2015 RAM Integrated Brake Controller.
I have read on various forums that the integrated brake controller on the 2015 RAM trucks only provides 70% max voltage to the trailer brakes and that is not enough for 12" brakes. I am not sure if t...
Forum Discussion
For those thinking the IBS is tied to the trucks anti-skid, there isn't really anything the engineers could do to effectively tie the anti skid brakes of the truck into the trailer braking system as there is no feedback system available to enable the system to know what the trailer brakes are doing.
This weekend, I got the opportunity to tow a different fifth wheel with different brakes than the ones on my fifth wheel. The tow was from the Watford North Dakota area to Rawlins Wyoming through a variety of conditions ranging from dry, to freezing rain/glare ice to packed snow floor and a little over 6 inches of fresh snow on the road. As conditions change I normally adjust my brake controller appropriately. With my 2015 3500 even on ice I never adjusted the gain less than 6.5 at which point the truck brakes were taking slightly more of the braking duties than the trailer was. Unfortunately, even on a steep decent no matter how you set the controller you couldn't stop the combination of truck and trailer with just the trailer brakes, which in my opinion is an unsafe condition. With the same trailer you can do this easily in with other vehicles IBC.
Finally, the issue isn't whether or not you can lock the trailer brakes, it's whether or not you have the ability to adjust them to work at just less than the lock point in a variety of conditions with an assortment of trailers all of which will probably have different voltage requirements to work their best.
This weekend, I got the opportunity to tow a different fifth wheel with different brakes than the ones on my fifth wheel. The tow was from the Watford North Dakota area to Rawlins Wyoming through a variety of conditions ranging from dry, to freezing rain/glare ice to packed snow floor and a little over 6 inches of fresh snow on the road. As conditions change I normally adjust my brake controller appropriately. With my 2015 3500 even on ice I never adjusted the gain less than 6.5 at which point the truck brakes were taking slightly more of the braking duties than the trailer was. Unfortunately, even on a steep decent no matter how you set the controller you couldn't stop the combination of truck and trailer with just the trailer brakes, which in my opinion is an unsafe condition. With the same trailer you can do this easily in with other vehicles IBC.
Finally, the issue isn't whether or not you can lock the trailer brakes, it's whether or not you have the ability to adjust them to work at just less than the lock point in a variety of conditions with an assortment of trailers all of which will probably have different voltage requirements to work their best.
