WARNING for bed mat users - please read!

alanfred · Dec 31, 2012

This little piece of information might save a life.

Situation: Towing on the Interstate, a strong head wind caused bed mat to flop around. The bed mat knocked the 7 - way plug loose, not all the way out. I did not know this until we exited the interstate, and attempted to get 20K + lbs to stop before the end of the exit ramp. The good new is, Dodge has great brakes, and I did get it stopped. Don't let this happen to you.

Nabo · Dec 31, 2012

That must have been an interesting experience. Pulling horse trailers (goosenecks), we had run into something similar with the plug but with livestock, we slow down much earlier than with the camper. Since that experience, we have had the bed of the last 2 trucks sprayed in.

jnbhobe · Dec 31, 2012

alanfred said:
This little piece of information might save a life.

Situation: Towing on the Interstate, a strong head wind caused bed mat to flop around. The bed mat knocked the 7 - way plug loose, not all the way out. I did not know this until we exited the interstate, and attempted to get 20K + lbs to stop before the end of the exit ramp. The good new is, Dodge has great brakes, and I did get it stopped. Don't let this happen to you.

Thats the nice part of the new transmissions in the big three, you can shift them down to help you stop faster.

alanfred · Dec 31, 2012

jnbhobe said:
Thats the nice part of the new transmissions in the big three, you can shift them down to help you stop faster.

Planning on adding an exhaust brake. That was the original plan when I bought the 6sp manual. Down shifting does little to nothing with a diesel to help stop.

jnbhobe · Dec 31, 2012

alanfred said:
Planning on adding an exhaust brake. That was the original plan when I bought the 6sp manual. Down shifting does little to nothing with a diesel to help stop.

I don't know about your 6 speed manual but down shifting the Allison or the Torque-Shift automatic sure does make a difference slowing down.

JohnDar · Dec 31, 2012

jnbhobe said:
I don't know about your 6 speed manual but down shifting the Allison or the Torque-Shift automatic sure does make a difference slowing down.

I agree.

mobilcastle · Jan 1, 2013

alanfred said:
Planning on adding an exhaust brake. That was the original plan when I bought the 6sp manual. Down shifting does little to nothing with a diesel to help stop.

You may want to consider an automatic tranny. My F250 with towhaul and without an exhaust brake made a huge difference in slowing the truck & 5ver down. I have an Allison now and it works great-it also has a exhaust brake. Go out and test drive one.

happykraut · Jan 1, 2013

alanfred said:
Planning on adding an exhaust brake. That was the original plan when I bought the 6sp manual. Down shifting does little to nothing with a diesel to help stop.

My Dodge Cummins slows down tremendously by downshifting the 6 speed automatic Aison transmission.

Lynn1130 · Jan 1, 2013

Love my Banks brake(plus Allison transmission)! And can you say spray-in bed liner?

Bob&Patty · Jan 1, 2013

I have a spray in liner but...I have had light objects leave the bed at times. I believe that there is a large down draft created by the front of the 5er causing this. My 07 chebby has the trans brake (Allison) but no exhaust brake ( its coming soon). The trans brake DOES make difference when stopping.

lmcclure · Jan 1, 2013

On our 06 F250 if the plug comes out just a little a light comes on and it alarms and shows that the plug is not connected. We also use the trans brake and it works great.

alanfred · Jan 1, 2013

lmcclure said:
On our 06 F250 if the plug comes out just a little a light comes on and it alarms and shows that the plug is not connected. We also use the trans brake and it works great.

Lee, What brake controller are you using? also, when you disconnect how does the controller know it's intentional? perhaps an override switch? or does the alarm auto reset?

Willym · Jan 1, 2013

Despite all the advances we have seen in truck braking, in a hard braking scenario, the truck brakes only stop what is being carried by the truck wheels. That 7 pin plug connection to the trailer is very important. The OP has posted some good info on his event. I have seen some users put a cable tie or a bungy cord around the 7 pin plug and receptacle to prevent them from separating.

jnbhobe · Jan 1, 2013

lmcclure said:
On our 06 F250 if the plug comes out just a little a light comes on and it alarms and shows that the plug is not connected. We also use the trans brake and it works great.

My 03 and 06 did the same thing useing the factory Ford brake control, the 11 is more safisticated yet, it knows what trailer your pulling and keeps track of up to 5 different ones.

jimtoo · Jan 1, 2013

My Max-Brake unit has a read out showing the settings when connected to trailer. If disconnected, the light and readout go out.

Jim M

Lynn1130 · Jan 2, 2013

Yes, my controller shows "N-C" (no connection) if the plug is removed.

WARNING for bed mat users - please read!

alanfred

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Nabo

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