Ive got to move a tractor, and I need to set up the trailer brakes.......

Im borrowing the trailer from a buddy, and its a bumper pull, double axle with what I presume to be electrical brakes.....no surge brakes here.

The tractor is a Kuboda 4300 DT, Im guessing 4000 lbs.

Ive got to go about 10 miles, but it is all downhill, with a 26% grade right off the top.

Do I need a controller? Ive got the wiring that came with the truck, but I aint sure where to put it.

Ive dicided to reform myself, normally Ide just have pulled it without brakes on the trailer...........http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/hihi.gif

Just short the blue and red together if you need brakes. ):h

26% grade, was that a misprint???....just wondering???

Manny, you can either reform yourself and get a brake controller or get a set of wings for that Duramax on that 26% grade! ):h 26%???? Sounds like a cliff!

Don't mind MP, it's Friday night and the local Moose Lodge has a happy hour! ):h You need a brake controller installed, U-Haul can do them, any RV place with a service department can as well. You'll find it handy, dang trucks should come with them like the F??d's! :o If possible take the trailer with you so everything can be checked out and the tech can show you how to adjust the brakes. Adjust them again once you have the load behind you. They should be warm for the best setting. Drive safely! JJ :)

Apparantly the ford brake control isn't all its cracked up to be. At least we can choose which brake control to buy.

Manny, if it has electric brakes, do yourself a favor ;)

I would wire in the brake controller (most complicated part is finding where to mount the isolator), or have it done by an RV dealer with a shop. There was a change in the wire color codes somewhere around 2002, so make sure that they use the wiring diagram for the right M/Y truck.

To adjust the brake controller, depending on the model and type you get, you MUST do the initial adjustments on a LEVEL SURFACE. This is because some types use an inclometer device that will increase the voltage when the truck is on a down angle, and decrease on an up angle, to simulate proportional braking. At 26% down angle, it is likely going to lock up the trailer brakes....so be sure to test that hill with an empty trailer first, and adjust as required to make sure the brakes don't lock up (then add a notch or two when loaded). At 4500 lbs. that is not much of a load, so the difference in weight will not require that much more voltage than just the trailer.

Remember that the trailer brakes are not designed or intended to hold the load, but to add braking drag that assists your trucks brakes. Having too much trailer brakes is just as dangerous as not having any, because locked brakes causes skids, and "wheels that slip, lead", in other words, the trailer will try to catch up and pass the truck, causing jacknifing.

As far as brake controllers go, the best ever made was the Hays (Kelsey-Hays), which was good up to 4 axel traillers (8 brakes), but I can't find it anywhere anymore. When GM used K-H rear wheel ABS, it would just wire in and use the ABS to "pulse" the trailer brakes to prevent wheel lock up (extending the ABS to the trailer, somewhat). If you can find a used one on E-bay or a leftover on an RV dealer shelf, you should not pass it up. They also made a remote for it that mounted on the shifter, that you could activate with your thumb, great setup (had one on a 96 3500).

The Prodigy is also a good one (what I have now), but others may chime in and make other recommendations. The new ones are all electronic and can all do the job for you, so preferences vary from one user to the other.



Good luck.

03 Radio Flyer, The Kelsey-Hayes is now Hayes-Lemor & it is a piece of s@#t. I have taken mine off & installed A Prodigy.

RF3, great/sound technical advice as always. I use a Prodigy controller and love it. :)

MaxPower, you know ol' JJ was just funnin! ):h

Manny, hopefully you are out getting a brake controller installed. 26% grade? Really? JJ :confused:

Yessirs, it is a marked "26%+ grade" but luckily it is only about 1/4 mile......I just may find a way to drive the tractor to the bottom, and then load up.....

But the rest of the trip is all downhill too......

Theres a story behind all of this......The Kuboda is under warranty, and theres a steering line hyd leak. May as well have them fix it. Anyway, if they come to your place, they charge a service visit. (100 bucks) or they offer a service to come and pick up the tractor, and take it down to the shop (maybe 10 miles from me). When they come and get it, thats at least 150 bucks.......

I dont like the shop, there is apparently some assembly invoved in putting a tractor together, and theyve managed to screw up a few things. Next shop is 30 miles away......

Last time, I just drove it home, but on back roads. Very rough, and steep. Its an 8 speed (no synchros) so every time she couldnt climb a hill, I had to stop, and shift to a much lower gear. Drove pry 20 miles.........Sucked. But at least i didnt have to pay another 150 bucks to get it trailered home...........

Figured that having trailer braking setup might not be bad anyway. Sounds like it might be a couple hundred bucks........

Mannie, $35-$40k++ in a diesel truck, plunk a couple hundred more into it and get rid of this limitation.:) I had one instance where someones truck broke down so I pulled their trailer to their home. They gave me $75 for my trouble. :D Maybe it will pay for itself! JJ :)

Towing 5000 LBS and you need AUX brakes for a 10 mile drag?

It is all downhill.........

I towed a 7500 lb cement mixer a few weeks ago on this same hill, and it had surge brakes. They didnt work all that well, but even so, brakes are needed on this one......... The hill past the 26% grade is windy, and at least 10% for 3 miles. Ide feel like a heel if I managed to wreck truck, trailer, and tractor for something like this. I love that tractor.....http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

I dunno, maybe Ill just drive the tractor there late at night when no ones out....I just dont want to get nailed for running red fuel on the road. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/hihi.gif

I would imagine it is more than 5000 lbs.........Trailer is at least 2000 lbs, tractor is maybe 4500 lbs...........Even with all the implements off it.

Get the f#$%^&*()_n' brake controller already! ):h That 26% 1/4 mile drop, is it nicknamed "Dead Man's Curve" or something like that? :eek: Why buy an expensive truck and have a $200 brake controller keep you from being able to use it for all purposes when needed.

They are not that expensive. Time to "GOYA"?? and get it done! ;) JJ :)

Get a prodigy and a plug and play harness. You can find them for about $110.00 to $150.00 complete.

Manny, you can do it yourself. The prodigy is all electronic and the plug and play harness is about $12.00 and is ready to go.

Another plus is that if you want to move it to another vehicle, just get another bracket and put it in.

Both my Grand Cherokee and Truck have mounts for the prodigy and it takes less than 30 seconds to swap them out.

The prodigy may not be as sophisticated as the Brake-Smart but, the value for the money ratio is way up there.

always a brakesmart guy in every crowd. I like the brakesmart, yes it is more expensive but you get what you pay for in this case. it is based on sensor technology, not inertia like the prodigy. but the prodigy is cheaper, it is. and much less capable. brakesmart can do electric over hydraulic, air brakes, and soon monitor EGT and boost. no adjustment needed for changing trailers. I will say that after hooking up three trailers weighing 4k - 15k, the whole unit stops as one. infomercial over. if you are going to spend 40K on a truck, why skimp in the safety department ?

Whaddabout this one? (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4525545631&category=50073&sspagename=WDVW)

10 bucks sounds good. Ide like to do it myself. How hard can it be? http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/hihi.gif

Turns out I may be using this trailer more than I planned.

I havent even been able to see the trailer, its at a friends house. He has a PSD, so he isnt so sure about these types of things........http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif I am pretty sure that it has electric brakes though.

Are all trailer to truck harnesses the same?

Get the prodigy! I installed it on my 05 in 20 minutes and I am mechanically challenged.

Not all trailer plugs are the same. Some use the 6 way smaller metal plug and some use the Larger 7 way 'RV' plug. They are easily adaptable from one to the other. I carry an adapter all the time for all the different plugs. There are also other plugs such as ones Semis use and also the 4 wire one commonly found on smaller boat trailers.

Thanks, I need to get over to see the thing......

Where do the wires all go, and does any of the install include the stuff that came with the truck? It looked like a harness of some sort for trailer brakes.

tx

Manny,

$100.00 is a good price for a prodigy. Usually the controller comes with a bracket and a pig tail that will allow for you to use the pig that came with the truck.

The instructions are pretty clear about how to hook the 2 pig-tails together but there is an eaiser way.

Go to an RV dealer or go to the Tekonsha web site. I think even Camping World carrys them in stock.

http://www.tekonsha.com/bch3025.html

This description is for a pre-made pigtail. One end plugs into the prodigy and the other end plugs into the Mid-Body MEC, underneath the black plastic cover by your left foot on the drivers side. The connector provides all of the connections you'll need between the controller and the truck. Plug it in and your done..