Troubleshooting Weak Braking Power Even With A 2022 Palomino Puma

Question:

I have 2014 Ram 3500 with 6.4L Hemi. It has factory brake controller. Had 2015 23ft Puma camper brake gain set at 5.5 and brakes worked fine. Bought a new 2022 26ft puma camper and the camper is pushing me when braking even with gain set at 10. I was on light electric setting and then tried heavy electric setting also on 10 gain and the camper still pushed me on braking. Checked voltage at trailer connector on high and it only showed 9 volts on light electric and 7 volts on heavy electric. So l checked 2 other Ram trucks and they showed the same 9 volts on light setting and 7 volts on heavy setting. Is this normal volt output for the Dodge trucks and why wont 9 volts stop the new camper when the controller set at about 6 volts was stopping the old camper?

asked by: Robert W

Expert Reply:

It sounds to me like the brake assemblies on the new trailer are not properly adjusted or that you have a break/short in the wiring on the trailer. To test this you can jack one side of the trailer up and spin the wheel. If it spins more than two times or you can't hear the brake pads dragging in the drum then you'll need to adjust the assemblies out with a brake spoon # W80630. I've attached a help article below that will walk you through this process.

If you can hear the brake pads dragging then the next step would be to check the voltage at the brake assembly. You'll need an extra set of hands to press the manual override on your brake controller and a multimeter to check the voltage. If you're losing voltage by the time it makes it to the brake assemblies then you either need to increase the wire gauge or you could potentially have damage somewhere in the wire. If the voltage is fine then I recommend removing the hub/drum and checking for any grooves or damage to the brake magnets and drum face.

Check all this out and let me know what you find and we can keep troubleshooting further if needed.

expert reply by: Kevin C