thinking and forgot that just MAYBE while I had the trailer in the middle of a sharp turn on the side of the road where it wasn't perfectly level that just possibly the wheels might look a little wonky. Also while I was talking to the service manager he mentioned that the trailer got towed out from the factory in the midwest, so the brakes probably already got enough of a workout. So anyway, I'm way less stressed about the brakes now. |
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ZanderMan
Weekender RV’er
Needs monitoring
Posts: 63
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Post by ZanderMan on Sept 29, 2020 11:23:30 GMT -5
Haha, I haven’t checked upon this forum in a while, but can relate to the “I broke the trailer” feeling!
I don’t have a dual axle but can see how this would happen if you’re still mid-turn. Personally, I think this is one reason tire sidewalls fail earlier on dual-axle trailers.
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