First 5th Wheel--Bad Braking???
Hi, I just got my first 5th wheel and am a bit concerned about the braking. It weighs 12,500 pounds and has a 2500 pound pin weight. I am pulling it with my Ram 3500 which has a 4,200 pound max pay...
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Search the web. It's an issue with the late model Dodge trucks some people have a problem some don't. When I pull the new 14 foot utility trailer which has one axle brakes it wouldn't hold my truck at a stop with the manual lever full on and set to heavy Electric.
My son's 2012 locks the tires instantly on the pavement. Another son has a 2013 pulling a large tandem axle vehicle trailer and empty can smoke the tires with full manual lever. I have now installed a prodigy P3 and their Ram connector harness and the braking was better. I then went back in and used the universal harness to the Prodigy which has 12 gauge wire pigtails. The only portion of the Prodigy harness that I used was the red wire which has a diode in it so the brake system is not back fed. From The Prodigy Universal connector with the 12 gauge leads I ran 12 gauge to the battery and 12 gauge blue all the way back to the jumper that goes between the bumper 7-way and the bed 7-way that jumper lead has 12 gauge in it.
The wiring from the factory controller to the rear is only 16 gauge. If you check the voltage back at the RV you will probably only see about 7 volts they say that Ram cuts it down to that under 30 miles an hour.
Using the Prodigy controller and 12 gauge wiring it will now smoke the tires on the utility trailer I haven't pulled the fifth wheel yet because we're staying in it.
Obviously you have to be sure you don't have contaminated brakes or poor wiring connections which is common underneath the rig everything in my system has been soldered and sealed.
When doing a tug test on my pin my brakes always seem to hold really well but on the road using the manual lever they never did much and I also use the exhaust brake a lot and manually downshift.
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My son's 2012 locks the tires instantly on the pavement. Another son has a 2013 pulling a large tandem axle vehicle trailer and empty can smoke the tires with full manual lever. I have now installed a prodigy P3 and their Ram connector harness and the braking was better. I then went back in and used the universal harness to the Prodigy which has 12 gauge wire pigtails. The only portion of the Prodigy harness that I used was the red wire which has a diode in it so the brake system is not back fed. From The Prodigy Universal connector with the 12 gauge leads I ran 12 gauge to the battery and 12 gauge blue all the way back to the jumper that goes between the bumper 7-way and the bed 7-way that jumper lead has 12 gauge in it.
The wiring from the factory controller to the rear is only 16 gauge. If you check the voltage back at the RV you will probably only see about 7 volts they say that Ram cuts it down to that under 30 miles an hour.
Using the Prodigy controller and 12 gauge wiring it will now smoke the tires on the utility trailer I haven't pulled the fifth wheel yet because we're staying in it.
Obviously you have to be sure you don't have contaminated brakes or poor wiring connections which is common underneath the rig everything in my system has been soldered and sealed.
When doing a tug test on my pin my brakes always seem to hold really well but on the road using the manual lever they never did much and I also use the exhaust brake a lot and manually downshift.
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