Trailer Brake Question

[KE2DX]

I have a 2016 Ram 3500 diesel dually and am pulling a brand new 12,000 ln fifth wheel. The gain on my OEM brake controller is set to 10 and I still can't lock up the brakes or even stop at a 5 MPH crawl unless I go 15 feet before it stops. Is there a way to increase the voltage to the controller for more braking power

 

[SniperDroid]

I don't think there is any further adjustment you can do from the controller end, but have you considered the trailer rakes may need to be adjusted?

 

[Tulecreeper]

Silly questions: Do you have power to your brakes? A disconnected/dirty wire? Bad ground wire?

 

[Riccochet]

There were a couple years of 4th gen OEM TBC's that were just garbage. Didn't put out enough voltage. Most people installed a Prodigy P3 and never looked back. That's what I did in my old 2017 1500.

 

[crash68]

The gain on my OEM brake controller is set to 10 and I still can't lock up the brakes or even stop at a 5 MPH

Is the brake controller set for Heavy Electric? Make note the OEM controller uses vehicle speed in part to determine braking force, check the owners manual for the correct procedure on setting the gain.
How new is the trailer? Is it possible the brakes are not bedded in or out of adjustment? (even new this happens)
As for being able to lock up the trailer brakes, it's noted in the manual that they should not be adjusted to where they lock up. Contrary to popular beliefs that run on forums, you don't want trailer brakes to lock up as that's how the trailer will own the truck and take you for a ride you don't want to go on.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Trailer brake contollers these days are not like the old school rheostat type where it completely controlled the trailer brakes by the higher you set the gain, and the harder and faster the brakes on the trailer were applied. The current ones apply brake pressure mostly based on how much brake pressure you put on the pedal, but I don't think they will ever completely lock up like the old ones would do.

 

[Jane S]

Trailer brake contollers these days are not like the old school rheostat type where it completely controlled the trailer brakes by the higher you set the gain, and the harder and faster the brakes on the trailer were applied. The current ones apply brake pressure mostly based on how much brake pressure you put on the pedal, but I don't think they will ever completely lock up like the old ones would do.

I've seen them lock up and the tires smoke.

 

[Jane S]

Is the brake controller set for Heavy Electric? Make note the OEM controller uses vehicle speed in part to determine braking force, check the owners manual for the correct procedure on setting the gain.
How new is the trailer? Is it possible the brakes are not bedded in or out of adjustment? (even new this happens)
As for being able to lock up the trailer brakes, it's noted in the manual that they should not be adjusted to where they lock up. Contrary to popular beliefs that run on forums, you don't want trailer brakes to lock up as that's how the trailer will own the truck and take you for a ride you don't want to go on.

This.

I have a 8K trailer. I had it on light electric. I changed to heavy and it works much better. I'm on 7.5 on the factory controller.

If the OP is on 10 for either setting; there are problems.

 

[Jane S]

I don't think there is any further adjustment you can do from the controller end, but have you considered the trailer rakes may need to be adjusted?

Modern brakes are usually self adjusting.

 

[stevenP]

I have had four new fifth wheels over my years. I had a silverado 3500 to start with, and it worked great with my fivers. Switched to a 2014 RAM 3500 and have hit and miss brake stopping power with various RVs. In the end on that truck I had to go to an after market controller (tekonsha P3), which worked great, with the last two fivers. I went from having little to no braking... to being able to lock the wheels with ease.

Now I have a RAM 2500, and so far with my current fiver, which only weighs 10k . I am happy with the OEM IBC as it seems to work great. I will admit I had to mechanically adjust the drum brakes on the RV, to get them to really work well.

 

[SniperDroid]

The Tekonsha P3 is an EXCELLENT aftermarket controller. I needed it for the trailer we have when using a Ford F150, and an F250 Diesel. With the RAM 2500 I don't need the P3. It's available..

 

[Kicker96fs]

Is it factory? I have a 2019 1500 and the controller cuts out below 15mph. If you want more you need to squease (sp) the arms by hand together (below 15)

 

[KE2DX]

I don't think there is any further adjustment you can do from the controller end, but have you considered the trailer rakes may need to be adjusted?

It's a brand new fiver. I had very soft braking with my previous fiver also so I know it HAS to be the truck

 

[KE2DX]

Is it factory? I have a 2019 1500 and the controller cuts out below 15mph. If you want more you need to squease (sp) the arms by hand together (below 15)

Yes, factory controller, even had it swapped out ($1000) with another OEM controller. no difference

 

[KE2DX]

Silly questions: Do you have power to your brakes? A disconnected/dirty wire? Bad ground wire?

I have power to the brakes, just not enough to lock them up with a test pull

 

[KE2DX]

Modern brakes are usually self adjusting.

The fiver is new and has self adjusting brakes

 

[Jane S]

The fiver is new and has self adjusting brakes

Take it back to the dealer.

 

[Riccochet]

I have had four new fifth wheels over my years. I had a silverado 3500 to start with, and it worked great with my fivers. Switched to a 2014 RAM 3500 and have hit and miss and hit brake stopping power with various RVs. In the end on that truck I had to go to an after market controller (tekonsha P3), which worked great, with the last two fivers. I went from having little to no braking... to being able to lock the wheels with ease.

Now I have a RAM 2500, and so far with my current fiver, which only weighs 10k . I am happy with the OEM IBC as it seems to work great. I will admit I had to mechanically adjust the drum brakes on the RV, to get them to really work well.

Yeah man, there was some wonky shtuff with the 4th gen Ram brake controllers.

 

[BossHogg]

The fiver is new and has self adjusting brakes

I'm assuming your RV has drum brakes.

Have you bedded the brakes on the fiver?

Read the owner's manual on your axles and see how to manually adjust, they could be way out of adjustment making self-adjustment take a long time time.

You can test the trailer's brakes very easily, be sure the 7-way is disconnected from the tow vehicle and the house battery is charged. Pull the break-away switch, see if you have rolling resistance/wheel lock. It is very unusual for the wheels to lock up on a fiver. Don't leave the breakaway pulled for too long.

RAM had an issue with the ITBM beginning with 2015 production. The issue was the ITBM would greatly reduce the braking signal to the trailer when the travel speed fell below 30 MPH. RAM quietly, after tons of social media complaints, fixed the issue in November 2015 with an ITBM and ABS software update. It is possible your build date fell before the update was introduced to the production line. You may want to consult with your dealer to see if there is an update for your vehicle.

 

[zrock]

As stated above the brakes may be out of adjustment or not seated, go back and have the dealer adjust the brakes maybe have them hook up to their truck for a test pull, Go for a drive and ride the manual control on the brakes to get them hot and let the trailer sit for a few hours to cool down and try. Also as stated above pull the brake away switch and give a pull, a 5th wheel is a heavy unit and you will probably never get them to lock up on pavement my 28 ft bumper pull will lock on gravel but not pavement.

If all else fails check your plugs, we just worked on a trailer that had been to ever shop in town. It was a mess of wiring issues so we replaced all of the wiring with new but still could not get the brakes to lock, We finally figured the pin on the trailer side of the plug was green replaced the plug and all was good. Not sure why no one changed the plug when all the wiring was replaced.