I have a small light tow rig. With our weight dist. hitch with sway control, it tows amazingly well. It almost drives like I'm not towing at all... until I look at the MPG... The issue I have is with the brakes on our single axel, 19ft, 2015 Jayco Jay Flight (baja). I use the p3 brake controller. We tow in the Pacific Northwest and often encounter steep hills, sharp corners, and wet conditions. We can smell the brakes working. The wiring looks good underneath, but the wheels on the Jayco are definitely getting hot. We are beefing up the brakes on the tow rig, should we consider upgrading the trailer brakes as well? Am I not adjusting the P3 correctly? We wont be changing tow vehicles for a couple of years when our other vehicle is ready for a replacement. It just isn't in our cards right now, sadly. Here is my current set up. Its a 2016 Sorrento rated to tow 5,000 lbs. My TT has a gvwr of 3,800, but we have it loaded @ 3,400lbs. The other issue may not be one and someone with more experience can weight in. We have a low tow vehicle and the TT is significantly higher. The Baja edition we have comes with a higher suspension. Do you think drag is an issue? The other issue is adjustments with the hitch itself. Its really close to level but not perfect. Has anyone safely lowered a TT? Would you recommend it?

from your picture the trailer is slightly nose down. If that is correct you should be good. If it tows well I would leave it alone. I would definitely not try to lower the trailer.

The setup looks good. I would try backing off of the brake controller until you find the sweet spot.

Trailer brakes are supposed to complement the TV braking and not be the primarybraking. If you are running on P3 - then this is the most aggressive setting;You probably feel the trailer braking before the TV brakes take a bite;It's a balance finding that sweet spot; Try backing off and use P2 - and then lower the gain SLIGHTLY; If you can smell the TT brakes and they are getting hot then they are losing efficiency and you are relying more on the TV brakes.On steep hills, slow down....... there's no shame in going down a hill at 20mphinstead of 30 mph !!! as long as you do it safely;

A trailer that size, with only a single axle, for braking, will heat the brakes up pretty quick, on a steep downhill. The tow vehicle engine braking, by putting the transmission in a lower gear, going down, will help to keep the brakes cooler on TV, and trailer. There is no easy fix, and a V6 engine, will not slow the rig like a V8. If you back off on the trailer brake setting, you risk over heating the TV brakes, which could cause them to fade, and a more dangerous situation. Going down slowly, similar to the speed going up, is your best option.Wind drag is always going to hurt mileage. We all deal with that, and towing at a lower speed is about the only fix for that too. Most gas engine TVs will get about 8-10 mpg, at around 60 mph.It seems you know, when the time comes, you should get a heavier duty tow vehicle. When you do, you most likely will want a bigger trailer! :)Jerry

Agreed. Sounds like too aggressive on the trailer brakes perhaps combined with too much depending on brakes instead of using lower gears and engine braking. If your TV lacks a tow/haul setting on the transmission, it is up to you to gear down at the top of a hill. Having an auto transmission does not make sticking it in D and forgetting it a good option outside of the “normal” non-towing transmission program, which is set to get you into the highest gear possible and take advantage of free-wheeling down hill to maximize gas mileage.I, too, tow with an SUV with a 6 cylinder engine. While the transmission has a sport mode, it has no tow/haul mode, so I put it into manual mode heading downhill. I can go down a 15% grade at speeds up to about 40 mph in second gear (6 speed gearbox) hardly using the brakes. A 7% grade on the interstate at 60-65 mph in third gear requires no brakes at all because of wind resistance.

Hot brakes and Tall trailers | Good Sam Community

Edd505
Explorer
Dec 28, 2019
TowBo wrote:
Just updating ya'll. We updated our brakes. We kept an eye on the transmission temp and the kia did fine. We traveled 1500 or so miles last summer with the trailer. Mpg was between 13 and 15 mpg. Thanks for all your help! This next summer will be even better. I just brought home an F150 Ecoboost for my husband this Xmas.

Smart lady!! It will be night & day different.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Dec 27, 2019
Looks like it was a very merry Christmas at your house towbo!
You'll enjoy the towing (and general driving) experience greatly!
Congrats on the new rig!
badsix
Explorer
Dec 24, 2019
naturist wrote:
Agreed. Sounds like too aggressive on the trailer brakes perhaps combined with too much depending on brakes instead of using lower gears and engine braking.

If your TV lacks a tow/haul setting on the transmission, it is up to you to gear down at the top of a hill. Having an auto transmission does not make sticking it in D and forgetting it a good option outside of the “normal” non-towing transmission program, which is set to get you into the highest gear possible and take advantage of free-wheeling down hill to maximize gas mileage.

I, too, tow with an SUV with a 6 cylinder engine. While the transmission has a sport mode, it has no tow/haul mode, so I put it into manual mode heading downhill. I can go down a 15% grade at speeds up to about 40 mph in second gear (6 speed gearbox) hardly using the brakes. A 7% grade on the interstate at 60-65 mph in third gear requires no brakes at all because of wind resistance.

2ND THIS ^^^ Get your brakes set properly and use your trans on down hills and you shouldn't have any problems.
Jay D.
Huntindog
Explorer
Dec 23, 2019
wanderingbob wrote:
From your picture, how do you remember to lay the flag pole down , that would increase your wind resistance . Just saying !
Going under a overpass/bridge will take care of that.:B
time2roll
Nomad
Dec 23, 2019
Any chance you made sure it had the max towing and max payload options?
Either way the F150 will be a marked improvement.
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Dec 23, 2019
Well I was going to say to double check the prodigy’s settings. But it looks like you took things a few steps farther. Good to hear. You’ll love the new TV.
TowBo
Explorer
Dec 23, 2019
Just updating ya'll. We updated our brakes. We kept an eye on the transmission temp and the kia did fine. We traveled 1500 or so miles last summer with the trailer. Mpg was between 13 and 15 mpg. Thanks for all your help! This next summer will be even better. I just brought home an F150 Ecoboost for my husband this Xmas.
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Apr 10, 2019
the bear II wrote:
I agree with ktrmfs- This is the correct braking method to use on a downhill grade--

2) more aggressive brake to slow down then release let it roll for a while then aggresive to slow it down again, and repeat

I decide on what speed I should go downhill (usually the same speed I came up). Lets say it's 40MPH. Using lower gears I try to find the gear where the tow vehicle will maintain 40MPH without the need for braking most of the time it's second gear. If the speed creeps up to 45MPH I use the brakes to slow to 35MPH and then let it creep up to 45MPH and then brake again to get it back to 35MPH. This allows for some cooling in between braking.

Yes, this is what I was taught to do back in the days when all Brakes were Drum Brakes.

Shift to a lower gear on the top of the hill and then apply and then release the brakes at times. You don't have to break hard and get your speed to low. Just let off of the brakes now and then to allow them to cool. Drum brakes do not cool well.
ttavasc
Explorer II
Apr 10, 2019
TowBo wrote:
I wondered if the brakes might be sticking. Thanks for the heads up. It helps to have others who know what to look for. It is the 195rb baja. We just picked ours up a few months back. How is yours holding up? Do you like it?

So far so good, though I think this is the last season we are going to use it. Just upgraded the TV to the F-250 in anticipation of upgrading the trailer over the next off-season. We bought ours new in early 2015. Only had a couple of minor warranty issues - other than that it's been pretty much routine maintenance/repairs along with some minor modifications. We have had a couple of minor leaks on the front - surprisingly none of which were actually the window. I think we'll be close to 30K miles on it by the end of this season. Overall quite happy with it.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 09, 2019
TowBo wrote:
I am leaning towards upgrading my TV brakes to add a safety margin. Thanks all! Lots to chew on here.
That is fine as long as you also adjust the controller to push more braking effort onto the TV.

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