Trailer Brake Gain

The tow haul was working well but it was in second gear and still accelerating. I saw other truck and trailers pulling over but my thinking was to keep air moving across the brakes to keep them cool. Was I thinking correctly? Or should I pull over every so often to allow them to cool down in situations like this?

I have had a CDL since 1974. I have driven almost all types of vehicles and combinations. My 2010 Ram 3500 4x4 Cummins that has an exhaust brake which I use when solo or when towing my 39 ft Keystone Alpine FW. If you have balanced your TV and trailer, I would not increase the braking on the trailer if it has the drum brakes because of slower heat dissipation in the drum brakes vs the 4 wheel disc brakes on the TV. It is very easy to overheat the trailer brakes when going downhill. If you have a gasser then I would decrease speed and use lower gears. BTW I know a guy that has a 2014 GMC 2500 Duramax that brags about never using his exhaust brake because he is a great driver!!

I just re set my gain on my trailer, I was running at about 7.0 but every time I did a Hub/brake heat check my trailer hubs were a bit warmer than I wanted,, I backed off to 5.0 and didn't notice any change in brake feel but did notice my hubs were running allot cooler. I have discs all the way around and feel that I am right where I need to be,, The truck does not feel as though its being pushed and upon a good hard brake I can feel the trailer brakes pull and help out.. So its just going to take getting used to what works for you,, Also,, I use Tow/Haul anytime the trailer is hooked up and just love the way the transmission helps slow me down. If you have it use it!

First off, stop thinking so much about brakes and think more towards downshifting to 2nd and using an exhaust brake. Maybe the 150 doesn't come with one as the new 350 I drove does. But on my older 350 I've added a Pacbrake and seldom need to apply the brakes (make sure overdrive is off). If the grade requires braking I'll downshift to 2nd. We live at 9000' feet, and DW and I both avoid over-braking. Before we were experienced we (I) overheated the brakes coming off of Mosquito Pass on the Leadville side in our old Bronco. Luckily, they held until I got into town. What a surprise when I blew through a stop sign without even slowing. You don't want that to happen with or without a trailer pushing you. And it's a great aid even on level roads when that yellow light pops up or some clown cuts in front of you in traffic.

I don't think you want the trailer brakes working harder than the truck brakes. Most newer trucks have disc brakes which are much more efficient than the drum brakes on most trailers. Others might have a different opinion but I wouldn't change them. Of course using the tow-haul feature is a help too.