Crazy issue with Brake Controller/system - Need Advice

[tcamper]

Last year at this time I had an incident on a local road at 40ish miles per hour with a quick hard braking …… and my trailer brakes locking up and ruining my 1 year old tires (flat spots).

I took the trailer to a trailer mechanic and they adjusted my brakes on my 1 year old 2017 310GK. They said my brakes were terribly out-of-adjustment.

I also bought some new very expensive G614’s …. Set my gain on 4.5 and all my problems were resolved….no breaking problems for a year.

Until yesterday when I was taking my trailer back to storage.

All of a sudden …..I was traveling about 30-35 mph and had another rather quick kinda hard braking incident (a DA in a beat-up pick up truck pulled out in front of me) ….. and I hit the breaks and had a short tire skid and a brief smell of burnt rubber.

I examined the tires as best as I could and did not detect any damage or flat spots. I did not lift the trailer to examine.

Once in the storage parking lot I triggered the manual lever on my break controller and there was an instant slam of the breaks ….. like my controller was set to 10.

I lowered my controller to 1 for the time being.

I have a 2015 Ram 3500 Longhorn with the OEM IBC and a 2017 Grand Design Solitude 310GK

What is going on guys?

[Terryallan]

ScottG wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:

ScottG wrote:


It's really not. If it's raining you need to back it off. If the trailer is appreciably lighter or heavier with water and other junk it will need adjustment.
Of course, if nothing ever changes then the controller can be left alone.

If it is raining, I would hope you wouldn't hit the brakes as hard, therefore the trailer brakes don't brake as hard. Likewise, a heavier load requires a bit more braking and that too is done with your foot. A good controller doesn't need to be fiddled with at all.

And this is the same thinking that got the OP into his situation. Electric brakes just aren't that sensitive to variations in braking and "setting and forgetting" wil get one in trouble.

Maybe the brakes aren't sensitive to braking variations. But A GOOD brake controler is. After all. that is how it works. A good Brake controler "senses" how hard the TV is braking, and applies power to the brakes accordingly. You want the TT brakes, to brake with the same power as the TV brakes. You do not want the trailer to either push, or pull the TV in rain, or dry. It needs to be seamless. So once you get the controler set correctly. It will brake as hard, or as soft as the TV every time. And the harder the TV brakes. The harder the TT brakes. The softer the TV brakes, the softer the trailer will brake, And that is how it is supposed to work.

[eHoefler]

Also, there is 4 different brake settings in the settings menu in the dash in addition to the gain and slider adjustments, make sure you are using the correct base setup for your trailer.

[ScottG]

Lynnmor wrote:

ScottG wrote:


It's really not. If it's raining you need to back it off. If the trailer is appreciably lighter or heavier with water and other junk it will need adjustment.
Of course, if nothing ever changes then the controller can be left alone.

If it is raining, I would hope you wouldn't hit the brakes as hard, therefore the trailer brakes don't brake as hard. Likewise, a heavier load requires a bit more braking and that too is done with your foot. A good controller doesn't need to be fiddled with at all.

And this is the same thinking that got the OP into his situation. Electric brakes just aren't that sensitive to variations in braking and "setting and forgetting" wil get one in trouble.

[eHoefler]

You need to adjust your brakes more often. New brakes need at least 3 adjustments in the first 300-1000 miles depending on driving conditions. Stop and go traffic, would need to be adjusted more often.

[Rover_Bill]

tcamper wrote:
...
Until yesterday when I was taking my trailer back to storage.

All of a sudden …..I was traveling about 30-35 mph and had another rather quick kinda hard braking incident (a DA in a beat-up pick up truck pulled out in front of me) ….. and I hit the breaks and had a short tire skid and a brief smell of burnt rubber.
...
What is going on guys?

Rusty brake drums? When some brake drums or wheel rotors sit unused in rainy weather for a long time, the surface that contacts the brake liner will rust up. That rusty surface make a high friction contact with the brake pads that causes brake lockup or brake squeal until the rust is worn away.

[Lynnmor]

ScottG wrote:


It's really not. If it's raining you need to back it off. If the trailer is appreciably lighter or heavier with water and other junk it will need adjustment.
Of course, if nothing ever changes then the controller can be left alone.

If it is raining, I would hope you wouldn't hit the brakes as hard, therefore the trailer brakes don't brake as hard. Likewise, a heavier load requires a bit more braking and that too is done with your foot. A good controller doesn't need to be fiddled with at all.

[ScottG]

Terryallan wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Brake controllers aren't set and forget and I would never trust some shop to adjust mine.
You need to adjust them to suit your current driving conditions. In a panick stop, weight will transfer and it's likely wheels will lock. That's normal.
The brake system on a trailer is not sophisticated like that of your tow vehicle.

Actually the Prodigy is set, and forget. Once it is adjusted. you don't have to mess with it at all. Get it right, and the TV, and TT stop as one, No jerks, no jumps. You can't even feel it.
And the Factory controler in my ford is set, and forget. Just test it when you hook up. Good to go.

It's really not. If it's raining you need to back it off. If the trailer is appreciably lighter or heavier with water and other junk it will need adjustment.
Of course, if nothing ever changes then the controller can be left alone.

[Terryallan]

ScottG wrote:
Brake controllers aren't set and forget and I would never trust some shop to adjust mine.
You need to adjust them to suit your current driving conditions. In a panick stop, weight will transfer and it's likely wheels will lock. That's normal.
The brake system on a trailer is not sophisticated like that of your tow vehicle.

Actually the Prodigy is set, and forget. Once it is adjusted. you don't have to mess with it at all. Get it right, and the TV, and TT stop as one, No jerks, no jumps. You can't even feel it.
And the Factory controler in my ford is set, and forget. Just test it when you hook up. Good to go.

[old_guy]

every time you hook that TT up to your truck you need to adjust the controller to the TT. in the manual it tells you how to do that. remember every time you hook up, adjustment is necessary for proper braking

[ScottG]

My P3 would have (and has) done the same thing. Totally normal operation. Hit the brakes sudden and hard and weight transfers forward allowing the rear tires of the trailer to skid.
There's nothing wrong with the controller.

[time2roll]

A 40 mph skid flat spotted the tires so bad they had to be replaced?? Seems odd.

Yes need to adjust the brakes more often or consider disks.

Sounds like a controller issue that should be covered under warranty. Has the dealer checked it?

[tcamper]

Sorry all .... yes ....
I have a 2015 Ram 3500 Longhorn with the OEM IBC

I have edited the OP

[ScottG]

Brake controllers aren't set and forget and I would never trust some shop to adjust mine.
You need to adjust them to suit your current driving conditions. In a panick stop, weight will transfer and it's likely wheels will lock. That's normal.
The brake system on a trailer is not sophisticated like that of your tow vehicle.

[MFL]

Fulltimer50 wrote:
It is always helpful to know more about the product that is giving you problems. Make, Model, etc 🙂

While I agree with this post, it would be safe to bet that OP has the Ram IBC that should be OEM in his 15 3500. I know some Ram owners had issues with the IBC, and moved to after market, with better results. A Ram owner may better remember the problem/fix with some Ram IBCs.

Jerry