Max Brake

[SnoKing]

It tells you that the trailer is connected or not, so it does have some value. Snoking

 

[crispyboy]

The screen is very important for me. I pull a travel trailer and two different utility trailers.
The utility trailers must be readjusted depending on the load. When empty I dial down to 15 and loaded closer to 25. I don't like to flat spot the tires. The travel trailer needs 55.

 

[SnoKing]

The screen is very important for me. I pull a travel trailer and two different utility trailers.
The utility trailers must be readjusted depending on the load. When empty I dial down to 15 and loaded closer to 25. I don't like to flat spot the tires. The travel trailer needs 55.

If you are doing a lot of adjusting between trailers, then you should be working on the trailer brakes and fixing some issue that exist there. As that is one of the beauties of the MaxBrake, it works pretty much transparently across different trailers without a lot of readjusting.

Start by looking at the trailers that require much higher settings. SNOKING

 

[seafish]

If you are doing a lot of adjusting between trailers, then you should be working on the trailer brakes and fixing some issue that exist there. As that is one of the beauties of the MaxBrake, it works pretty much transparently across different trailers without a lot of readjusting.

Start by looking at the trailers that require much higher settings. SNOKING

I have been running a BrakeSmart for about 6 years now. I mostly use it to haul either lumber or equipment on my flat bed trailer. The BrakeSmart and MaxBrake, as we all know, operate on the same principle of correlating truck brake line pressure directly to trailer brake voltage. It is by design an excellent and smooth trailer brake system that allows the driver to easily coordinate truck and trailer braking.

All that being said, and despite what many others have said, I DO need to adjust Brake SMart voltage gain depending on load, particularly while pulling the SAME flat bed trailer, loaded vs. unloaded. Unloaded, I run completely minimum gain or the trailer wheels lock-up. Loaded, I set the gain up until I can feel the trailer pull me back lightly when I use the brake pedal while traveling downhill. And this only makes sense to me...unloaded the trailer weighs 1500# and loaded it can weigh up to 10k #. So while the BrakeSmart has been an excellent controller for me, I DO need to adjust it's gain based on load...otherwise I end up with either way too much or not enough stopping power. I am sure that if the load varied by only 1000# or so, this would not be the case, but since my load varies by substantial amounts, the gain must also vary...it is not a problem with the trailer brakes, though that may be the case in other situations, it is not the case in all situations.

 

[K5IP]

p-bar,
Thanks for the info. I am in contact with them now.
Rog

 

[p-Bar]

Rog wondered what happened to you. Let us know the outcome.
Don

 

[K5IP]

p-bar,
I just spoke with the folks at Crystalfontz and they indicated that a new display would cost about $26. However, they also said that there was no photo detector built into the display to change illumination from dark to bright conditions.
So, if someone needs a display because it has faded from normal sun exposure, a new display is cheap and easy (if you can solder a 16 pin connection)
In my case, I still need to go back into the Max Brake controller and look harder for a detector. I must have missed it the first time around. Mine is not a fading issue, but a sudden failure.
Rog

 

[Nigel]

Anybody have any cold weather issues with their Max Brake? In the link that p_Bar posted the screen has an operating temp of -4*F. I'm about to install a Max Brake on my truck and it does get colder than that here, should I be concerned?

Don't be concerned unless your heater doesn't work. As soon as the cab starts to heat up the display will be legible again. I tow everyday all winter and my Maxbrake must be atleast 7 years old now.

Nigel

 

[JR]

Don't be concerned unless your heater doesn't work. As soon as the cab starts to heat up the display will be legible again. I tow everyday all winter and my Maxbrake must be atleast 7 years old now.

Nigel

If the day comes my heater don't work and it's cold enough that the screen don't either, I'm packin' it up and headed right back into the house :-laf Thanks for the advice Nigel

 

[JR]

I have been running a BrakeSmart for about 6 years now. I mostly use it to haul either lumber or equipment on my flat bed trailer. The BrakeSmart and MaxBrake, as we all know, operate on the same principle of correlating truck brake line pressure directly to trailer brake voltage. It is by design an excellent and smooth trailer brake system that allows the driver to easily coordinate truck and trailer braking.

All that being said, and despite what many others have said, I DO need to adjust Brake SMart voltage gain depending on load, particularly while pulling the SAME flat bed trailer, loaded vs. unloaded. Unloaded, I run completely minimum gain or the trailer wheels lock-up. Loaded, I set the gain up until I can feel the trailer pull me back lightly when I use the brake pedal while traveling downhill. And this only makes sense to me...unloaded the trailer weighs 1500# and loaded it can weigh up to 10k #. So while the BrakeSmart has been an excellent controller for me, I DO need to adjust it's gain based on load...otherwise I end up with either way too much or not enough stopping power. I am sure that if the load varied by only 1000# or so, this would not be the case, but since my load varies by substantial amounts, the gain must also vary...it is not a problem with the trailer brakes, though that may be the case in other situations, it is not the case in all situations.

I have yet to hook mine up so I can't say for sure but this makes sense to me. My primary use will be for a 14k lb GVW tilt trailer and 10k lb GVW dump trailer and my loads will also vary greatly. I don't see how the line pressure sensor could ever make up for + or - 10k lbs from one load to the next, so it only makes sense that the gain will have to be adjusted accordingly. Guess I should get my book out and read it one of these days