My 2011 F-150 5.0 has the factory brake controller. Last week I bought my first trailer with trailer brakes, a cargomate 6 x 12 for hauling motorcycles. I had the dealer add brakes as I am paranoid about not having them.

So driving around the last few days in the rain I start with the gain on 1 and get no braking I can feel. I crank it up to 5 and can feel some braking. I know the ideal setting is where you can get the wheels to lock up and then back it down a notch. I had to go to setting 8 to get lockup and this in in the rain.

The trailer only weighs about 1,200 pound empty and I am surprised I had to go to gain setting 8 to get lockup.

For those of you who use trailer brakes do you find you need to be at a relatively high gain setting?

Also, I did test by using only the finger trigger and in the dry today could not get lockup with a gain setting of 10. How long do they need to break in if at all?

NC

 

The gain setting number is not important. The voltage needed is the relative factor. Maybe check connections and wiring and battery voltage at the plug in. I had a trailer that would only start to apply brakes at #7 but the brakes worked fine and had no problems....

 

I have found the gain settings to be a subjective issue. On the enclosed trailer, a gain of 5 keeps everything happy. On the old trailer, a gain of 8 was needed to keep everything happy.

FWIW, Ive never abided by the locking the tires method. Ive always judged braking by distance to stop loaded vs unloaded.

 

Trailer gain will also change as the trailer weight is changed by loading and unloading. A loaded trailer will require more gain. Additionally as the brakes get worn you will need to increase the trailer brake gain.

You need to set your brakes every time you add or remove weight as well as every time you hook up. There is no set # for any trailer. You should also not feel your trailer brakes working under normal driving conditions with a proportional system like the factory installed systems. These systems mimic your tow vehicle braking. If you feel the trailer pulling you back, you have the trailer brakes set too high. Some trailer brakes will never lock up no matter what you do.
The correct way to set the controller is have the tow vehicle moving slowly, apply just the trailer brakes and adjust the trailer brake gain until you feel the trailer brakes stopping but not locking up. It is now set for you current load. Any higher and you are over heating the trailer brakes. Any less and you truck brakes will be over worked.

This does not apply to timer based brake controllers like the Tekonsha Pilot, Draw-Tite Activator series type controllers; just proportional or inertial based controllers like the Tekonsha Prodigy of most factory installed newer brake systems.

 

The way I understand it, the gain is proportional to the amount of braking applied by the truck. As you give "more pedal pressure" more gain is applied. It should feel seamless when you come to a stop. Last year, before I sold it, I had a 33' Keystone travel trailer. Dry weight was somewheres around 6,500 lbs. I think. After doing a little "playing", "6" seemed to be a bit soft and "7" was a bit much. I felt a slight tug, so I left it on "6". One time I had to mash the brakes because some knucklehead just had to get ahead of me. I grabbed a hold of the steering wheel thinking this was it. I had to steer right into the other lane and try not to oversteer, and except for "knowing" the trailer was back there, I had no drama. Shocked the crap out of me. I could feel the truck compensating with the RSC, etc .. Strange feeling. Now, I have a 14'x7' V-nose Homesteader tandom axle enclosed trailer that I haul my Polaris Ranger HD in. The total weight with Ranger gassed up and loaded is in the neighbohood of 3,500-3,600 lbs. I was thinking the same thing. Just start out at like "3" or "4". But it didn't feel right. I could feel a "push" when I hit the brakes. So I went through the process and ended up on the setting being "7". So that's were I set it when I'm towing the Ranger around. Except for seeing it in the rear view, It's almost not there. Any way sorry for being long winded here. I was trying to show that the lighter trailer actually like a little higher setting. Go figure

 

I pull about the same thing. It is an R & R 7 x 14 enclosed trailer to haul my Polaris Ranger 800XP.

I have found that the best setting is 4 or 5.

 

Sounds just fine to me. Just remember, on full gain your applying 14v to the brakes under maximum braking load. Under lite braking, your only applying 3-4v even at full gain. Remember though, every brake setup and trailer weight is different. Every gain adjust will be different.

You might also make sure your brakes are setup right. Drive in reverse a couple mph and hit the brakes hard. That will set the trailer brakes one notch tighter and will make the brakes more responsive if they were in need of an adjustment.

 

Very true, but as a service manager I tell people that if they need to set their controller over 8 or 80% they probably need their trailer serviced and linings as well as adjustment checked.

Most electric trailer brakes Do Not have an automatic adjustment like automotive hydraulic drum brakes do. In fact trailer hydraulic drum brakes do not have auto adjusters either.
There are exceptions- most 8k and heavier axles have always came with auto adjusters. But lighter axles (1.5 through 7k) with auto adjusters are a very new thing in the trailer brake industry. Because you don't have center pressure from a hydraulic wheel cylinder they also don't adjust as well as the automotive style self-adjusters.
Long story short- Most trailers do not have auto adjusting brakes and those that do usually do not work very well.

 

I would like to say that I really like the Ford brake controller. Easy to use and works very nicely. I like how easy it is to adjust the gain setting. I tow either an enclosed trailer or a car trailer and it is simple to adjust for the load. Thanks Ford.

 

towed a 6x12 enclosed whitout brake with 2 sportbikes and race weekend stuff, and never feel the need to have some.
a friend have brake on his 6x10 enclosed and when I tow it, I turn it very low.

hate the brake jerking all the times(when applying brake) at low speed in traffic.

 

It is still set too high... you should not feel the brakes jerking on a factory brake controller unless it is set too high. The most common trailer brake controllers for jerking are timer based units like the Draw-Tite Activator and the Tekonsha Pilot.
These cheaper timer based controllers are fine for experienced towers but require a bit more user interface to use as well as having to adjust up in an emergency. For inexperienced towers and occasional towers the more expensive controllers like the Tekonsha P2 Prodigy or P3 or the factory installed integrated controllers do a lot of the work for you... at least when they are set correctly.

 

When I first hook up the rig I just start out in drive no gas about 3 mile and hour , squeeze the brake controller adjustments just to make sure I have stopping. After the test 5.5 works great on my Gulfstream 28 ' 5000 LB trailer. I'd say gain on 6 to start with is a good place then adjust accordingly.

 

I start at MAX and back it down until I get a smooth stop without any jerking.

 

Colorado has it right one thing to remember different brakes have different magnets so they react different. Quite often on new trailers we find the brakes were never adjusted at the factory so check your adjustment or have it done by someone who knows how to get them right. With a test box we set them at 5v max as a preset starting point then adjust up or down to match the trailer.