Braking

Chiroboater · Jun 5, 2017

I have a 2015 ram 2500 with the 5.7hemi mega cab. I was wondering if anybody out there has had difficulty coming to stops when towing trailers that have no electric brakes only surge brakes. I currently haul a boat that weighs (boat motor and trailer)approximately 8500 pounds that has surge brakes. I have been able to tow it with a Ford F150 and put it into the water on an steep ramp and had excellent braking from the Ford as well as have zero trouble when coming to stops at intersections. I have zero brakes with my ram (Pedal to the floor and the truck still is rolling while in 4 Low) when putting the boat in the water and the pedal goes about to the floor at intersections. I was just told today by ram customer care that they will do nothing about it to fix the problem I have on the vehicles since new I have currently 9250 miles on the truck and I've been having the problem for one year so if there's anybody (techs or service people or normal joes like me) out there that has had any trouble please let me know what your troubles have been and if anything has been done to rectify the problem.

MADDOG · Jun 5, 2017

Welcome to the forum. Seems to me the customer care rep is full of it and should honor Ram's warranty as written. I'd get back to them and find out exactly why they aren't honoring the warranty with failing brakes at less than 10K miles.

I'm glad to say mine is stopping just fine so it's not a design issue, AFAIK, but a component or material failure that causes this and that is what the warranty is for.

Razorbackfan · Jun 5, 2017

Yup, take it to a dealer and have them check it out. I'm sure as soon as she heard the word "brakes" she just told you not covered cause it's a wear item for pads but yours sounds like a fluid/pressure problem which should be covered.

Chiroboater · Jun 5, 2017

It's been to the dealer 4 times and not once have they tested the pressure or master cylinder. I will be calling tomorrow again to try to get my point across about pressure. Thanks for your response

charonblk07 · Jun 5, 2017

Try getting in touch with RamCares on here and see what they can help with.

Chiroboater · Jun 5, 2017

Not to sound stupid but is RamCares different from the the Ram Customer Care that I have been dealing with on the phone. If not how might I get in touch with them

BossHogg · Jun 6, 2017

Chiroboater said:
I have a 2015 ram 2500 with the 5.7hemi mega cab. I was wondering if anybody out there has had difficulty coming to stops when towing trailers that have no electric brakes only surge brakes. I currently haul a boat that weighs (boat motor and trailer)approximately 8500 pounds that has surge brakes. I have been able to tow it with a Ford F150 and put it into the water on an steep ramp and had excellent braking from the Ford as well as have zero trouble when coming to stops at intersections. I have zero brakes with my ram (Pedal to the floor and the truck still is rolling while in 4 Low) when putting the boat in the water and the pedal goes about to the floor at intersections. I was just told today by ram customer care that they will do nothing about it to fix the problem I have on the vehicles since new I have currently 9250 miles on the truck and I've been having the problem for one year so if there's anybody (techs or service people or normal joes like me) out there that has had any trouble please let me know what your troubles have been and if anything has been done to rectify the problem.

I have a 2015 3500 but I believe both the 2500 and 3500 use the same braking system which is powered by hydraulics from the power steering pump.

In 4x4 low, I have to use a lot of brake pedal pressure to stop the vehicle, I wrote this off to having high torque in low gear. In normal driving, braking seems to be of average pedal pressure as compared to any other vehicle I've driven. How is the braking on your truck in normal trailerless driving?

How many miles on your truck? I remember when mine was new the brakes needed a hard push to stop until they broke in.

Chiroboater · Jun 6, 2017

Normal trailerless driving seems to be fine. The truck has 9200 miles on it.
How long did it seem to take to break in or improve?

RamCares · Jun 6, 2017

Chiroboater said:
Not to sound stupid but is RamCares different from the the Ram Customer Care that I have been dealing with on the phone. If not how might I get in touch with them

Hi Chiroboater,

We are a facet of Ram Customer Care called the Social Connect Team. We monitor social media to assist customers with their vehicle concerns. I'm happy to hear you are working with our customer care department, if you have any additional questions please feel free to PM our page for further assistance if needed.

Andrea
Ram Social Care Specialist

Chiroboater · Jun 6, 2017

Andrea...I spoke with Ram Customer Care last evening and they have told me that there is nothing more they can do. They stated that according to the area service manager for my district that they could not replicate the problem. that is however untrue. I have had a mechanic and a service person from the dealership with me in my truck driving when they attempted to put my boat in the water. When going down the ramp, the mechanic found out quickly that I had no brakes. It had the pedal pinned to the floor and the truck kept moving towards the water. I find this to be a replication of the problem. The dealership even took a similar truck to try and again they had the same trouble. The funny thing about this whole situation is that my 2014 Ford F150 had absolutely NO problem on the same ramp with the same boat nor did I have trouble stopping at simple intersections, where I have also had what I consider not near enough brake pressure in my ram 2500. I also tried putting the boat down the ramp this past weekend with my dad Ram 1500 crew cab sport...I had no trouble. What do you suggest I do?

RamCares · Jun 6, 2017

Chiroboater said:
Andrea...I spoke with Ram Customer Care last evening and they have told me that there is nothing more they can do. They stated that according to the area service manager for my district that they could not replicate the problem. that is however untrue. I have had a mechanic and a service person from the dealership with me in my truck driving when they attempted to put my boat in the water. When going down the ramp, the mechanic found out quickly that I had no brakes. It had the pedal pinned to the floor and the truck kept moving towards the water. I find this to be a replication of the problem. The dealership even took a similar truck to try and again they had the same trouble. The funny thing about this whole situation is that my 2014 Ford F150 had absolutely NO problem on the same ramp with the same boat nor did I have trouble stopping at simple intersections, where I have also had what I consider not near enough brake pressure in my ram 2500. I also tried putting the boat down the ramp this past weekend with my dad Ram 1500 crew cab sport...I had no trouble. What do you suggest I do?

Hi Chiroboater,

Can you PM our page with your VIN? I'd like to look into this further for you.

Andrea
Ram Social Care Specialist

BossHogg · Jun 6, 2017

Chiroboater said:
Normal trailerless driving seems to be fine. The truck has 9200 miles on it.
How long did it seem to take to break in or improve?

I was one of the first to notice an ITBM issue (began with 2015 MY) when pulling heavier trailers, north of 12K pounds. Having to face a fast stop situation, when the vehicle fell below 30 MPH the ITBM would reduce trailer braking to a maximum of 70% or so. In other words, the truck became responsible for stopping the load.

After a few of these panic stops, the truck's brakes broke in nicely.

Chiroboater said:
Andrea...I spoke with Ram Customer Care last evening and they have told me that there is nothing more they can do. They stated that according to the area service manager for my district that they could not replicate the problem. that is however untrue.

Referring to the issue above about the ITBM, Chrysler delivered a boatload of lip service to me, and many others saying nothing wrong. I actually published a paper for the NTSB with unarguable proof and there is a thread here with all my data. Chrysler still denied and told me I didn't understand. Well, they didn't know I'm an automotive engineer and have worked on engineering teams developing electronics and software from powertrain to simple electronics like a door module. I absolutely knew.

Somehow someone at Chrysler realized there was an issue and there was a quite software release made in November of 2016 for the ITBM and ABS that addressed the problem.

Brakes are a safety item, you as an experienced driver and one who is comfortable and knowledgeable with boat launching detects something isn't right, Chrysler needs to take you seriously and they need to do that now and without the bull-**** that pours from their corporate lips.

Document everything, service requests, your observations, etc. If, God forbid, something happens, you have the history documented and a path to get resolution. In the meantime, you need to keep fighting. We did with the ITBM and we got resolution.

Ramtop · Jun 6, 2017

BossHogg said:
I was one of the first to notice an ITBM issue (began with 2015 MY) when pulling heavier trailers, north of 12K pounds. Having to face a fast stop situation, when the vehicle fell below 30 MPH the ITBM would reduce trailer braking to a maximum of 70% or so. In other words, the truck became responsible for stopping the load.

After a few of these panic stops, the truck's brakes broke in nicely.

Referring to the issue above about the ITBM, Chrysler delivered a boatload of lip service to me, and many others saying nothing wrong. I actually published a paper for the NTSB with unarguable proof and there is a thread here with all my data. Chrysler still denied and told me I didn't understand. Well, they didn't know I'm an automotive engineer and have worked on engineering teams developing electronics and software from powertrain to simple electronics like a door module. I absolutely knew.

Somehow someone at Chrysler realized there was an issue and there was a quite software release made in November of 2016 for the ITBM and ABS that addressed the problem.

Brakes are a safety item, you as an experienced driver and one who is comfortable and knowledgeable with boat launching detects something isn't right, Chrysler needs to take you seriously and they need to do that now and without the bull-**** that pours from their corporate lips.

Document everything, service requests, your observations, etc. If, God forbid, something happens, you have the history documented and a path to get resolution. In the meantime, you need to keep fighting. We did with the ITBM and we got resolution.

I believe the OP said the boat trailer had surge brakes, not electric brakes so the controller wouldn't be the issue.

BossHogg · Jun 7, 2017

Ramtop said:
I believe the OP said the boat trailer had surge brakes, not electric brakes so the controller wouldn't be the issue.

I was using the ITBM issue as a case study that persistence will reward, sorry, I should have been more clear.

averageguy · Jun 10, 2017

I would think at slow boat ramp speed even with the brakes getting wet they should be able to stop and lock up, even if it slid due to the weight of the boat. The wheels should not be able to turn.

Chiroboater · Jun 11, 2017

They do...just yesterday I put the boat in. The brakes were floored and I rolled into the water. I threw the E Brake on at the very bottom to stop before the truck made it to the water. I made a video of it but it was hard to do by myself and be ready to throw the truck into drive. I can try to put it on here, but it's not the greatest.

TRCM · Jun 11, 2017

Chiroboater said:
They do...just yesterday I put the boat in. The brakes were floored and I rolled into the water. I threw the E Brake on at the very bottom to stop before the truck made it to the water. I made a video of it but it was hard to do by myself and be ready to throw the truck into drive. I can try to put it on here, but it's not the greatest.

I'm not following what you are compaining about....ITBM, truck brake system ??

Boats have surge brakes.....the ITBM does not and will not activate surge brakes, so in the case of backing in, it has nothing to do with the brakes not stopping.

Are the brakes adjusted properly ?? Do you have problems backing up @ low speeds and driving thru the brakes ??

BossHogg · Jun 12, 2017

TRCM said:
I'm not following what you are compaining about....ITBM, truck brake system ??

Look through the thread and read the OP's posts. He does a good job describing the issue he is having with the truck's brakes.

When backing his boat down a launch ramp his truck's brake pedal goes to the floor and his truck loses (almost all) braking ability.

TRCM · Jun 12, 2017

BossHogg said:
Look through the thread and read the OP's posts. He does a good job describing the issue he is having with the truck's brakes.

When backing his boat down a launch ramp his truck's brake pedal goes to the floor and his truck loses (almost all) braking ability.

Kinda thought that, but it wasn't obvious in some posts.

Chiroboater · Jun 13, 2017

With all the responses that I have seen I have an additional question to go along with this. Does anyone know if the ram 2500 with the Diesel has any difference in brakes than that of the ram 2500 with the 5.7 Hemi. Is it a better or more powerful braking system with the diesel?

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