Factory trailer brake controller - can it work automatically below 15 mph?

[danthevikingfan]

Hi @Mikeplogan & @RamFan2019 - If you are willing to move forward with addressing this with your dealers, I would be more than happy to ensure that you have further support for that process. Our team is just a private message away to get the case escalation process started.

Mark
RamCares

My Truck is at the dealer right now for this issue. Does Ram have a fix?

 

[MaximumEffort]

I am in the category of "dealing with it". I just try and ease into the slowdown and anticipate the jolt as I hit the 15mph threshold.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[cj7]

My Truck is at the dealer right now for this issue. Does Ram have a fix?

Do let us know what happens, as I don’t think we’ve heard they have a fix...

 

[blakei]

I'm in the "deal with it category too." On some downhill stops I'll use the brake controller manually which still works. I've also found that if my TT brakes are adjusted too high on gain the surge/jerk is very noticeable. I usually try to adjust gain so that the TT brakes aren't stopping the truck.

FWIW, I rented a 2020 RAM 2500 to test with towing, and it does NOT surge/jerk under 15 MPH with the OEM brake controller.

 

[RamCares]

Greetings @danthevikingfan and @512Ram,

Our team is sorry to hear that you are both facing these vehicle concerns. If this is still an ongoing frustration, our team would like to offer our support should you elect to confer with your dealer. Please send us a private message with your vehicle's make, model year, and mileage for us to review. Thank you!

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[gtxdana]

Greetings @danthevikingfan and @512Ram,

Our team is sorry to hear that you are both facing these vehicle concerns. If this is still an ongoing frustration, our team would like to offer our support should you elect to confer with your dealer. Please send us a private message with your vehicle's make, model year, and mileage for us to review. Thank you!

Hannah
Ram Cares

My trailer brakes also stop working below about 15 MPH which is a safety issue.

Unfortunately the local dealer goes out of their way to discourage you from getting any repairs done, especially warranty repairs. They say you need to leave your vehicle, possibly thirty days, or longer, with no loaner vehicle to use if you want anything looked at. I've had to pay for my own tire balancing, on a week old truck, and paid to replace one tire. I just "deal with" the other junk tires on the truck. I had to "deal with" the inoperative UConnect until it finally fixed itself. It worked for quite a while, but it did freeze up again the other day. Since I had to beg the dealer just to do an oil change they would not look at any of the other issues with my truck, at 8K miles. I'll have to change the rear differential oil myself and see if that cures the chatter when turning. If not, I'll add that to the growing list of problems I have to "deal with".

 

[RamCares]

Sounds like this particular dealer may not be a good fit for what you're looking for. Our team can offer an additional layer of communication between you and your dealer, or alternatively we also recommend seeking out the opinion of a secondary Ram dealership. To locate all Ram dealers in your area, feel free to use our 'find a dealer' tool: https://www.ramtrucks.com/find-dealer.html

Also shoot a private message our way for additional assistance from our team.

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[danthevikingfan]

Do let us know what happens, as I don’t think we’ve heard they have a fix...

I decided to just deal the trailer brake problem after they wanted me to bring the trailer. My Ram also has a clicking noise while turning right and Ram cares could not help me. I asked Ram cares to take it to engineering and apparently that's not allowed. When Ram Cares says they will escalate the issue it sounds good, but that's about where it ends.

 

[stronbl]

I saw above where someone used a Prodigy P3 and it worked fine but they did not have an OEM controller installed. I have a Prodigy RF (wireless) that I used with my previous tow vehicle (worked great by the way) as it did not have an OEM controller either.

My questions are: (1) can I use the RF without disabling the OEM features but have the RF function properly, i.e. apply brakes at any time, especially below 15 mph? (2) if not, how do I turn off just the OEM controller? If I do that will I lose trailer recognition from the truck (not desired nor good)?

Thanks.

PS - I can probably road test Q1 above but thought I'd check with the forum in case anyone has already done this.

 

[Mr.Grid]

Just did my first tow today with a new 2022 Laramie and factory brake controller. The trailer brakes stay engaged all the way to 0 mph and whatever brake % is at O mph (fully stopped) it remains there until you take your foot off the brake pedal.

 

[cj7]

Just did my first tow today with a new 2022 Laramie and factory brake controller. The trailer brakes stay engaged all the way to 0 mph and whatever brake % is at O mph (fully stopped) it remains there until you take your foot off the brake pedal.

Are you watching the dash brake readout?

 

[cj7]

I saw above where someone used a Prodigy P3 and it worked fine but they did not have an OEM controller installed. I have a Prodigy RF (wireless) that I used with my previous tow vehicle (worked great by the way) as it did not have an OEM controller either.

My questions are: (1) can I use the RF without disabling the OEM features but have the RF function properly, i.e. apply brakes at any time, especially below 15 mph? (2) if not, how do I turn off just the OEM controller? If I do that will I lose trailer recognition from the truck (not desired nor good)?

Thanks.

PS - I can probably road test Q1 above but thought I'd check with the forum in case anyone has already done this.

The OEM controller connects to the truck by way of a pigtail and connector that is part of the truck’s wiring harness. To use an aftermarket brake controller, you would have to unplug that connector from the OEM controller, or tap the power, ground, brake and signal input lines. You would also have to move the trailer brake wire from the OEM controller and to the aftermarket unit output.

I don’t know what the truck uses to detect the trailer (either brake power line or the trailer lights), so no help there.

 

[Mr.Grid]

Are you watching the dash brake readout?

Yes, Great display providing all the info on programmed values and the % output during braking.

 

[cj7]

Yes, Great display providing all the info on programmed values and the % output during braking.

Problem is, when not using the manual slider, the display shows brake pedal %, not trailer brake %... It doesn’t jump to zero when the trailer brakes release, as happens to many of us when decelerating below 15mph.

 

[Mr.Grid]

Problem is, when not using the manual slider, the display shows brake pedal %, not trailer brake %... It doesn’t jump to zero when the trailer brakes release, as happens to many of us when decelerating below 15mph.

Ok, I understand now. I assume there is not a display for actual output to the trailer when braking with pedal then?

My prior 2011 Ram had a Prodigy P2 controller set to +11. I set this new one first to 10 and ended up at 9 and it brakes very closely to the same as the P2 coming to a stop. The Prodigy would set the brake to 25% once stopped.

 

[ManBOOYA]

Did anyone get this fixed? My brake controller is doing the same thing

 

[Rick3478]

I've been following this discussion with some interest, as I have the integrated TBC and have not had an opportunity to use it yet. I have a thought from a different angle to throw into the mix.

Many electric trailer brakes have a self-energizing mechanism built in. Hope that's the right term. Essentially, there is a ramp or wedge arrangement that uses wheel rotation to pull the pads or shoes into tighter contact as the brakes engage, using the trailer's motion to magnify electrical braking force.

Is it possible that some of what you are experiencing is the brakes' self-energizing mechanism dropping out as speed falls toward zero?

 

[shmit140]

I have this exact same problem with my 2021 1500 now that I have a travel trailer. It is super annoying that the brakes let up below 15mph and you feel that weigh push on the truck and makes you hit the brakes harder. This is on a brand new travel trailer too.

Has anyone had any luck having this fixed? I don’t want to just leave my truck at the dealer with my travel trailer attached for “testing”. I wouldn’t trust them pulling my trailer and I don’t have any other trailer for testing.

 

[Seadoorxpguy]

My truck has been doing this with my travel trailer and just confirmed its not trailer specific on my 14ft dump trailer over the weekend. Where's the fix ram?

 

[HSKR R/T]

I saw an article about a new software update for the trailer brake controller. Not sure if this will fix the issue, but couldn't hurt to try.