First 5th Wheel--Bad Braking???

[bowler1]

Hi,
I just got my first 5th wheel and am a bit concerned about the braking. It weighs 12,500 pounds and has a 2500 pound pin weight. I am pulling it with my Ram 3500 which has a 4,200 pound max pay load so I well within the payload capacity of the truck. I have the factory brake controller maxed out at 10

I drove it home yesterday from the dealer. Slowing down was not a problem while driving because of the exhaust brake so I really did not use the trailer brakes much. However, when I did have to come to a complete stop I found that the brakes did not feel to be slowing me down sufficiently. Maybe I needed to step on them harder, and maybe the trailer brakes will get better as I break them in (user manual said it takes about 1000 miles to do this), but I am a little concerned that I would have a problem if I had to slam the brake on while on the highway.

Any feedback? Will this get better when the trailer brakes are broken in? Is it just that I am not braking hard enough?

thanks
Matt

[Lynnmor]

I find that it takes many miles for the burnishing to be complete. You might be finding an increase in performance for many hundreds of miles necessitating dialing back the controller repeatedly. Now the downside is that you and the repairman have worked the brake magnets to the extreme before they were seated, and that can groove the armature. I will never do the hard braking to burnish the brakes again, instead actually do with little braking for awhile.

Self adjusting brakes are far from perfect, the manual is just fine since the drums need to be pulled for brake inspection annually anyway.

[azrving]

Good to hear that. There is plenty on our minds as we travel. Don't need to be worried about the brakes too.

[bowler1]

Fixed.

Yes, thank you for asking. It did get fixed and I did get it back the day before my trip.

When I picked it up I drove it down the road and the brakes were still not making any difference. I asked the technician to take it for a drive. He got the brakes hot to burnish them a bit and it made a huge difference. The difference between how the brakes were before being fixed is night and day. I think I could have gotten into a bad accident if I had not gotten this taken care of.

I did notice on the way home though that the brakes were smoking a bit. I think I had the controller set a little too high (about 8 / 10). I backed it off to about 6.5 or so and now it all seems to be working fine.

I have about 300 miles on them now. I will continue to monitor. I probably need to adjust them here soon. Wish these were automatic adjusting brakes.

Matt

[Me_Again]

IdaD wrote:
Try the electric over hydraulic setting. The other modes seem weak with our fifth wheel but EOH seems to solve that.

On my 2015 RAM I run EOH heavy on level 6 and the drum brakes on our 16K Bighorn work much better than Electric heavy. Chris

[IdaD]

Try the electric over hydraulic setting. The other modes seem weak with our fifth wheel but EOH seems to solve that.

[azrving]

Bowler1
Did they get the parts? Is it fixed?

[azrving]

TxGearhead wrote:
Since it's warranty they probably have to get pre-approval from the manufacturer. Possibly some back and forth emails and pics between them. But you can get a complete brake assembly including backing plate, shoes, magnets, all assembled from eTrailer for about $60 per assembly, and shipped pretty quick.
Try to find a Mom & Pop repair shop that is authorized to do whatever warranty ussues you are having. Most dealers are focused on sales and accessories.

No, he needs the drums too since the magnets ate into them and destroyed them. New rig, very low miles all four destroyed.

[TxGearhead]

Since it's warranty they probably have to get pre-approval from the manufacturer. Possibly some back and forth emails and pics between them. But you can get a complete brake assembly including backing plate, shoes, magnets, all assembled from eTrailer for about $60 per assembly, and shipped pretty quick.
Try to find a Mom & Pop repair shop that is authorized to do whatever warranty ussues you are having. Most dealers are focused on sales and accessories.

[Pop-Pop_C]

Should be able to,adjust your brake controller. Set it up a little and test it. On my 18 2500 Chev I am running a 6'on the controller.

[shadows4]

I think I would find a mobile mechanic and check about using him for any future warranty repairs.

[Lynnmor]

Parts are available near Harrisburg, and there are places that can ship next day. Three weeks is just hogwash.

[azrving]

When they get done with you, you won't want to return. But, let's hope for the best.

[bowler1]

Trailer is an Open Range. Dealer is Lerch RV in PA. Parts are Lippert.


Matt

[bowler1]

Hi,
Thanks for asking.

Well, the trailer has been at the dealer now for almost 3 weeks waiting for parts to come in so they can fix it. I have a trip this weekend that I booked months ago and it is now questionable if I will be able to go. I am not too happy about it and my wife is beyond furious about it since it is a brand new trailer and we can't even use it.

They claim the parts will be in tomorrow and I will be able to pick it up on Saturday so I can make my trip on Sunday. This is a 3 hour drive by the way.

I hope they come through....

Is this typical? That a warranty issue takes 3 weeks to get the part in to fix?

Matt