2015 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.7L Ecoboost - The saga, the journey, the trailer brake

[JasonH42]

Here is the saga...

My wife has terminal cancer, we bought a Keystone 25FKDWE 30 foot TT to travel while she is able to. We found a used but well cared for Ford F-150 Lariat 3.6L Ecoboost with heavy duty towing package to tow it (spare me the truck debate, it's the truck we have and it tows just fine both up and downhill, the thing is a workhorse).

So, for our 25th wedding anniversary my wife wants to go from home (Central Oregon) down the Oregon Coast, stop in Coos Bay to visit our daughter, and then go to the redwoods.

Along with way, south of Bandon but north of the CA border, we pull over in a grocery store parking lot for a doggy potty break. Trailer won't move when we try to go again, the anti-lock brakes on the trailer just won't shut off. Troubleshoot it, remove the 7 pin connector and hey, trailer moves. So problem is the truck.

We speak to a local mechanic who looks at truck, Trailer Brake Control Module and wiring harness are the issue. Hey, things break. Ok. But tarrifs and parts, delays and issues to get the part all the way to this remote area, add shipping time... this won't work for us so we find a storage lot, pay for a month, park the RV there, and drive home in the truck.

Get home and our local mechanic shop assesses and finds the same problem. The Trailer Brake Control Unit (TBCU) and wiring harness. Thank gawd parts are available but still a 10 day delay to get them and have installed. The TBCU was ordering the anti-lock brakes on the trailer to full on regardless of settings and the trailer just wouldn't move.

So sometime in about 2 weeks, I'll be driving about 250+ miles down to the SW corner of the Oregon coast to pick up our TT and haul it back, once I have a working trailer brake control unit.

I don't blame Ford... things break, and the truck is 10 years old. But parts are apparently harder to come by than they used to be. I trust my local mechanic shop, they do a good job, don't upsell, and only do what is necessary to get the job done. And they say that parts are becoming a bigger issue, especially the more obscure parts like TBCUs.

 

[chuckster57]

Does your trailer have factory installed antilock braking?

Glad to hear it should all be fixed soon.

 

[JasonH42]

Does your trailer have factory installed antilock braking?

Glad to hear it should all be fixed soon.

Yes, factory installed anti-locks on the TT.

 

[flybouy]

We have an '09 Ford F150 King Ranch. It's a "change-over year" which means some items, especially interior, are not compatable with prior or post years. A couple of years ago the heater controls in the dash failed. After weeks of searching the ONLY place I found that had one (and only one) was a "salvage yard" on EBay. $350 for a used climate controller. Thankfully it worked but sure made me think "what next."

Point being, the garages don't like to use junkyard parts and likely will not spend the time to research a resource past the "normal" parts suppliers. IIRC auto manufacturers only have to support replacement parts for 7 yrs after manufacturing. Sometimes doing your own search for parts is more expedient.

JMHO, YMMV

 

[JRTJH]

Our 2002 Thunderbird is the same way. We were heading down to Indiana to visit our grandson and his new baby a couple years ago. I got to thinking, what if I had a mechanical problem, could a local Ford dealer get us back on the road? So, when I got home, I stopped by the Ford parts department at our local dealer. I asked several questions: Do you stock any parts for our TBird? Can you special order parts if we need them? How long does it normally take to get the parts? Answers were not encouraging. They stock things like tires, battery and fluids. They can't special order parts. Only an extremely limited supply of parts are still stocked, mainly for the engine which was also used in a Lincoln. Otherwise, nothing is stocked any more. So, the answer to how long does it take to get parts is, "We can't"....

While our TBird is 22 years old, your F150 is pushing 11 years old with a Ford policy of stocking parts for no longer than 10 years for most vehicles they manufacture...

The "good thing" (if you can call it that) is that Ford made enough F150's that the aftermarket manufacturers can build parts and make a profit. There were not enough TBirds built to trigger the aftermarket parts industry, so few parts are available outside Ford's supply which is, for the most part, gone...

That leaves a limited number of "TBird salvage yards and EBay. Parts, if you can find them, are outrageously priced. Your F150 is in the early stages of limited parts availability from Ford but aftermarket parts are available for most/many of the commonly needed repair parts.... The TBC, however, is probably not one of those parts... Luckily you found one and hopefully that is the repair that gets you back on the road.

 

[Eman85]

Trucks and cars that didn't come equipped with them have had trailer brake controllers installed in them for decades. I would buy a quality brake controller and install it and go back to camping. All brake controllers need is power, ground a signal for the brake lights.

 

[Peto]

I too was thinking an aftermarket controller could have been installed in a couple hours and the trip continued.

 

[Badbart56]

So many electronics on cars and trucks today. And I say today, but this problem has existed and only gotten worse over the years. When I last worked at a Ford dealer in 2012 we had problems getting electronics for vehicles made in 2004. A Ford Taurus as I recall. They only made a few million of them, right?
My 2011 F-350 had a rodent chew wires under the intake manifold about three years ago. Cost $9,600 in repairs! Fried the PCM and many sensors and modules. Thankfully I had full coverage insurance and they covered it. But one of the ABS modules was no longer in production. OEM or aftermarket! The dealer had to find a used module to repair it.
We will see more of this in the future I'm sure. We live in a throw away society so I don't see any changes on the horizon.
A guy I met at a car show a few years ago had a 74 Charger that was gorgeous! I asked him how hard it was finding parts for it. He said other than body and interior parts he could get whatever he needed from NAPA. So it's probably easier to get parts for a 74 Dodge before all the electronic stuff than it is for my 2011 Ford! This is very annoying as I tend to hold onto my vehicles for a long time.

 

[B-O-B'03]

Our 2002 Thunderbird is the same way. We were heading down to Indiana to visit our grandson and his new baby a couple years ago. I got to thinking, what if I had a mechanical problem, could a local Ford dealer get us back on the road? So, when I got home, I stopped by the Ford parts department at our local dealer. I asked several questions: Do you stock any parts for our TBird? Can you special order parts if we need them? How long does it normally take to get the parts? Answers were not encouraging. They stock things like tires, battery and fluids. They can't special order parts. Only an extremely limited supply of parts are still stocked, mainly for the engine which was also used in a Lincoln. Otherwise, nothing is stocked any more. So, the answer to how long does it take to get parts is, "We can't"....

While our TBird is 22 years old, your F150 is pushing 11 years old with a Ford policy of stocking parts for no longer than 10 years for most vehicles they manufacture...

The "good thing" (if you can call it that) is that Ford made enough F150's that the aftermarket manufacturers can build parts and make a profit. There were not enough TBirds built to trigger the aftermarket parts industry, so few parts are available outside Ford's supply which is, for the most part, gone...

That leaves a limited number of "TBird salvage yards and EBay. Parts, if you can find them, are outrageously priced. Your F150 is in the early stages of limited parts availability from Ford but aftermarket parts are available for most/many of the commonly needed repair parts.... The TBC, however, is probably not one of those parts... Luckily you found one and hopefully that is the repair that gets you back on the road.

I have the same issue with my 2003 Mustang Cobra, lots of unobtanium items, the coolant crossover tube that goes between the heads, special shaped coolant hoses, sensors for the supercharger, caged crankshaft pulley parts, and many other parts - no longer available. Still love the car though and rarely take it too far from home. I am dreading taking it in to find what is causing the current set of codes that says lean condition on both cylinder banks

-Brian

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Trucks and cars that didn't come equipped with them have had trailer brake controllers installed in them for decades. I would buy a quality brake controller and install it and go back to camping. All brake controllers need is power, ground a signal for the brake lights.

I too was thinking an aftermarket controller could have been installed in a couple hours and the trip continued.

I agree with this idea. In fact, just to be on the safe side and guarantee that my factory brake controller will never fail, I just put my old Prodigy P2 brake controller in my camper toolbox in the event of an emergency.

 

[MrEnto]

Here is the saga...

My wife has terminal cancer, we bought a Keystone 25FKDWE 30 foot TT to travel while she is able to. We found a used but well cared for Ford F-150 Lariat 3.6L Ecoboost with heavy duty towing package to tow it (spare me the truck debate, it's the truck we have and it tows just fine both up and downhill, the thing is a workhorse).

So, for our 25th wedding anniversary my wife wants to go from home (Central Oregon) down the Oregon Coast, stop in Coos Bay to visit our daughter, and then go to the redwoods.

Along with way, south of Bandon but north of the CA border, we pull over in a grocery store parking lot for a doggy potty break. Trailer won't move when we try to go again, the anti-lock brakes on the trailer just won't shut off. Troubleshoot it, remove the 7 pin connector and hey, trailer moves. So problem is the truck.

We speak to a local mechanic who looks at truck, Trailer Brake Control Module and wiring harness are the issue. Hey, things break. Ok. But tarrifs and parts, delays and issues to get the part all the way to this remote area, add shipping time... this won't work for us so we find a storage lot, pay for a month, park the RV there, and drive home in the truck.

Get home and our local mechanic shop assesses and finds the same problem. The Trailer Brake Control Unit (TBCU) and wiring harness. Thank gawd parts are available but still a 10 day delay to get them and have installed. The TBCU was ordering the anti-lock brakes on the trailer to full on regardless of settings and the trailer just wouldn't move.

So sometime in about 2 weeks, I'll be driving about 250+ miles down to the SW corner of the Oregon coast to pick up our TT and haul it back, once I have a working trailer brake control unit.

I don't blame Ford... things break, and the truck is 10 years old. But parts are apparently harder to come by than they used to be. I trust my local mechanic shop, they do a good job, don't upsell, and only do what is necessary to get the job done. And they say that parts are becoming a bigger issue, especially the more obscure parts like TBCUs.

 

[MrEnto]

Very unfortunate timing and you have a great attitude about shix happening. And thanks for sharing. Seems dealerships keep very little other than consumables on hand these days. I guess as shipping improves they’ve abandoned inventory.

 

[Montie]

While it is true that manufacturers discontinue parts. As a tech at a Chevy dealership I’ve seen discontinued wire harnesses for 2017 Silverado which blew my mind. But you have to consider the primary job of a dealership service department is to repair vehicles under warranty. It’s not practical or possible to stock parts for all models that have ever been sold. A 2005 vehicle is 20 years old now and technically a “classic car”. That being said if you get the chance to get back on the road it will be worth it to finish your trip and see the Redwoods. Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties have beautiful forests full of HUGE trees. The Avenue of the Giants is a great way to see the forests.

 

[Notanlines]

Believe me when I agree that ‘Avenue of the Giants’ can’t be beaten!!!