Trailer Brake Gain

[LoNeStAr]

What kind of trailer are you pulling and what gain do you have your trailer brake set at? I have a 29’8” Grand Design Imagine 2600RB with a GVWR of 7850 but camping weight is about 7k, I do plan on taking it back to a scale before our trip at the end of September. I currently have mine set at 6.5.

 

[DanRam]

What kind of trailer are you pulling and what gain do you have your trailer brake set at? I have a 29’8” Grand Design Imagine 2600RB with a GVWR of 7850 but camping weight is about 7k, I do plan on taking it back to a scale before our trip at the end of September. I currently have mine set at 6.5.

I'll be following this. I have a 26' Grand design xlS which weighs in about 6k lbs. While towing (colorado mountains) I haven't had any problems but haven't had any emergency situations come up either. However, I suspect the gain on the brake controller is not high enough.

I'm using the setting for light electric trailer and had the gain at 6 out of 10. Enough to have the trailer pull a bit when squeezing the brake controller and foot off the gas going 23-30mph. If I squeeze the controller all the way there's not much drag on the trailer. I was expecting more significant braking on the trailer side with the brake controller maxxed.

One trip set it to 10 of 10 and there's a little more grab but it still seems pretty mild compared to what I'm expecting. On either setting braking normally feels smooth.

 

[Brutal_HO]

I'm not sure what settings are available in the 1500 controller, but unless you have a HOE system on your trailer, I'd suggest sticking with LE. The ramp rate on HE is just too aggressive and if you have to use it to get adequate braking, there's something wrong with your trailer's brakes - most likely the wiring or worn magnets. You should also ensure if using the 12-pin that the trailer has the "new style" connector.

I use LE @ 3.5-4.0 on my 12K GVWR 5th wheel + 4K boat (boat has surge). I'm pretty certain this is meaningless in the context of this thread as my truck is rated to tow 25K.

Here's a good thread over on HDRAMS regarding the technical aspect of the controller - again, can't say the software coding is the same.

Brake Controller Troubleshooting/Technical Info

This post is about the brake controller on the 2021 HD Ram. First, my story. Second some reverse engineering and description of the warnings on the dash. Finally, some technical details. I would assume this information would apply to other years in the same generation of truck, but outside of...

hdrams.com

I'll be following this. I have a 26' Grand design xlS which weighs in about 6k lbs. While towing (colorado mountains) I haven't had any problems but haven't had any emergency situations come up either. However, I suspect the gain on the brake controller is not high enough.

I'm using the setting for light electric trailer and had the gain at 6 out of 10. Enough to have the trailer pull a bit when squeezing the brake controller and foot off the gas going 23-30mph. If I squeeze the controller all the way there's not much drag on the trailer. I was expecting more significant braking on the trailer side with the brake controller maxxed.

One trip set it to 10 of 10 and there's a little more grab but it still seems pretty mild compared to what I'm expecting. On either setting braking normally feels smooth.

Depending on the speed you're testing at, you're possibly seeing the difference in the PWM signal (less duty cycle) generated at slow speeds. The brake controller doesn't output 100% unless you're going over 10MPH.

From the link above: "All trailer modes will output 100% PWM above 10MPH with a gain of 10.0 when the dash indicates 100% brake. At speeds below 10MPH down to 0MPH, it gets reduced linearly to somewhere between 50% and 70% depending on the trailer type selected."

The trailer brakes are intended to supplement the truck brakes for the GVWR of the trailer only. They're not going to yank on the truck that hard. If you learn and understand how magnetic drum style trailer brakes work, you'll see they can only exert so much force.

 

[Brutal_HO]

I would add that more often than not, someone has over-greased a Dexter EZ-lube spindle and blown out the inner seal and contaminated the brake pads. Just a thought.

 

[IvoryHemi]

My TT is 8,200 lbs GVWR and it’s loaded. I use HE 3.5

 

[DanRam]

Brutal_HO, interesting, I dd not know that a bout the speed. Sounds like locking up the brakes of the trailer is not realistic. In my case I generally test it at a higher speed, 23-30 mph and activating the brake controller up to 100%. I did test at 5mph 1 time, foot off the gas and maxxing out the BC and it didn't want to stop on level ground. This is my first trailer with brakes so I may be expecting too much.

As for the axle, I had the shop go in to check the brakes on the trailer and adjust if necessary but they said they were properly set. Repacked the bearings while they were in there. For now I'll assume they would have noticed if something was wrong.

 

[LoNeStAr]

I need to test mine again now that we have added more gear to the trailer. Think I will need to totake the gain up a bit

 

[DanRam]

I need to test mine again now that we have added more gear to the trailer. Think I will need to totake the gain up a bit

You seem to be in between, where you could do high gain on the LE or low gain on the HE.

I have no idea if this is true or not and hope others will chime in, but I heard you don't want the gain to be at the very top of the range. Like set to 9 where the max is 10. That's where I had it last trip. I assume it's so you have greater range available using the brake controller manually, if needed, over what the foot pedal gives you.

 

[CalvinC]

I could be wrong but wouldnt the gain be more dependent on the braking system on the trailer, rather than the trailer, or weight of it, itself?

I've experienced vastly different braking performance from different, but similarly weighted trailers, had to adjust gain accordingly, and simply figured it would be no different from variances in vehicle braking performance.

Not that either was running a set of Brembos, because we're not locking them up, but rather the system's application of the TBC inputs and how well the brakes shed head seem to vary?

In other words, not sure there could come a magic bullet or index from such a query?
But I could easily be wrong.

 

[LoNeStAr]

I could be wrong but wouldnt the gain be more dependent on the braking system on the trailer, rather than the trailer, or weight of it, itself?

I've experienced vastly different braking performance from different, but similarly weighted trailers, had to adjust gain accordingly, and simply figured it would be no different from variances in vehicle braking performance.

Not that either was running a set of Brembos, because we're not locking them up, but rather the system's application of the TBC inputs and how well the brakes shed head seem to vary?

In other words, not sure there could come a magic bullet or index from such a query?
But I could easily be wrong.

I am not a 100% sure but what you’re saying makes sense. I have pulled a lot of different length and weight trailers but this is my first travel trailer. And with it much taller than other trailers I have pulled I want to make sure I have the trailer brakes dialed in best I can. My understanding is when I press the brake pedal the trailer brakes should be applying enough force to bring the trailer to a stop. I just need to get it in an empty parking lot and do the 25 mph test again to double check.

I am curious for the people using the HE setting instead of the LE, why the change?

 

[silver billet]

When I set my trailer brakes, I want the gain to be set so that when I'm braking I can't tell I have my trailer attached. Any less gain and the trailer is pushing the truck, not good. Any more gain, and the the trailer is stopping the truck, also not good. Ideally the trailer stops itself and the truck doesn't notice it back there when stopping.

For me and my trailer, this works out to be around 5, with about 5500 to 6000 pounds nowadays.

 

[LoNeStAr]

When I set my trailer brakes, I want the gain to be set so that when I'm braking I can't tell I have my trailer attached. Any less gain and the trailer is pushing the truck, not good. Any more gain, and the the trailer is stopping the truck, also not good. Ideally the trailer stops itself and the truck doesn't notice it back there when stopping.

For me and my trailer, this works out to be around 5, with about 5500 to 6000 pounds nowadays.

That is the exact way I was thinking it should work.