dodge guy
Bartlett IL
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Joined: 03/23/2004
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cpeters wrote:wow.. sorry I started the "great debate".. anyway... picked up my new2me camper today. its was pretty simple. The dealerships lot was level gravel.. I set the P3 manually to 5.. the trailer skidded a little in the gravel when I applied the lever control. Backed it off to 4,.. it didnt lock up.. but slowed both TV and trailer. I drove home safely.
thanks for all the help.
And you didn`t flip over and burst into a ball of flames?! LOL. glad it worked out for you.
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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Joined: 04/09/2004
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cpeters wrote:wow.. sorry I started the "great debate".. anyway... picked up my new2me camper today. its was pretty simple. The dealerships lot was level gravel.. I set the P3 manually to 5.. the trailer skidded a little in the gravel when I applied the lever control. Backed it off to 4,.. it didnt lock up.. but slowed both TV and trailer. I drove home safely.
thanks for all the help.
Now that you have your initial setting, try tweaking the setting up and down a little bit at a time, to see if you can improve things.
If the trailer seems to push the truck a little bit, increase the setting.
If the trailer seems to jerk back on the truck a little bit, decrease the setting.
After a few tries you should get used to what the adjustment does and how much you need for the most comfortable ride.
You will absolutely not cause any accidents or break anything by creeping up and down by .1 increments.
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mosseater
Dillsburg, PA
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I thought the point of setting the brakes to impending lock up is because that's where maximum braking effect takes place. The moment the wheels lock up, you're going in the wrong direction losing braking effectiveness. Am I wrong that the maximum brake output a P3 will give is whatever I have set it at? The boost level only guages the percentage of initial brake amplitude at a given voltage setting per braking input sensed by the pendulum. The max voltage under any boost level is still only what I have programmed in, right? Whether I jam the pedal through the floorboard or use the manual lever, the max voltage is always going to be what I program in. So, why not set the voltage to the highest level short of impending lockup for what ever your trailer weighs? In an emergency stop I'm going to want all I can get right up til brake lock up. If 5 is the minimum setting that will stop a given set-up before impact from distance "x", doing MPH "y", then it seems obvious that 4 might not get the job done. What am I missing?
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BenK
SF BayArea
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Moss,
Correct....but, that is at 25 MPH or so
At 50 MPH, that same setting will NOT skid.
It will need a HIGHER setting to skid
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bfast54
Traverse City ,Mi.
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BenK wrote:Moss,
Correct....but, that is at 25 MPH or so
At 50 MPH, that same setting will NOT skid.
It will need a HIGHER setting to skid
Ahhhhh, but don't "Tweak " it too much, when wet, it will act totally different.(Skid easier)
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mosseater
Dillsburg, PA
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bfast54 wrote:BenK wrote:Moss,
Correct....but, that is at 25 MPH or so
At 50 MPH, that same setting will NOT skid.
It will need a HIGHER setting to skid
Ahhhhh, but don't "Tweak " it too much, when wet, it will act totally different.(Skid easier)
Agreed, on both counts. Although, I have to say, mine has never had a problem locking the wheels at any speed. The degree of ease in locking is hard to decipher. I remember early on before I fully understood just what my settings were accomplishing, I had the voltage set at about six, rather than the now-standard 4-5, and I got caught in a phased traffic signal section of highway, where the moment of truth between going through safely and stopping the rig happened at five signals in a row. I was travelling about 45 and laying on the brakes (not the lever) resulting in dramatic smoke, with the end result being rolling through the intersection rather than getting stopped in the middle of it. Each time, I tried to adjust the voltage lower before the next signal with the same result. By the fifth signal, I was creeping along at about 25 mph, afraid of getting nabbed at one more signal. I had finally gotten to a voltage setting that didn't skid the tires.
Up until then I was pretty much guessing. For those of you who don't know, skidding in a trailer when you'd much rather be stopping is not a good feeling. That's why I say it pays to take some extra time to figure out the best possible setting under differing circumstances. Don't let it to chance. You need that trailer to keep it's end of the bargain when stopping. With todays vehicles having anti-lock brakes, the tv will not skid and the trailer will. Not a confidence-inspiring event, for sure. You want the trailer to mimmick the braking behavior of the tv as best you can, ie, hard braking at impending lock up, but not sliding. Once you get the voltage set, the controller should take care of modulating the rest pretty well through it's inertia sensors.
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