took my toy hauler for a short ride for the first time the other day with my 2010 screw lariat. everything was working ok for the first five miles. i then shut the truck off for a few minutes at the waste dump station and rinsed out the holding tanks. then i re-started it and drove away. while adjusting the trailer brake gain and also whenever i used the manual trailer brake, the display said trailer disconnected. so i made sure the wiring plug-in was clean and firmly clicked into the socket, also turned truck off and re started it, but to no avail, same message appeared. the funny thing is that the trailer brakes still worked and when i shifted into reverse the back up alarm was automatically turned off like i'm assuming it should be while hooked to a trailer. so on one hand the truck knows a trailer is there cuz the back up alarm is turned off, but on the other hand it says trailer disconnected. any one else out there run across this or any similar issue?

 

Stupid question, but did you install the fuses that came in the little bag with the harness too? Even though you have the factory brake controller I'm told that they still give you the harness for aftermarket controller and you still have to install the fuses...

 

didn't install any fuses. didn't get any type of harness for aftermarket brake controller. but during the first five mile leg of my trip i did adjust the gain and i did use the manual brake and the message center didn't say "trailer not connected". everything worked fine at first then the issue came up on the way back home.

 

One thing I noticed in your post is your back up alarm doesn't come on with a trailer attached...mine does I have the factory BC. Whose is right?

 

Take the truck and trailer to the dealer. I wouldn't mess with it as this can be dangerous if you rely on the trailer braking control and then all of a sudden it doesn't work!

 

Do these trucks come with a back-up alarm?

 

Not that I am aware of but I believe he is referring to the "Reverse Sensing System" as it needs to be off when towing.

 

My dad has a 2010 and just told me about a similar issue he had while pulling his boat last weekend. Had code on dash saying trailer disconnected. He said it was on for awhile then cleared itself. hasnt seen the code back on yet? I would say a benifit of having a 2010 is taking it to the stealership for free. thats what i recomend

 

Ok, well you need a fuse and a relay I believe and perhaps that is the issue. Like the others said, go to the stealership before you tow any more.

 

if i need to install a fuse or relay, why didn't the "trailer not connected" message appear right from the start? and when i said back up alarm i meant the beeping that sounds over the speakers inside the truck from the reverse sensing system. these trucks do not come with a traditional back up alarm. with trailer attached and in reverse, my message center says the reverse sensing system is <off>. i'm assuming that this is the correct way cuz that beeping would drive anyone nuts while backing up a trailer and there is no need for the reverse sensing system if a trailer is connected.