Brakes Optional

[Steve Collins]

If you have the opportunity to pull the drums, lubing the star adjuster will make future brake adjustments very easy. In the pic below, I have circled two places that need to be lubed. I use the same high temp grease that I pack the bearings with. Remove the star adjuster and take it apart. Lube the threads (circled on the left) and the other end (circled) on the right. The goal is to get the star adjuster to turn much easier so you want to lube the inside of the star adjuster as completely as possible. I also lubed the star itself and the area of the spring that it contacts. Not too much lube as you don't want it to get on the drum or shoe surfaces.



The Dexter manual has more info on lubing the brake assemblies.

[SanDimasJoe]

John,

Ok, come Monday I will attempt to readjust the brakes. Incidently, I did jack up the tt one side at a time and hooked up the 7 pin to the truck. I did this to make sure all wheel brakes energized. I had my wife apply the manual lever while I spun all four wheels one at a time. They did. I also had her apply the brake pedal and they all were energized. So I think my main concern is in the brake shoe adjustment. I do have a regular adjustment tool which I will try to use. Thanks.

Joe

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by luvrque

The Ford integrated controller sounds GREAT. I would think it is Not available on their SUV's ?

Joe

Ford and GM now have integrated brake controllers. Ford was first in 2005 and I can't remember when GM started, a few years after. I have not looked yet if Dodge has one too.

You can buy an aftermarket high end controller that comes close but still doe not tie into the complete truck system.

The BrakeSmart Controller has a pressure transducer they put on the brake line pressure line after the master cylinder. I can't seem to find the company web site. They where bought a while ago and do not know if they are marketed by another company.
http://www.trailersaver.com/pdf/brak...ion_manual.pdf

Hensley has one too Brake Controller - TruControl by Hensley Mfg.

I have not had any experience with either but I have a buddy using the Brake Smart on his 2500 Suburban and it works very well.

The Jordan controller, also very good but in the league of the Prodigy series was sold to Camco. And Camco did do anything with it. Bought it and poof a good controller is off the market. Seems they did not see a large enough return on the investment where the original developer/owner did. Camco seems to be buying up small companies lately. I did not realize they bought EAZ lift WD hitches until I went looking for update instructions earlier this week.

If your looking for an upgrade, the P3 http://www.tekonsha.com/product/details.asp?ProdID=90195&cat=1435 is the next evolution of the Prodigy. From there you start jumping into the super high end controllers.

John

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Ford and GM now have integrated brake controllers. Ford was first in 2005 and I can't remember when GM started, a few years after. I have not looked yet if Dodge has one too.

Hi John,

I know Ford started like you said in 2005 with the Super Duties as an option, but I think just recently they started offering them in the F150's. I don't know about GM, but I do remember from when Fred & Janet Powell got their new Dodge 1500, they didn't have one. I remember at the time she found out the 2500 and 3500 had it optional for the 2010 MY, but the 1500 wouldn't have it until the 2011 MY. I'm guessing the 2011's are already out, but I'm not sure. I have no idea how Dodge's controller works though.

Jon

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

Hi John,

I know Ford started like you said in 2005 with the Super Duties as an option, but I think just recently they started offering them in the F150's.
Jon

Thanks Jon. Yes the new F150's have the integrated brake controller and a yaw sensor system to sense a sway event and alternate the TV brakes and maybe the TT brakes too. It does not eliminate the need for mechanical sway control but I see this new feature as a positive move on Fords part. The technology has been around for a while and in fact in Europe they have the ability to have braking anti sway on the TT. The age of anti lock brakes and traction control paved the way for this electronic anti sway system.

[Viking]

John,
I am surprised over your statement about Europe.
I just returned from visiting my daughter in Sweden a few days ago, and I had a discussion about trailers and their hitch and brake systems with my son-in-law.
He claimed that electric brakes were just about unheard of over there. They seem to be hooked on surge brakes. He was also totally unfamiliar with weight distribution and sway control systems.
Roar

[JohnB]

Roar, yes I spent some time in Germany and saw there caravans all over the place, small ones and being pulled by small cars. There hitch is totally different and there "anti snaking" hitch applies extreme pressure on the forged all 1 piece tow ball. No screw on threads like ours over here. I never saw in person the TT with the yaw sensor and brakes on the TT but I think AlKo did it. I'll look for the tech write up. And yes, all the brake I saw where surge brakes or a biog parking break for a run away camper unhooking. I thought I created a post on here a few years ago with all that. I’ll have to look.

I will say this, at least in Germany, they broadcast each week on TV how to balance your caravan for safe towing and they have lower speed limits for towing a camper. I think about 45 MPH is it. And maybe 50 MPH if you have a sway control hitch. And they enforce and follow the speed limits that I saw for campers. However everyone else was driving way over the speed limit but not the campers. Speed is one big component in sway. Once you are over 45 mph things start to escalate that could have been stable at 40.

What Ford did with the new electronic sway control is a good move foward.

[JohnB]

Here is the link to campers in Germany. Man that was over 3 years ago now. Where does time go...

Campers in Germany - Pic's

[luvrque]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Here is the link to campers in Germany. Man that was over 3 years ago now. Where does time go...

Campers in Germany - Pic's

John,

Thanks for sharing again. I was not on this site 3yrs.ago, very intresting to see & read...........

[Viking]

John,
You learn something new every day!
I was not aware of the hitch with the built in friction pads clamping the ball for sway control. This did not come up in the conversation, and I am not aware that the presence of one of these would have an effect on how fast one could tow in Scandinavia. Seems like stabilizing force in one of these would be small compared to one of the friction bars used commonly here.
Talking to a guy, who owns a "caravan" (TT to us), he had never seen a dump station or a full hook up site, as we know them. His TT has a small cassette tank for the toilet. I think he said it was 15 liters, approximately 4 gallons. This they have to remove from the TT, access from the outside, and carry it to a special place to empty. What a pain in the arse!
I am not clear on what they did with the gray water. What I saw was that he just let it run out on the grass, but I am not sure if this is acceptable in a CG.
He was parked in my daughter's yard at the time.
My son-in-law does have safety chains on his utility trailer, but I was remiss in not checking this on his uncle's TT.
Roar