disc brake delay

[carolinaboy50]

I purchased a new Beacon FW with Hydrastar disc brakes. There is a 2 to 3 second delay between applying the brakes and the trailer brakes engaging. I pull with a 2018 F-350 DRW with the brake controller set to EOH with a gain of 9. I know some trucks need a HCA cam added, but Hydrastar says the 2018 F-350 does not. Anyone seen this before? How did you correct it?

[Cummins12V98]

carolinaboy50 wrote:
Problem fixed!! It turns out the problem was air in the FW brake lines. After bleeding the brakes, they now work fine. It took a long time to finally track down the problems because the RV dealer here in Hammond claimed they had bled the brakes earlier. so I looked for other fixes. They must have not done so or did not do it correctly.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Perfect example of why you should start with the basics.

My Motorcycle wouldn't start. A friend asked if I checked the battery connections. I said previous owner had recently installed a new battery. He gave me the LOOK. I checked and sure enough the bolts were loose.

[carolinaboy50]

Problem fixed!! It turns out the problem was air in the FW brake lines. After bleeding the brakes, they now work fine. It took a long time to finally track down the problems because the RV dealer here in Hammond claimed they had bled the brakes earlier. so I looked for other fixes. They must have not done so or did not do it correctly.

Thanks for all of the replies.

[Edd505]

I did my own install with a kit from Disc Kit and have had no issues. Their kit includes wiring, brake lines, pump and everything you need to include clips to secure the lines, the instructions are very clear as to what needs done. The only thing you need is grease & brake fluid.

[time2roll]

ford truck guy wrote:
ENd of the story was it was the Hydrastar all along, and the discs are freakin awesome with the brakerite..

Could have been defective in some way. My Hydrastar has been perfect.

The new trailer should have a warranty. The wildcard is the dealer expertise to find the issue.

[lenr]

Titan = BrakeRite. I am very happy with my Titan BrakeRite connected to a Prodigy P3. Others (my thread again) are very happy with a similar setup using a Ford controller set up to Med or High aggressiveness.

[ford_truck_guy]

I had Morryde install the discs on my new Redwood when they did the IS.

I had nothing but problems with the system, Brian and Morryde was an awesome help, but his hands were tied for a good bit..

First Kodiak blamed Ford... Ford said they had nothing to do with it, My local tech was telling me he though it was the Hydrastar...

I took it to the tech and Morryde had them change the calipers and all the brake lines thinking I had a hydraulic issue, that didnt work... finally my tech told me he really thought it was the Hydrastar, so we pulled that off and replaced it with a Brakerite.. the problem went away ! We sent the Hydrastar back for evaulation, and received a check in full for the replacement and labor.

ENd of the story was it was the Hydrastar all along, and the discs are freakin awesome with the brakerite..

[Cummins12V98]

I have the biggest HydraStar on my DRV and the same only with the "Marine" label on my Boat Trailer. Both are lightening fast!

As mentioned Grounding and supply wire size may need attention. BLEED those lines!!! Keep actuator about 3/4" from top with proper brake fluid.

Proper lubrication of caliper slide pins along with mating surfaces is very important.

Their customer Service is great. I was loosing fluid with no leaks found and brake pads were not excessively wearing on my Boat Trailer. Finally I discovered the leak on the actuator. Called them and in minutes I had a tracking number for a replacement unit. Received the new unit within a couple days with a return label. No more fluid loss!

[lenr]

This is the second thread about troubles with disc brakes on a Vanleigh trailer--the last one was with a Chevy I think. Anyway, the moral from that thread was that the factory wasn't much help blaming problems on the truck. I would try to get with someone from Hydrastar or a service shop with Hydrastar experience. Although Hydrastar claims to be fast I couldn't get factory support to confirm a low startup voltage. So, I went with Titan because the startup voltage seemed to be the lowest of the 3 main manufacturers.

[lenr]

By setting my P3 to the highest level of initial boost, likely similar to the Ford high setting, it gets the actuator running on light braking. Then as I increase brake petal pressure the trailer braking effect comes on quickly. I had to switch from a Dexter to a Titan actuator for a lower start up voltage as my thread describes.

[bluefishgary]

I also have disks brakes,with the Hydrastar actuator. If I was to compare to the drum brakes it is night and day better.
My trailer is a 3 axle,had mine installed at Moride in Elkhart.
Make sure that the power line fron battery is big enough for the
Run to actuator.Brake fluid full.Bleeding system. Ground wire bigger.
I have a 19 Ford factory BC worked great. OEM brakes self adjustable and had 25,000 miles on OEM there was not much left on the shoes.
Now I only have 1800 miles so far but perfect so far.if mine has delay I can knot tell yet.

[lenr]

All disc brake actuators have some delay while they build pressure. Hydrastar is supposed to be one of the quickest. But an additional problem is that they all have a voltage level below which they do nothing. Google for my thread "Disappointed in Disc Brakes." https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29930221.cfm
I found my main problem to be turn on voltage with light braking. Because my 2012 F-350 did not have the "Low/Med/High" setting I had to resort to a Prodigy P3 to get the actuator to start working on light braking. The "Low/Med/High" setting, as I understand it, determines how aggressive the voltage back to the trailer is on light braking. I would try High to see how it affets things. After the brakes are set in, I would be surprised if a 9 setting didn't lock up the brakes.

[Edd505]

Controller at 9, you have a problem. My drum brakes were 9 and I installed disks and now run 4.5. There is another setting on the brakes in the F350 beside the gain or EOH. I would have to look in the manual or play with the control but it lets you select low/med/high for brake effort.

[Cummins12V98]

I concur, the factory does not always do a good job of bleeding the lines.

[time2roll]

I have a hydrastar pump as they are supposed to be one best with minimum delay. I have a Prodigy P3 controller and have not really noticed any delay on mine. P3 has a boost function to have the brakes come on a bit stronger right at the beginning. Not sure if the Ford controller has a similar option.

I would suggest bleeding the brakes as my only suggestion. Although probably a long shot on a new trailer. Process is a bit tedious due to the small reservoir on these pumps.