We have a 2008 Mobile suites 32tk3 and pull it with a 2008 Ford F450. We purhased both used about 6 months ago and have only had the chance to pull it twice for abot 100 miles aty a time. The unit drives and pulls nicely but the trucks computer keeps saying trailer disconnected and the gain control flashes. As soon as I apply the brakes it re-connects again. I have heard that the ford controller of that year is not compatable with hydrollic over electric brakes which the mobile suites has on it. Does anyone know if this is true and is there a fix? My dealer does not know.
Bill and Linda said
02:03 PM Mar 17, 2013
The factory brake controllers on Ford’s or Chevy’s, etc. will not work with the electric over hydraulic systems. There is no "fix" for the truck. This is a known condition and simply due to design choices by Ford, etc..They were only designed to work with the electric only brakes.“Depending” on the hydraulic system in the MS (they are usually Carlisle in the MS) there is an adapter that can be installed in the trailer to work with the factory units.(There are some know issues with this adapter.Perhaps they have been addressed by now. "I" wouldn't use one myself due to these know conditions.But that is my opinion.)
From experience I would recommend putting an aftermarket controller in your truck.The Tekonsha P2 is an excellent choice for price vs. performance.This aftermarket controller is superior, IMO, to all factory units as it is much more proportion than the linear factory units.
Bill
Terry and Jo said
03:08 PM Mar 17, 2013
The Carlisle item that Bill is referring to is a HBA-CAM (I think I've got the right letters on the front end) and it definitely works with the electric over hydraulic. At least it does on our 2010 model Mobile Suites. When we first got our trailer, our truck's computer did as you described. Then, once we had the HBA-CAM installed, the issue went away.
I don't know what "issues" there are with them, as Bill referred to, but we also haven't towed our coach all that much. We are still "static" full-timers with only a few "excursions" under our belts.
Terry
Bill and Linda said
03:16 PM Mar 17, 2013
Terry and Jo wrote:
I don't know what "issues" there are with them, as Bill referred to, but we also haven't towed our coach all that much. We are still "static" full-timers with only a few "excursions" under our belts.
Terry
Now that the “issue” question, indirectly, has been raised:
The “issues” concern the “adapters” burning up.They have been known to lockup the trailer brakes.This issue may or may not have been corrected with the adapters.There was a non-published, as I was informed, recall.That’s just one of the reasons I would opt for the aftermarket controller in the truck as I did with mine. YMMV
Bill
igotjam said
04:18 PM Mar 17, 2013
As the previous owner of an 08 F-450 and an 07 Suite who tried the HBA-Cam (which didn't work in my particular case) save yourself some trouble and instal an aftermarket brake controller. After a lot of trial and error, its the only thing that worked for me. JUst a hint....do not unplug the Ford system, just cut into the wires with your aftermarket controller. If you unplug the Ford brake controller the truck computer will sense it and show a problem message on the instrument cluster.
TheHarveys said
12:54 AM Mar 18, 2013
I have a 2008 F450 and pull a 2010 Carriage Carri-Lite that has electric over hydraulic disc brakes. After reading up on the issues, I did not even tyr to use the factory brake controller. I had a Tekonsha P3 installed in the truck. It works very well.
NWescapee said
05:17 AM Apr 23, 2013
Does anyone know if this is still an issue with the newer Ford F450's? Ours is a 2012, Dale is towing the trailer home now and we weren't aware that this might be an issue.
Bill and Linda said
06:44 AM Apr 23, 2013
My source of info was wrong, so I removed the post.There’s enough incomplete info on the internet as it is.{Grin}Bill
-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Friday 26th of April 2013 06:58:28 AM
Terry and Jo said
01:56 PM Apr 23, 2013
Ruth,
Read the manual. I'm not trying to be "snarky" here, but I mention that because I "heard" that the newer trucks may have some kind of "menu" into which one can go and select a particular setting to work with the electric over hydraulic brakes. Sadly, I don't remember whether that applied to all of the brands, so that is my reason for mentioning the manual. Having a 2008 model, ours doesn't have any such option of selecting a certain configuration.
Terry
NWescapee said
11:45 PM Apr 25, 2013
Terry - I couldn't look at the manual - Dale has the manual since he has the truck and is enroute. I sent him a link to this discussion and he looked through the manual and found that the 2012 F450 does have a setting for EOH so he made the change.
Just thought I'd update everyone on the 2012 edition of the F450.
We have a 2008 Mobile suites 32tk3 and pull it with a 2008 Ford F450. We purhased both used about 6 months ago and have only had the chance to pull it twice for abot 100 miles aty a time. The unit drives and pulls nicely but the trucks computer keeps saying trailer disconnected and the gain control flashes. As soon as I apply the brakes it re-connects again. I have heard that the ford controller of that year is not compatable with hydrollic over electric brakes which the mobile suites has on it. Does anyone know if this is true and is there a fix? My dealer does not know.
The factory brake controllers on Ford’s or Chevy’s, etc. will not work with the electric over hydraulic systems. There is no "fix" for the truck. This is a known condition and simply due to design choices by Ford, etc.. They were only designed to work with the electric only brakes. “Depending” on the hydraulic system in the MS (they are usually Carlisle in the MS) there is an adapter that can be installed in the trailer to work with the factory units. (There are some know issues with this adapter. Perhaps they have been addressed by now. "I" wouldn't use one myself due to these know conditions.But that is my opinion.)
From experience I would recommend putting an aftermarket controller in your truck. The Tekonsha P2 is an excellent choice for price vs. performance. This aftermarket controller is superior, IMO, to all factory units as it is much more proportion than the linear factory units.
Bill
The Carlisle item that Bill is referring to is a HBA-CAM (I think I've got the right letters on the front end) and it definitely works with the electric over hydraulic. At least it does on our 2010 model Mobile Suites. When we first got our trailer, our truck's computer did as you described. Then, once we had the HBA-CAM installed, the issue went away.
I don't know what "issues" there are with them, as Bill referred to, but we also haven't towed our coach all that much. We are still "static" full-timers with only a few "excursions" under our belts.
Terry
Now that the “issue” question, indirectly, has been raised:
The “issues” concern the “adapters” burning up. They have been known to lockup the trailer brakes. This issue may or may not have been corrected with the adapters. There was a non-published, as I was informed, recall. That’s just one of the reasons I would opt for the aftermarket controller in the truck as I did with mine. YMMV
Bill
My source of info was wrong, so I removed the post. There’s enough incomplete info on the internet as it is. {Grin} Bill
-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Friday 26th of April 2013 06:58:28 AM
Ruth,
Read the manual. I'm not trying to be "snarky" here, but I mention that because I "heard" that the newer trucks may have some kind of "menu" into which one can go and select a particular setting to work with the electric over hydraulic brakes. Sadly, I don't remember whether that applied to all of the brands, so that is my reason for mentioning the manual. Having a 2008 model, ours doesn't have any such option of selecting a certain configuration.
Terry
Just thought I'd update everyone on the 2012 edition of the F450.