Community Forums

surferlou · 03-08-2015, 05:46 AM

I tow a 26 foot travel trailer with a 2012 Dodge Ram. My Curt brake controller locks up the trailer brakes at low speeds, making driving on city streets anything BUT enjoyable. I'm using L1 and around 20 for brake sensitivity, and still get the lockup of the trailer brakes. It's to the point where I'm unplugging the brake controller during city driving...Which I recognize is probably not a good idea..but neither is trailer brake lockup. Any ideas?

brulaz · 03-08-2015, 07:16 AM

If that was a Ford, I would say get the Factory built-in controller.
I suspect RAM is the same.

The Factory controllers are way better than any after-market that does'nt plug into the truck's computer.

Cummins12V98 · 03-08-2015, 08:46 AM

In 2012 RAM's brake controller was improved. They work great. I would recommend you have the dealer install one for you.

BadDogPSD · 03-08-2015, 09:18 PM

Is your controller built in? If not, you might want to swap it out for a Prodigy controller.

surferlou · 03-09-2015, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BadDogPSD

Is your controller built in? If not, you might want to swap it out for a Prodigy controller.

It is not a built in controller. I bought the Curt Tri-Flex because it is a "plug and play". Seems like others are saying my best option is to contact the dealer and pay through the nose for a factory controller. My bad for getting the base model RAM and not getting the full tow package. I have heard good things about the Tekonsha Prodigy controller. Will I have the same problem though? Is this a RAM issue? Did RAM put in some proprietor exclusive wiring into their brake controllers? The thing that is frustrating is that it otherwise seems to work 80% of the time. It just seems to not like lower speeds.

brulaz · 03-09-2015, 05:09 PM

No it's not a RAM thing.
My Ford built-in works way better than my previous Prodigy.
The reason is that it has access to the truck's computer bus (OBDII ?) so it knows the speed, whether ABS is activated and so on.

AFAIK the only after-market controller that uses the truck's computer bus is the DirectLink, and it apparently works just as well as the OEM and is similarly expensive.

With Ford, people say to buy the OEM controller at a discount on the internet, install it yourself, then get the Dealer to flash the computer so it is recognized. Sometimes they do it for free, if you're lucky.

BadDogPSD · 03-09-2015, 05:51 PM

The Prodigy should be plug & play too. I had one in my 97 & 02 trucks and was very happy with the performance. My current truck (2013 F350) has the factory brake controller and I'm not sure I could tell the difference between it & the Prodigy.