Setting Up Trailer Braking

Dave and Monica

Senior Member
Site Sponsor
Joined
Nov 20, 2013
Messages
2,171
Location
Gore Bay, Ontario
I have a question about set up of the brake controller...I have an integrated BC in our Ford. With our previous campers, I've been able to set-up the BC so the camper brakes were just short of locking up, meaning that if set too high, they would lock up. I've played around with setting when towing our 337, but have never got to the point of lock-up even dialled up to max. I'm getting a lot of 'grab' when stroking the controller manually, just not lock-up. I know that the brakes are set correctly so is it that there's just not enough braking force available to lock the wheels with this amount of weight on the axles?

Dave
 
Dave,
I use mine to lock-out the wheels when checking the king pin/hitch. Mine locks up at 6.5 gain. Is this what you're talking about?
 
I think you're referring to using the trailer brakes for a test pull after hooking up. I'm talking about the procedure from Tekonsha...with brakes at operating temperature, you manually stroke the controller while towing at 25 mph. If the trailer brakes lock, you turn down the controller...if they don't lock, increase the controller and try again. You keep adjusting the controller until the trailer braking is just short of lock-up. I've adjusted up to the max and didn't get lock-up. The braking seems okay...I'm currently set at 8.0 on the integrated BC. I was wondering if anyone else has ever done the same procedure and found the same thing.

Dave
 
I think you're referring to using the trailer brakes for a test pull after hooking up. I'm talking about the procedure from Tekonsha...with brakes at operating temperature, you manually stroke the controller while towing at 25 mph. If the trailer brakes lock, you turn down the controller...if they don't lock, increase the controller and try again. You keep adjusting the controller until the trailer braking is just short of lock-up. I've adjusted up to the max and didn't get lock-up. The braking seems okay...I'm currently set at 8.0 on the integrated BC. I was wondering if anyone else has ever done the same procedure and found the same thing.

Dave

I had no idea of this test-- but I do now. I bet TucsonJim could help -- haven't seen him on in a week or two though.

I will be taking our 337 into the dealer tomorrow. I will do this Tekonsha test and let you know asap.
 
I followed the instructions per Tekonsha and my brakes don't lock up either. I have it set to 7.2 and b1, if I set the boost to b2 the trailer brakes lock up and when I apply my truck brakes the trailer bucks. I have close to 5000 miles on the brakes, I plan on checking the adjustment after the next trip to Tahoe.
 
I had no idea of this test-- but I do now. I bet TucsonJim could help -- haven't seen him on in a week or two though.

I will be taking our 337 into the dealer tomorrow. I will do this Tekonsha test and let you know asap.

I'm here tonight ;-) We've progressed from Nashville to New Orleans and now Houston. We have 7,500 miles on the 337 so far. I posted a little about brake adjustments a couple of weeks ago. When my 337 was brand new, I'd get lock up at 7.5 on the F350 controller. Then I'd back down to 6.5 on the Ford brake controller to get good braking action. As the miles progressed, I was noticing less and less braking action. When I had to set the controller to 9.5 to get minimal braking, it was time to adjust the brakes on the 337. It was a fairly straightforward process, and took me about 30 minutes to accomplish. After adjustment, I'm getting lock up at 7.5 again, and getting good braking at 6.5. Of course, there are lots of variables that come into play between your truck/trailer/weight combination, but you should be able to get lock up if your set up is similar to mine.

If you would like information on how to adjust your brakes, drop me a line.

Jim
 
Will do...thanks.


I'm here tonight ;-) We've progressed from Nashville to New Orleans and now Houston. We have 7,500 miles on the 337 so far. I posted a little about brake adjustments a couple of weeks ago. When my 337 was brand new, I'd get lock up at 7.5 on the F350 controller. Then I'd back down to 6.5 on the Ford brake controller to get good braking action. As the miles progressed, I was noticing less and less braking action. When I had to set the controller to 9.5 to get minimal braking, it was time to adjust the brakes on the 337. It was a fairly straightforward process, and took me about 30 minutes to accomplish. After adjustment, I'm getting lock up at 7.5 again, and getting good braking at 6.5. Of course, there are lots of variables that come into play between your truck/trailer/weight combination, but you should be able to get lock up if your set up is similar to mine.

If you would like information on how to adjust your brakes, drop me a line.

Jim
 
I was getting good breaking at 6.5 gain on the integrated controller of my GMC but I have never done a lock up test. I normally adjust to the point of not getting trailer push.
 

New posts

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom