2014 Ram Factory Brake Control Not Compatible with 5th Wheel Trailer Electric Over Hydraulic Brakes

Question:

Hi, We have a 2014 Ram 3500 Lonestar Dually that we are trying to use to tow a 2006 Jayco Designer 36LRTS. The Ram 3500 has a factory installed tow package that includes a trailer brake control. When we connect the 5th wheel to it, the message board tells us Check trailer brake wiring then a second message pops up that says Trailer Brake Disconnected. When we bought the 5th wheel, we were informed that the brakes on it where electric and not electric over hydraulic. I took the truck to the dealer to get the message checked and make sure that the trucks trailer brake control is not malfunctioning. They informed me there that the 5th wheels brake system was probably electric over hydraulic and that the trucks brake control system was probably too old and not compatible with the 5th wheels brake system although, the settings will allow you to choose electric or electric over hydraulic. They recommend we install an after market brake control, and assured me that doing so would no void the warranty. What do you think? Is it true the 2014 Ram 3500 Factory Brake Control is too new and not capable of being used with our older RV? If thats the case, any recommendation on what we should do and what after market brake control we should install?? Thanks in advance.

asked by: Brandee B

Expert Reply:

The 2014 Ram owner's manual states that the factory brake controller only works with newer electric over hydraulic braking systems. They do not provide a year range for what constitutes as newer though so we can only assume that it is 2013 and newer systems. I assume that you have tried to use the electric over hydraulic mode on the brake controller but it did not work.

There are some actuators known to have problems interacting with factory integrated brake controllers as well, such as those from Dexter, so that could be the issue as well.

One solution, if it is a compatibility issue between the controller and actuator, would be to replace the actuator. I would just need to know if the trailer has disc or drum brakes. The most popular disc brake actuator is # K71-651. And for drum brakes customers like # HBA-10.

You could install a compatible aftermarket controller as well. If you go that route I recommend the P2 # 90885 and wiring harness # 3023-P. The controller will plug in in place of the factory controller. This will cause an error message to appear that will have to be removed by a Ram dealer.