How to Increase Braking Force of 2015 Raptor 5th Wheel Trailer

Question:

We just bought a new 5th wheel and a new 2015 f 350 to pull it, our problem is I dont think the brakes are working as they should, I thought you should be able to lock them up in a emergency situation only, but I can only slow down. It feels like to me the truck is doing 60 of the stopping and the trailer 40. the place we bought it says the brakes would never lock up. I have my truck controller on as high as it will go and it still wont lock them up.

asked by: Carl H

Expert Reply:

Ideally your 5th wheel's electric brake assemblies and your trailer brake controller will both be adjusted so that at full power on the controller (as when you hit the emergency manual override lever) the brakes have tension on them just below the point where they will lock up. You do not want to have the brakes actually lock up as this could cause loss of control.

You can check the brake assemblies to see if they need to be adjusted. On the brake there will be a star wheel adjuster (please see the linked photo) unless you happen to have automatically adjusting brakes such as the Dexter Nev-R-Adjust # 23-469. Since the trailer and brakes are new it is most likely that they just need some tension adjustment on them. When the trailer is jacked up you should be able to easily hear and feel some drag on the drums as you rotate the tire. The tire should NOT be able to spin freely as if it had no brake drum. You want to hear and feel some drag on the wheel even when no brakes are applied in the tow vehicle.

You can also test the brakes directly if you wish by applying 12V power (from the truck's battery or from a spare) by connecting the battery negative lead to the trailer's ground pin and the positive lead to the brake circuit pin. Please refer to the other photo that shows the trailer-side connector. The contacts at the bottom are the ones you'll use to test. If the brakes do not engage fully in this test then they almost surely need adjustment at the star wheel.

We offer a brake adjustment tool, part # W80630 from Redline, that makes it easier to do the adjustments but a flat blade screwdriver or similar tool can also work.

expert reply by: Adam R