NumberCruncher

I tested by the book and took the trailer back to the dealer on Thursday of last week. They said they checked them.

I didn't bother to test again as I was leaving for Colorado on Saturday and thought they might get better with more miles.

I am now in Ouray and will try the 25mph test the next time I have a safe place to do so. With over 1,000 miles on the trailer the brakes should be broken in by now. I honestly don't think I'll see much improvement. I can definitely fell them help me stop so I guess they are working well enough.

I'll post back. Thanks for the tips.

NC

Tolson37

I tried excercising the trailer brakes and setting the gain, however my truck would automatically disconnect the trailer when I tried using the trailer brake controller. What am I doing wrong?

tomb1269

If they used a small drum brake system then you may not ever get lockup. I had a brand new pop-up that weighted in at 1400lbs dry & 1800 wet, for the years that I owned it I followed the setup procedure to a Tee multiple times and was never able to get full lockup. I know the brakes worked well as I could always feel them pull on the van. My solution was to set up them up so that I could adjust as needed while driving,. I.e. on open highway I would back the gain down around 5 so as not to cook the brakes coming down a long off ramp or heavy use in the mountains at hiway speeds, and then crank them up to around 8 when in the city or stop and go traffic. I lived in NJ at the time so I had to regularly deal with the dumb@$$ that would jump in front of me and jam the brakes.

Spizwink

I tow a 10500 LB camper >< before my 2016 F 150 I had a Tundra with a after market brake controller in it, it would snap your neck if yous set to high, on the Ford with built in brake controller , the first time I towed and a setting of 10 I could hardly feel it slow me down>< I had just towed with the Tundra before I traded for the Flord and it worked great

altarocks

Traded in my Jeep Commander for a Platinum w/ max tow around 7/1. When I hooked up my 29' TT and tried to adjust the gain I was hardly feeling anything, even at 10. I took the camper to the camper dealer and told them when they sold me an aftermarket brake controller and rigged the Jeep I could crank up the trailer brakes to almost throw the driver into the windshield. Both that controller and the Ford controller instructions say to adjust gain to lockup @ 20-25 mph using manual control, then back off to just below lockup. It fell on deaf ears. Camper dealer charged me $98 to tell me they didn't find anything wrong with the camper. They noted that when manually squeezing the controller they measured 15 amps, but only 3 amps when using the pedal. Not sure what that means, but they sent me to the Ford dealer.

Luckily, the Ford dealer was just down the street. They still had my Jeep and allowed me to hook my camper to it and test drive. Same effect as the Ford which tells me the trailer brakes are either out of adjustment or worn. Hooked back to the F-150 and back to the camper dealer. Told him what happened with the Jeep. The service manager then test drove it with me in the passenger seat. After patiently enduring him screwing up all the trailer settings on the truck and reading each screen of the towing checklist 7 or 8 times (I don't think he know it was continuous scroll) he repeatedly tried telling me he though it was braking normally. FYI, from 20 mph with gain at 10 and squeezing manually it takes ~ 10 seconds for the trailer brakes alone to reach a stop. I told him that isn't "normal" and I wasn't willing to put my family in it. He then started asking if I ever had my wheel bearings repacked When I grilled him about the condition of the brakes he said they never removed the drums - they just lifted the wheels off the ground, manually spun them and saw they stopped with the brake pedal I was ready to walk out (but it ain't easy to find camper service centers).

Long story not so short, my rear axle on the TT was bent. I agreed with him that the axle should be fixed first. It just arrived and I'll drop it off tomorrow. This time I'm going in prepared to battle the brake issue if they try to again say it's normal. I have copies of the controller owner's manual they sold me and the pages from the Ford manual. Both say to adjust gain to lockup (or near as can be) then back off. I also have the Keystone TT manual and the axle manufacturer's manual. Both of those say to follow the brake controllers setting instructions. Somehow I just know I'll have another ridiculous line fed to me, but this has now become a mission for me and I'll get them to admit it isn't right one way or another. Stay tuned...

Spizwink

I have a 2016 F 150 one month old, towing my 34 foot camper the built in brake controller would NOT lock up at 10 I could hardly feel it working< I just towed this camper 1300 miles 2 months ago with my Tundra and a after market controller and I could snap your neck with that then back off on it and it all worked great, I am going to adjust the brakes on my Camper then tow again if I do not get better results then the last time I am going back to the Ford place

lewisra

I had same issue, it was caused by a clean plug connection. I'd plug in and all lights would work, I'd get the trailer disconnect as you describe. I adjusted the plug and it worked fine, later I cleaned all parts and it works fine now.

Tolson37

Turns out I'm a real rookie. My boat trailer brakes are hydraulic and activated by the trailer tongue when the truck breaks.

Spizwink

I had a Tundra and I towed 1300 miles with a 10,000 pound Camper in May with a after market Brake Controller and it would lock up the wheels, I traded it for a 2016 F 150 with the Max tow package, the Brake controller came with the truck, I towed with it and I had to take the Brake Controller to 10 and still did not have much braking on the Camper, I just came from the Ford dealer today and was told these do not work as good as the after market ones, I was talking to the guy in the shop that does that kind of work, he said he could install my after market one for me , I am going to adjust my brakes on the camper and tow again and see where I am at, if not better will have him install my old one

RedAggie03

I can't get mine to lock either when on 10, not even close. This is with the factory controller. I have a brand new Travel Start EXP 227CKS. You can tell they are working and they work fine for normal conditions, but I think in an emergency situation I'd be in trouble. I'd love to see if there is a way to improve the factory controller if that's the case.