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raleighdogguy

not sure

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Posted: 07/01/12 06:50pm

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Just picked up my new fiver on Friday. My initial impressions of towing with my F-350 are just jaw dropping...except for braking performance.

My truck is a 2012 F-350 SRW short bed. The trailer is a 36 ft fifth wheel with a UVW of 11,700lb. I didn't have room to do the full 25mph setup procedure on the trailer brakes, but I was able to get the trailer to stop the truck from 15mph. The gain on the Ford buil-in controller is set to 8.0.

I should also mention the trailer is riding about 2" high in the front right now.

My impressions:

-- Light braking doesn't do a whole lot. The whole rig seems to just keep moving.
-- Hard braking will get us slowed down, but there's a noticeable lurch from the trailer pushing the truck at first.

I dropped the trailer off at it's parking spot today and this evening I noticed a significant increase in brake dust on the front wheels of my truck. This got the gears turning in my head.

What do you guys think? Sounds like the setup needs some fine-tuning right?

robsouth

Near Atlanta, GA

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Posted: 07/01/12 07:03pm

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yep.

"Sometimes I just sit and think. Sometimes I just sit." "Great minds like a think."

12thgenusa

Lakewood, Colorado

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Posted: 07/01/12 07:52pm

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raleighdogguy wrote:

I didn't have room to do the full 25mph setup procedure on the trailer

That's it in a nutshell.

Dave & Gean

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raleighdogguy

not sure

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Posted: 07/01/12 08:45pm

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Ok. I'll definitely find a way to give it a try.

Is there any reason to be concerned about running the brake controller at full gain (10.0)?

carringb

Corvallis, OR

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Posted: 07/01/12 08:49pm

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raleighdogguy wrote:

Ok. I'll definitely find a way to give it a try.

Is there any reason to be concerned about running the brake controller at full gain (10.0)?

Make sure it doesn't lockup the trailer brakes at higher speeds.

Bryan

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V10 w/ Banks PowerPack, Diablo Predator, 4.56 LS, ~350,000 miles
New Desert Fox in the works!

carringb

Corvallis, OR

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Posted: 07/01/12 08:50pm

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Also.... It is very likely the trailer brakes are not adjusted correctly, and they may be contaminated by grease if the axles have grease zerks. MANY service departments treat RV axles like boat axles, which they are NOT, and can't simply be pumped full of grease.

gmw photos

midwest

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Posted: 07/05/12 07:43pm

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carringb wrote:

Also.... It is very likely the trailer brakes are not adjusted correctly, and they may be contaminated by grease if the axles have grease zerks.

MANY service departments treat RV axles like boat axles, which they are NOT, and can't simply be pumped full of grease.

May be true on some brands, but that does not appear correct for Dexter EZ Lube:

http://l.b5z.net/i/u/6149609/f/product_flyers/E-Z-Lube_7-11.pdf

....or see page 51:

http://www.towmaster.com/pdf_manuals/Dexter_Maintenance_600-8000lb_axles.pdf

Same for Lippert super lube:

http://lci1.com/images/Flyers/Owners_Manuals/Axles/om-trailer-axle-super-lube-add-web.pdf

bartlettj

Forest Grove, OR

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Posted: 07/06/12 11:15am

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You should probably level the trailer before you do too much brake adjustment, you need to get the load evenly distributed on the axles first.

Cedarhill

Deep South

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Posted: 07/06/12 11:50am

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bartlettj wrote:

You should probably level the trailer before you do too much brake adjustment, you need to get the load evenly distributed on the axles first.

Brakes are adjusted with the wheel off the ground. I think you probably mean level the trailer before adjusting the brake controller. Two different issues.