Brakes won’t lock at full gain

[Dakota]

Hi. Brought the new 303 home and loaded up for the first trip. Found a side road to set the gain. At 25 mph it slows the same on every number from 6-10. I stop using the trailer brakes, but I can’t get the brakes to lock up. I know I’m within weight. I read on another thread that the trailer brakes might need adjusting, but is that a consideration on a new unit? Thanks!

2013 Ford F-250 Diesel
303RLS

[MoonShadow_1911]

Hi. Brought the new 303 home and loaded up for the first trip. Found a side road to set the gain. At 25 mph it slows the same on every number from 6-10. I stop using the trailer brakes, but I can’t get the brakes to lock up. I know I’m within weight. I read on another thread that the trailer brakes might need adjusting, but is that a consideration on a new unit? Thanks!

2013 Ford F-250 Diesel
303RLS

Yes, any type of drum brake (even some disc brakes) will need adjustment, even brand new.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk

[NB Canada]

Hi. Brought the new 303 home and loaded up for the first trip. Found a side road to set the gain. At 25 mph it slows the same on every number from 6-10. I stop using the trailer brakes, but I can’t get the brakes to lock up. I know I’m within weight. I read on another thread that the trailer brakes might need adjusting, but is that a consideration on a new unit? Thanks!

2013 Ford F-250 Diesel
303RLS

A couple of mine were out a lot
My understanding is they are self adjusting but I believe that only happens in reverse and how often does that happen


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

[Second Chance]

It can depend on what type of surface you're on, too. On good, dry pavement, I wouldn't worry if the trailer brakes wouldn't lock up. On dirt or gravel, they should at the highest gain. While you look at adjustment, check to see if there's any grease inside the drums or back side of the brake plate (from the inside seal).

Rob

[Dakota]

Thanks everyone. I’ve dug pretty deep on the web. Some say to give it 400 miles or so to break in the brakes. I’m going to take my next trip in a week. The last one was a few hundred miles and all highway. Probably 5-6 stop lights and no traffic to and from the campground. I also need to double check that the truck is set to electric brakes and not EOH. If I don’t feel comfortable with them after that trip I’ll contact the rv dealer. Thanks again!

[pnoetzel]

Thanks everyone. I’ve dug pretty deep on the web. Some say to give it 400 miles or so to break in the brakes. I’m going to take my next trip in a week. The last one was a few hundred miles and all highway. Probably 5-6 stop lights and no traffic to and from the campground. I also need to double check that the truck is set to electric brakes and not EOH. If I don’t feel comfortable with them after that trip I’ll contact the rv dealer. Thanks again!

I found out last year that both Lippert and dexter have break-in, / seasoning new brakes.
Quite a bit of running and applying brakes to heat to 400 deg, then cool and do it again.
Look on web for breaking in new brakes
My dealer had no clue.
Good luck
Paul

[Bungy]

Hi. Brought the new 303 home and loaded up for the first trip. Found a side road to set the gain. At 25 mph it slows the same on every number from 6-10. I stop using the trailer brakes, but I can’t get the brakes to lock up. I know I’m within weight. I read on another thread that the trailer brakes might need adjusting, but is that a consideration on a new unit? Thanks!

2013 Ford F-250 Diesel
303RLS

I’ve never been able to lock the brakes (electric) on any heavy trailer I’ve owned. They will stop damn quick though!

[geotex1]

True, they need seasoning, but you can bet they took their beating in transit from the factory. Based on your post, I'm wondering if maybe you misunderstand that you need to manually actuate the brake control, especially if built-in or inertia based controller. So truck to speed, off the gas, no foot on brake pedal and then squeeze the manual control evenly.

[Cdburgerjr]

I had mixed experience on this.

With a 2005 Durango and a new 2009 Heartland 31RED, the brakes locked up no problem. Later, in 2015, I replaced the TV with the 2000 Ford F-250. I could not get the trailer brakes to lock at highest voltage on new Teksonsha P3. I asked everyone I could ask. They checked voltages; brakes were checked and adjusted for routine maintenance. They still worked; I felt comfortable stopping, so I didn’t obsess over it. I sometimes wondered if heavier F-250 was a factor. But it still nagged at me that the P3 manual says to adjust voltage until just short of lock, and that would never work. The trailer could be very “grabby” on the Durango, but never on the F-250.

This year, I’m pulling away with new-to-us Imagine 2600RB and test the brakes with the controller lever. Instant lock, on dirt/gravel, but it also will lock on pavement. I asked yet another mobile RV tech about it, and he didn’t think trailer brakes could lock; they had some sort of rolling forward adjustment. I showed him the manual, and he’d never heard of that.

One additional complication is that the 2600RB was on a different, used, P3 that was used for only a few trips with the 31RED. It started acting wonky, changing colors, not turning on, etc. during daily driving (not towing), so I replaced it with a gifted used P3.

So, while I’m not helping to answer the question, I hope maybe sharing my experience might be an opportunity to learn something.

[sande005]

My F-150 will never lock the brakes. Neither on my old Jayco 5th, nor on my 2670MK. Many 1,000's of miles on each. But, I could definitely feel the tug of the trailer brakes slowing the combination first at higher settings.
I've seen sources that claim the Ford integrated controller is coupled to a lot of the other truck information to give max braking, but to prevent lockup as a safety feature. Can't cite an official source that this is true, however. As others report, my Ford and RV dealers have no idea....