Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith Wire
Hi all,
In another thread I posed the question "How do you properly adjust the Brake Controller?"
I have a Prodigy controller and here are the steps from the Prodigy manual:
As I stated in the other thread it is near impossible to lock the wheels on the TM.
Rick said:
Now I am not new to driving or pulling trailers, but I find it hard to know when I have the power set correctly on the Prodigy Controller.
So the question is, how do you adjust your controller? Is there a proven way, or do we all just have to guess; then hope and pray we have it right?
Thanks, Keith |
Folks,
I think I might have hit on the answer as to why the Prodigy controller does not cause the brakes to lock up while adjusting the level. I just bought a new truck. While reading the owner's manual section about adjusting the brake control, I spotted this:
"If towing a heavier trailer, trailer wheel lockup may not be attainable even with the maximum gain setting of 10." This is referring to the Ford controller specifically, but....
I began thinking about the reason for this. The Prodigy directions are GENERAL, intended to fit most travel trailers, not TM's specifically. Most travel trailers have TWO axles. The TM has one. Since most TM's weigh in, loaded, at 4-5000 pounds, that means that the ONE axle on the trailer manor is carrying all the weight! So, the force downward on each tire is DOUBLE that of a two axle trailer!
That means that the little patch where the rubber meets the road on the bottom of the tire is being pushed down, by the weight of the trailer, with the force that you would find on a tire of an 8-10,000 pound trailer that has two axles.
This would result in having MAJOR traction on our two tire trailers. No wonder they won't lock up.
Seems to me that this also helps to explain the blowout problem so many have experienced.
Does this make sense to the rest of you? If I have erred in my thinking, please correct me.
Tom