5.0GN tow

We just towed home last night with the 49ft 17k loaded GN. I cant belive how nice the trailer and truck performed in the crap we were driving in. We only had one horse and a lighter than normal load due to just being a smaller show. Had to panic brake one time due to two cars going sideways in front of me on a long bridge. The truck went into antilock mode a bit, but was steerable and the trailer never even tried to come around, staying right behind the truck as I pulled hard right while braking. Not sure if the trailer brakes locked or not, but my guess is no due to how well it tracked. Maybe the brake controller(factory ITBC) helps keep them from locking up in this kind of situation?

TerryD64

IMO and experience If you set the brake controller up properly you will not "Lock" the brakes if over 25 MPH. Under that you need to learn to adjust the gain when in heavy traffic. As to tracking while emergency braking, it sounds like 2 things came in to play here.
1. You were loaded with a balanced load
2. your brakes are equally well adjusted and evn pressure was exerted on both sets of wheels.

This is not luck, this is good loading skills and proper trailer maintenance!

Good job staying safe.

5.0GN tow

I am pretty **** about the maintenance on the trailer. Safety and the fact that we haul live animals makes me insist on it. As for loading I do my best to balance it out fairly well, but only so much we can do as the horses do shift around some. I think I have to credit Bison Coach with building a trailer tracks well and loads easy. It's big but tows very nice!

acdii

There is some truth to the ITBC controlling the trailer brakes in an emergency. The entire braking system is tied together. In a Sway situation, some trailer braking is applied, and if ABS kicks in, it limits the amount of braking to the trailer. With an external brake controller, it only looks at brake pedal on/off and gradually applies more current to the brakes, so in light braking the trailer brakes could eventually lock up, where with the ITBC, the amount of brake force applied to the trailer mirrors the amount of brake force being applied to the truck. Light braking will not cause the trailer brakes to increase brake force, so it stands to reason that a panic stop that activates Anti-Lock would also prevent the trailer brakes from fully engaging.

acdii

I have had to slam on the brakes to the point the ABS kicked in, and the trailer brakes did not lock up but the entire rig stayed straight. It was on a wet highway, we were doing 65-70 and traffic came to a standstill suddenly. If the trailer had gone full tilt on the brakes they would have locked and slid sideways. I can lock the trailer brakes with the controller from 30 MPH, so I know that they will lock at full tilt.

5.0GN tow

I had an accident one day that was the result of surge brakes. I created a hill towing a little hook hitch triaxle flatbed that was empty. I hit slush just over the hill which begged the truck momentarily and rapidly. The trailer brakes activated, the trailer came around and despite me punching the gas and trying to turn slightly away from the trailer, it spun the whole rig around 180 degrees on I-70. I ended up against the wall almost without much contact except the snow plow hardware which grazed the wall on the way around.

I waited for traffic to clear got to the right side away from the wall and got off the road. I then unhooked, drove around the trailer then used equipment chains and drug the trailer back around the right way and rehitched. I called OSP and they came out took a report patted me on the back, said good driving and let me off with no citation.

I was on duty on official business as a Police Officer picking up a 12k pound genset for the city. Oh the dumb things we do as young pups. By the way the truck was a 1996 f350 RC SB with a 460.

acdii

OK I think I have the answer to the ITBC.

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Fo...G1609146&div=f

So based on that last sentence, it does sound like it will reduce output in an ABS condition, but not in an ABS fashion.

acdii

The way I read it is that under "normal" braking conditions, they could lock up. It does sound contradictory, but when you read between the lines, they are correct. If just stopping normally, and since there are no ABS sensors on the trailer brakes, there is the potential that a wheel or wheels could lock when traction is reduced. OTOH if there is a panic stop situation where the trucks ABS brakes activate, then I think it is smart enough to not apply braking to the trailer. I also agree there should be more detail on the sway control function, and reading that doc I believe that it can apply braking as required to correct the sway since it mentions to not apply braking to the trailer to correct sway, which is the norm to stop sway.