electric brakes

[Tulecreeper]

I don't know how the controller could guarantee that. It has no knowledge of the state of the actual trailer brakes or their adjustment, or of the road surface under the tires. It gets no feedback from the trailer wheels to tell it that wheel lock-up is about to occur. The gain control just limits the max amps sent to the brakes.

Normally, I would agree with you, but everything...everything...on this truck is computerized and connected to everything else so one more nanny device doesn't surprise me. This truck keeps track of when a trailer with electric brakes is plugged in, the amount of HP and torque needed to get rolling, how long it stays in a particular gear, and whether or not it is over GVWR.

I know of a guy who had his transmission take a crap on his 2019 RAM 3500, and since it was still under warranty he took it in to have it replaced. When they ran a diagnostic on it they told him that the warranty was void because the parameters indicated that he had overloaded the vehicle...by a lot. He says he never towed a trailer even close to his capacity, and that the most he ever had in the bed was maybe 2000 pounds. They went with their numbers and it cost him like $15,000 to replace the transmission.

 

[woof-n]

Normally, I would agree with you, but everything...everything...on this truck is computerized and connected to everything else so one more nanny device doesn't surprise me. This truck keeps track of when a trailer with electric brakes is plugged in, the amount of HP and torque needed to get rolling, how long it stays in a particular gear, and whether or not it is over GVWR.

What you are saying about the trucks ECM is true as it relates to the load of the truck, BUT the trailer does not have wheel speed sensors. The trucks EMC does not get any trailer feedback if the wheels are rolling or skidding, it only looks at load.

In your defense the ECM does look at how much truck brake is applied. The ECM will apply trailer braking proportionally and can initiate hill descent control to assist with braking when it calculates you are not stopping fast enough. It does not provide ABS braking to the trailer. The technology we enjoy in the new vehicles is amazing and sometimes a pain in the rear. Trailer ABS could be the next RV frontier for those who wish to pay for it.

 

[Tulecreeper]

What you are saying about the trucks ECM is true as it relates to the load of the truck, BUT the trailer does not have wheel speed sensors. The trucks EMC does not get any trailer feedback if the wheels are rolling or skidding, it only looks at load.

In your defense the ECM does look at how much truck brake is applied. The ECM will apply trailer braking proportionally and can initiate hill descent control to assist with braking when it calculates you are not stopping fast enough. It does not provide ABS braking to the trailer. The technology we enjoy in the new vehicles is amazing and sometimes a pain in the rear. Trailer ABS could be the next RV frontier for those who wish to pay for it.

I know from years of towing experience that you should not use cruise control when towing a trailer, but I have noticed on my truck, if I activate cruise control and set it at, say, 45 MPH, even coming down a pretty steep grade the truck does everything in its power to keep the speed at 45 MPH. It's a gasser and doesn't have engine breaking, but it will gear down and automatically apply breaks if necessary. Kind of nice to have, actually.

 

[Pat T.]

A little update on the trailer brakes on my camper are working a little better but not right. When i applied the brakes with the pedal they seem to be stopping the truck and trailer better. Still not what i feel they should be. When i use the slide control to apply the brakes I can feel them starting to come on but not like they should. At 100% gain I can not make the tires slide even in gravel. Had the rv brakes check again and everything checked good. The RV dealer said the other thing that could be done is an aftermarket controller could be installed. I think there would be a one wire run from the brake wire on controller to the brake pin on the plug on the truck therefore it would by pass all of the truck wiring.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I know from years of towing experience that you should not use cruise control when towing a trailer, but I have noticed on my truck, if I activate cruise control and set it at, say, 45 MPH, even coming down a pretty steep grade the truck does everything in its power to keep the speed at 45 MPH. It's a gasser and doesn't have engine breaking, but it will gear down and automatically apply breaks if necessary. Kind of nice to have, actually.

I drove a rental car in Scotland whereby the cruise control had a "maximum" speed set. It was interesting to drive it in the hills. England still uses MPH but if you set it at say 60 mph no matter how hard you press the gas pedal it won't go past 60.

Hard to explain why it was useful but it was.

Had the rv brakes check again and everything checked good.

I am skeptical of the RV dealer. Did he really pull the wheels and drums and do an inspection? I don't know much about trailer brake inspections but I am sure there must be electrical checks to be done on the actuators.

In any case an aftermarket controller vs. a factory one doesn't seem to be the answer.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I drove a rental car in Scotland whereby the cruise control had a "maximum" speed set. It was interesting to drive it in the hills. England still uses MPH but if you set it at say 60 mph no matter how hard you press the gas pedal it won't go past 60.

Hard to explain why it was useful but it was.

I don't know if I would like that. There have been times when I had my CC set at, say, 60 and I came up on another car doing like 50 and all I had to do was hit the gas, pass him, then let it drop back to 60 again.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I don't know if I would like that. There have been times when I had my CC set at, say, 60 and I came up on another car doing like 50 and all I had to do was hit the gas, pass him, then let it drop back to 60 again.

You can cancel it with a thumb press but I can see your point.

I guess I found it useful on Scottish windey roads. You know - 60mph on straights with 40 mph bends. Not a great scenario for speed hold (like traditional) but when manually controlling in that scenario it's easy to go overspeed on the straights especially when you wanna be heads up looking for sheep crossing the road - LOL...

It was also the first car I ever drove with a red light engine quit. I drove out of the rental lot and at the first red light the engine died. I put it in park and restarted it. At the next light it did the same thing. I was just about to drive it back to the rental place when I stepped on the gas before restarting at the third light and it came back to life.

Boy I would have been red faced if I made it back to the rental place - LOL.

 

[Tulecreeper]

It was also the first car I ever drove with a red light engine quit. I drove out of the rental lot and at the first red light the engine died. I put it in park and restarted it. At the next light it did the same thing. I was just about to drive it back to the rental place when I stepped on the gas before restarting at the third light and it came back to life.

Boy I would have been red faced if I made it back to the rental place - LOL.

I never heard of that feature. What possible reason on Earth would anyone want or need that? And how would that even work? Did the car die every time you came to a stop? Was there a way to disable it?

Too many nanny devices on vehicles these days. I have a back-up camera in my new truck that activates the dash screen, even when I have the screen turned off. A real PITA, and very distracting at night when I'm trying to back up and that bright screen pops up. I tried everything I could think of to deactivate it, even got on a RAM forum with no luck. Finally, I just put a piece of electrical tape over the camera on the tailgate so now the screen still comes on but it's black. I can unplug it at the tailgate, but that also cuts power to my electric tailgate lock, and since that is the only way to lock my tailgate (there is no key) I just live with what it is.

 

[CharlesinGA]

The brake controller that I use had instructions that stated that it should be set to the point where maximum manual braking would just slide the tires on dirt or gravel surface, then back off the smallest amount possible.

I was thinking the same thing about the instructions for the Prodigy P3 brake controller I have, but going back and re-reading them now I see it does not say that.

Adjusting the Power to the Trailer Brakes (Prior to setting Boost) Once the control has been securely mounted, it is necessary to set the power needed to stop the trailer during a braking event.
1. Connect trailer to tow vehicle.
2. With engine running set power (with Power Buttons) to indicate 6.0
3. Drive tow vehicle and trailer on a dry level paved surface at 25 mph and fully apply Manual Knob.
3 If trailer brakes lock up: Turn power down using Power Buttons.
3 If braking was not sufficient: Turn power up using Power Buttons.
4. Repeat Step (3) until power has been set to a point just below wheel lock up or at a sufficient force as to achieve maximum braking power.
5. Using the brake pedal, make a few low speed stops to check the power setting. Trailer braking is initiated and terminated via the stoplight switch. When the brake pedal is released, trailer braking will cease.

The P2 instructions say the same thing.

I never heard of that feature. What possible reason on Earth would anyone want or need that? And how would that even work? Did the car die every time you came to a stop? Was there a way to disable it?

At any traffic light in moderate traffic and sit with the window open. Listen as the light turns green and hear all of the cars start up. That feature is found on virtually every automobile built in the past three or four years. There is a button on the dash to disable the feature but you have to press it every time you go to drive the car. On some cars the feature can be permanently disabled via software (dealer has to do this). If you hold he brake pedal hard, the motor shuts off, if you hold it lightly, it will keep running.

Not sure what is going to happen when these cars get some age on them and become hard to start or the starters begin to wear out excessively.

The whole purpose of this is to squeeze out that last drop of fuel economy the the government mandates. Same with the 0W-20 oils, less internal friction from thin oil equates to better fuel economy.

Charles

 

[Tulecreeper]

At any traffic light in moderate traffic and sit with the window open. Listen as the light turns green and hear all of the cars start up. That feature is found on virtually every automobile built in the past three or four years. There is a button on the dash to disable the feature but you have to press it every time you go to drive the car. On some cars the feature can be permanently disabled via software (dealer has to do this). If you hold he brake pedal hard, the motor shuts off, if you hold it lightly, it will keep running.

I've never noticed that. I don't have it on my truck.

Not sure what is going to happen when these cars get some age on them and become hard to start or the starters begin to wear out excessively.

A very good point. I asked the FedEx guy a couple years ago why he shut the vehicle down every time he pulls into my drive and he said it's policy. I replied that they must go through starters by the gross and he said they replaced the one in his truck twice in 6 months.

The whole purpose of this is to squeeze out that last drop of fuel economy the the government mandates. Same with the 0W-20 oils, less internal friction from thin oil equates to better fuel economy.

Yeah, my truck takes 0w-40...period. There isn't even a suggestion in the manual to use any other weight/viscosity dependent upon climate, so I guess August in Arizona and January in Minnesota is the same to the engineers.

 

[John From Detroit]

. It's a gasser and doesn't have engine breaking, but it will gear down and automatically apply breaks if necessary. Kind of nice to have, actually.

Actually all gassers have engine braking.. It's inherent in the design. Not quite as powerful as the engine braking added to a diesel but it's there non the less.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I never heard of that feature. What possible reason on Earth would anyone want or need that? And how would that even work? Did the car die every time you came to a stop? Was there a way to disable it?

It's an ecology type thing. There was even a computer display keeping track of carbon savings. It might just be a gee-gaw that makers put in but I think in Europe they take carbon credits pretty seriously and I am sure the makers are getting credit.

As for starters, I thought the same thing. But it's clear the makers don't want Joe Public keeping the car alive 25-30 years. They are designed to be disposable and keep everyone on a $700 a month car payment their whole lives.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Actually all gassers have engine braking.. It's inherent in the design. Not quite as powerful as the engine braking added to a diesel but it's there non the less.

I meant like a diesel, the kind you can turn on and off.

 

[Tulecreeper]

It's an ecology type thing. There was even a computer display keeping track of carbon savings. It might just be a gee-gaw that makers put in but I think in Europe they take carbon credits pretty seriously and I am sure the makers are getting credit.

As for starters, I thought the same thing. But it's clear the makers don't want Joe Public keeping the car alive 25-30 years. They are designed to be disposable and keep everyone on a $700 a month car payment their whole lives.

This is why I get out of a vehicle payment as soon as possible.

With this truck, I put 50% down, my payments were $445/mo at 5.4% APR from USAA (which was 3% lower than any local bank would give me - and I have an 850 credit score), I made double payments for 6 months (for the credit rating thing), then just paid off the rest in September. It kind of hurt, but I'm not throwing $900/mo away anymore and all that money is going back into savings.

 

[Ex-Calif]

It kind of hurt, but I'm not throwing $900/mo away anymore and all that money is going back into savings.

I pay cash for everything these days. I stick $250 a month into a MM fund and every 10 years or so buy a vehicle in cash.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I pay cash for everything these days. I stick $250 a month into a MM fund and every 10 years or so buy a vehicle in cash.

Basically, that's what I did. I just spent a few months making payments first to keep the credit rating thing up. The system doesn't like it when you never finance anything.