Braking in the rain

[slickskot]

Camped close to home over the weekend with friends. Started to rain on Sunday morning so I packed up and sent the wife home with the dogs so the would'nt get wet. About 1/2 mile from home on a newly paved road down hill going slow to make a right turn my truck and trailer both locked up the brakes and slid right past my turn. Luckily there was no other cars around. It hasent rain around here for a while so I dont know if it was just the oil on the road.
This was my first oh sh!t moment and I did'nt like it. The bike was not in the 19rr and we had next to nothin in the tv and tt so there was no way it was overloaded. This was my first time towing in the rain after 5 trips and about 1,900 miles. Do I need to adjust my tailer brakes? Was I just getting too comfortable. We know we need a bigger TV and we will but honestly this trucks been doing good until this event.
Sorry about the long post, just looking for some guidance.
Thanks, Scott

[Oaklevel]

Do not really have enough information but there are a number of factors that could have caused it. Do not know what a 19 rr is or your TV so can't help there either but......... My first thought is you were traveling too fast for the conditions, but again I don't have enough info. Trucks and trailers take a lot longer to stop than towing solo.

Just my 2 cents, speed, brakes, size of the tow vehicle to the trailer, brake adjustment, when you started braking, road condition, wet pavement, are just a few of the possible things that could have locked up the brakes. More than likely a combination of all of the above.

Experience is the big key......... glad nothing serious came out of it.

[youroo]

X2 on what Oaklevel said,New Blacktop after a Rain is the Same as Black Ice in the Winter! Youroo!! PS IF you wrecked the Report would have said "SPEED EXCESSIVE for Road Conditions"!

[Kenny kustom]

No abs???


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[Oakman]

That was probably poor quality blacktop. The oil in the blacktop probably came to the surface in the rain causing an oil slick at the surface. Did your truck brakes really lock up? The ABS system is supposed to prevent that.

[RollingDownTheHighway]

new blacktop or wet blacktop after months of no rain is always slippery. We came home on Sunday as well in the rain, I turned down my trailer brakes a tad and just took it slow.
Where we were we hadn't had rain for a awhile and some roads were like "ice" from the oils coming up through the blacktop.

[emm-dee]

Need more info. I know what a 19RR is but what is pulling it? Are you sure the trailer brakes are working? A 19RR weighs at least 4600-4700 pounds unloaded. A freshly paved road combined with water is slicker than pigsnot and it wouldn't take much braking to slide the TT if the trailer brakes weren't doing their job.

A few years back I was pulling a 2,200 pound utility trailer that didn't have brakes. Same conditions as you described. Truck was a long bed Dodge 1500 with mid-life tires. Making a turn I had traveled hundreds of times and with very, very light braking I got into a jack knife situation. So, a combination of slick roads and inadequate trailer brakes is a recipe for bad results.

BTW, I put brakes on the trailer and never had a problem afterwards.

[slickskot]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

No abs???


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

Great question...I never thought about that! Need to find out what's going on with it.
I figured the new black top had something to do with it, but was wondering if there was something I missed.
Thanks, Scott

[slickskot]

I'll be checking the brakes on the trailer before the next outing. Thanks emm-dee.

[Too Tall]

Start slowing down sooner. Stopping a lot of weight on a slick road downhill has gravity and friction working against you.

[raspivey]

Most people set and forget on a brake controller. Optimum braking is to set it "just" short of trailer lock up. It should be readjusted when road conditions change. I usually just back mine down two levels in the rain and start slowing sooner.

[D_B Travelers]

Originally Posted by Too Tall

Start slowing down sooner. Stopping a lot of weight on a slick road downhill has gravity and friction working against you.

Welcome to towing! X2 on starting to slow down sooner, even if the light is green you never know if someone else is going to have an issue and slide through the intersection (like you did). I have towed in the rain more times than I care to count and just slow everything way down, become very cautious at intersections and in town.
It's a learning curve. Slow down for that too!

[fander]

We camp around San Antonio and some of the roads around there are very slippery every time it rains. We have seen 5th wheels that couldn't get up the hills as their tow vehicles tires started spinning.

[Las Cruces]

I see three things that you need to look at. The first is when ever you hook up always start your truck moving forward and apply your trailer breaks using the break controller. This will insure you have a complete circuit. Start moving again and apply all your breaks using the brake pedal. Your breaks should be set at about 60% on the trailer and 40% on the truck. The best gauge for this will be a slight tug from the trailer before the truck in gauges. Last always assume wet roads are going to be like driving on ice until you test it. As you found with new construction the western half of the U.S. goes for long periods of time without rain and accumulates a lot of oil. OH yes! read your break control manual, there are a lot of different controllers on the market and they all work a little different. Hope this helps.

[slickskot]

Thanks for all your replies. I have alot to learn, just glad nobody got hurt. I'm gonna have the brakes on the trailer checked out and go over the brake controller manual again. I thought I was going slow for the corner but maybe I was just getting too comfortable. Still need to look into the ABS also.
Again Thanks, Scott

[Too Tall]

I have been RVing for over half of my 68 years and I think I learn something each time I make a trip. Either that or I forget what I've learned which is probably the case.

There's so many things to think about. I use a check list now because my memory is not as good as I'd like. Over the years, I've driven off with the steps down, door open, antenna up, tongue unlatched, you name it. One of my close calls was pulling up a steep bridge in the rain in Mobile, Al area and hitting the steel span that opens for boats. My TV lost traction as soon as I hit the steel and my TT kept coming. Of all the wrong things I've done, that time I had my trailer brakes set properly. Like you, it scared the daylights out of me.

I appreciate you mentioning this incident because it reminds me to pay attention.

[thebrakeman]

What brake controller are you using?
What is your tow vehicle?

[Las Cruces]

I've use a Curt Tri-Flex for the last four years and really like it.
My tow vehicle is a 2004, 2500 with a 5.9 HP

[mkosu04]

Originally Posted by Las Cruces

Your breaks should be set at about 60% on the trailer and 40% on the truck. The best gauge for this will be a slight tug from the trailer before the truck in gauges.

*brakes* not *breaks*

and this is not necessarily true on newer trucks with integrated controllers. On my 2004 F150 this was true.

With my 2012 F150 the trailer brake force is proportional to the truck braking pressure, so you don't get that initial "tug" from a trailer even when it is set up correctly.
This makes for a much more comfortable tow, but requires some better judgement when setting your gain.

[thebrakeman]

With the Tekonsha controllers (Prodigy, P2, P3), you set the controller for proportional braking. That is, so that when you apply a panic stop in the tow vehicle, the trailer will receive the voltage necessary to almost lock the brakes, but not quite. In this case, you should not feel the trailer "leading" the braking event.


But if you are the type that prefers to feel the trailer "tug" or "lead" the braking event, you simply set the boost feature to "b1". This applies about 10% of max braking voltage as soon as you touch the brake pedal. So if you are set to 8 volts as your maximum, you'll get 0.8volts to the trailer before you get any braking at the truck. If you want more initial braking, you can select b2 or b3.