Where Is The Trailer Brake Attachment, 2019 Freightliner Chassis

[andyshane]

We finally did it, and said goodbye to the Beaver Patriot Thunder my wife found and bought seven years ago. In its place is a DSDP 4018 on a Freightliner chassis. 

While a friend found the pigtail to connect a trailer brakes control on his 2018 Freightliner, I can't seem to locate mine. I can't call Freightliner or Newmar until Tuesday, and this is way too specific for Newgle's burgeoning database. 

Anyone deal with this, in their new rig?




PS   Newmar, if you're listening, a Class A with an MSRP of $460K should not have an array of loose modules dangling behind the dash, banging around  and into one another. I'm not impressed.

[elkhartjim]

If its that important to find this weekend, you can call Freightliner 24/7/365 at 800-385-4357. You will need the last 6 of the VIN. 

Welcome to the Newmar family.

[andyshane]

I called 1-800-FTL-HELP,  after learning about the helpline on YouTube. Barry answered, immediately offered to send me a wiring diagram.

'Turns out, the RV manufacturer deals with securing the harness. He said that Newmar might actually bundle it, that I might have to dismantle some secured wiring to locate the plug.

Newmar, if you're listening...   Having a technician isolate the brake controller wiring harness as a courtesy to installers -- most of us have brake controllers -- would be a great courtesy to customers, not add a cent to the assembly cost.

 

[elkhartjim]

Shane...don't start bashing Newmar for such a petty thing and for your information, Newmar does not monitor this forum so you're wasting that effort. Maybe next time you should buy a Newell or Prevost so it will be customized to your requirements. I understand why you left iRV2 and I also know the other side of the story. 

[manholt]

Jim S.  Right on!!!  No manufacturer that I know off...monitors this site! 

I thought Newmar had a 24/7 number also?  

We have Newmar Mountain Air, on our wish list for next year!  

[jleamont]

Andy, can you roll through your selling dealer for them to locate it?  

[elkhartjim]

Newmar does have a 24/7 number. The number is on a decal located on the drivers window.

I recommend he communicates his displeasure with his new coach directly to Newmar rather than setting it up that Newmar didn't respond to his concern posted on this site. 

Newmar does monitor the Newmar forum on iRV2, Carl.  I've never seen them respond to any question or concern however. 

 

[wildebill308]

 

21 hours ago, AndyShane said:

While a friend found the pigtail to connect a trailer brakes control on his 2018 Freightliner, I can't seem to locate mine. I can't call Freightliner or Newmar until Tuesday, and this is way too specific for Newgle's burgeoning database. 

I would think if locating the pigtail to connect a trailer brakes control was a hi priority I would have looked for and located it on my final walkaround at delivery.

Bill

[andyshane]

5 hours ago, manholt said:

Jim S.  Right on!!!  No manufacturer that I know off...monitors this site! 

I thought Newmar had a 24/7 number also?  

We have Newmar Mountain Air, on our wish list for next year!  

We've had this discussion over the last ten years; some folks are convinced people tied to manufacturers prowl the sites. Personally, I think they'd be loco not to 😏

Indeed, every new Newmar has a placard in the cockpit with two company reps' pictures, contact info. Freightliner has come to the rescue, as have old friends **** and Lois, Tiffin owners Dr. Mary and Captain Kenneth Marczak. Mr. Rogers was right: helpers are everywhere. 

When I unearth the connector, I'll share directions.

[andyshane]

3 hours ago, jleamont said:

Andy, can you roll through your selling dealer for them to locate it?  

Thanks for the suggestion. Indeed, we're on our way back to the dealer -- they are 9 hours away -- for an October club rally; I promised to return to them the booth half we removed to give the Patriot Thunder a viable aisle when we were hauling passengers annually. 

Special kudos to Dustin and Matt at Berryland Campers in Ponchatoula, LA. Awesome service pros, makes me walk a little taller, knowing that they will be the first to go over the rig, for warranty service. 

[manholt]

Since you live in Grandbury, I'm surprise you didn't buy at National Indoors in Lake Livingston!  They'll be getting our business.

[hermanmullins]

1 hour ago, manholt said:

Since you live in Grandbury, I'm surprise you didn't buy at National Indoors in Lake Livingston!  

Yes Carl National Indoors RV Center does handle Newmar however their Location is in Lewisville , Texas on Business Hwy 121.  Granbury is approx. 75 miles from Lewisville.

But I agree that is the place to go to for an answer to the question. They should also be Andy's go to place for Warranty service.

Herman 

[elkhartjim]

All of the NIRV locations have a great reputation for service, warranty or otherwise.  

[andyshane]

2 hours ago, manholt said:

Since you live in Grandbury, I'm surprise you didn't buy at National Indoors in Lake Livingston!  They'll be getting our business.

We were introduced to Kimberly at NIRV, chatted with the owner at the Fort Worth show. Good folks, highly recommended by others. 

In our case, they gave us a lower trade offer on our (meticulous) Patriot Thunder; plus, it is their policy to charge several thousand dollars to inspect potential trades before the transaction. They might have the honor of doing Warranty service, if any is required.*



*Laugh if you must, but the only writeups I have to date are minor items not worth farming out. Other than two inoperative powder room shade motors, which our dealership in LA will either allow me to install or do when we stop by in October. Newmar's interior fit and finish quality actually transcends that of the legendary Beaver, which would cost twice as much, were it still around.

[elkhartjim]

They didn't charge me when they gave me a trade-in value 2 years ago. I guess they changed their policy.

 

[manholt]

Jim S.  Per NI, they never have and see no reason why they should.  They look at trades 2 ways.  Can we move the unit by selling it here?  Do we turn it over to a wholesaler?  If they keep it, they do a complete PDI...Had the Beaver been mine, I would have taken it to the one and only, Beaver Dealer in Oregon.  IMHO, it does not pass the smell test.

[andyshane]

I found it!   The requisite spelunking was a good exercise: lots of loose modules I need to secure. 

Probably, the easiest way for future readers to locate the connector is for them to remove the dashboard cover above the gages -- it is attached with Velcro -- for a light source, look to the left of the brake pedal, behind the plasic shroud that encloses the aft portion of the lower steering column.

A photo is included below, to identify the plug, with its distinctive blue tabs.

Barry at Freightliner Help (1-800-FTL-HELP), as mentioned earlier, sent a schematic, the colors and wire numbers are listed below.

• #1316   Red & White   Brake Switch Input
• #1304   Brown   Panel Lamp Input
• #1204   Black    Ground
• #1105   Red   30A Fused Battery
• #1316   Red & White   Trailer Brake Output
• #1102   Ignition Power

One remaining catch that might trap unwary DIY owners: the harness commonly bought from 2004 to 2016 to marry the Freightliner XC chassis to Tekonsha pn 3027-P will supposedly not work on the 2019 chassis. I've got a request in to their Technical Support, who have Labor Day off. 

 

[andyshane]

I have some official responses from Freightliner and Tekonsha:

• Freightliner - Most owners simply cut the wires off the plug, since if we sell you the mated plug with harness, the cost is about $200
• Tekonsha - The 3027-P harness that shows applicable to 2004 to 2016 models will work on 2019 XC chassis

Thanks to the magic of Amazon.com, I have the 3027-P ($20) and a blank Tekonsha plug (just in case, $4.30), arriving today.

[fagnaml]

Shane --

Four months ago I purchased my Ventana LE from National Indoor RV in Lewisville, TX which was on consignment to them.  NIRV in Lewisville is a large Newmar dealer. They gave a me trade-in offer for my 2007 Damon Astoria that was comparable to the trade-in offer I received from PPL Motorhomes in Houston.   Given the age of the Damon, NIRV already new they would sell the Damon to a wholesaler (which turned out to be I-35 RV Supercenter in Denton, TX).  The "trade-in" inspection by NIRV was a relatively short 45 minute walk-through by their PDI Manager at no cost.

The Kimberly you met at NIRV was my sales associate.  She (and everyone else at NIRV) provided exceptional customer service throughout our purchase experience and has remained in contact since the purchase.   A nice aspect of NIRV is if repair / warranty work is needed, they have a on-site RV park with 20 (+/-) spots that have 50 amp power and water service (no sewer hook up at each site but they do have dump stations) for customers who don't live in the greater Dallas area.   I wish NIRV had a location in Houston as the Newmar dealer in Houston is Holiday World which in my opinion is many magnitudes below NIRV in customer service.

 

[andyshane]

1 hour ago, fagnaml said:

 

Four months ago I purchased my Ventana LE from National Indoor RV in Lewisville, TX which was on consignment to them.  NIRV in Lewisville is a large Newmar dealer. They gave a me trade-in offer for my 2007 Damon Astoria that was comparable to the trade-in offer I received from PPL Motorhomes in Houston.   Given the age of the Damon, NIRV already new they would sell the Damon to a wholesaler (which turned out to be I-35 RV Supercenter in Denton, TX).  The "trade-in" inspection by NIRV was a relatively short 45 minute walk-through by their PDI Manager at no cost.

The Kimberly you met at NIRV was my sales associate.  She (and everyone else at NIRV) provided exceptional customer service throughout our purchase experience and has remained in contact since the purchase.   A nice aspect of NIRV is if repair / warranty work is needed, they have a on-site RV park with 20 (+/-) spots that have 50 amp power and water service (no sewer hook up at each site but they do have dump stations) for customers who don't live in the greater Dallas area.   I wish NIRV had a location in Houston as the Newmar dealer in Houston is Holiday World which in my opinion is many magnitudes below NIRV in customer service.

 

I was introduced to Kimberly in February  by a 2-decade airline buddy who bought his first coach from NIRV.  Kimberly conveyed all of our information to NIRV's appraisal folks in Atlanta. To our mutual dismay, their trade on my Patriot (garaged and maintained to aircraft standards) was the lowest of 10-15 dealers with whom we were speaking at the time. Conversely, Jock Milton at Berryland Campers in Ponchatoula tied a west coast dealer for highest trade-in offer, back in February when we began this saga.

Both Kimberly and Jock are stellar folks, working with either is a great pleasure. I recommend each, highly.

As for the inspection fee, let's allow NIRV Center speak for themselves.  I suspect yours was waived, since you were a consignment customer already. This is the email I received at 7:11AM CDT 22 February 2019.

Your coach is listed on NADA for a wholesale amount of $140,350 and the retail amount of $190,500.  The next book change on NADA I think is March 1st.  The reason we bring older coaches in so far below book is that on an older coach we almost always have to put on new tires, batteries, engine and generator service, quite frequently we have to do something to the AC, and then there are typically a bunch of repairs we have to do to get it ready for the next person.  NIRVC offers the next customer a 60 day warranty which usually ends up costing more once the customer drives off the lot and has an issue or two so they save a little money for those scenarios. Our inspection fee is $3544which also covers the walk through time with a tech for the next person and tech time while that customer is staying with us in the campground.  We never know exactly how much we have to put into an older used coach until it gets inspected.  Then NIRVC wants to make some money so a certain flat amount is set aside for the company to make, then if there is any money left over a salesperson gets a small % off that.  The other piece of the puzzle is that we have to have a cash buyer for a coach over 10 years old so we are limited as to who we can sell to so it's a bigger risk.  In this scenerio the company will make zero profit off the 18 Mountain Aire, so the only way NIRVC will make money is on your trade.  
 

Thanks for the info about the hookups. I've already interacted with their maintenance staff while working on my buddy's Entegra Anthem, and found them to be a good bunch. They are a prime candidate for getting warranty work done, if any is needed. So far the house portion is nearly flawless. 

[andyshane]

On 9/1/2019 at 12:19 PM, WILDEBILL308 said:

 

I would think if locating the pigtail to connect a trailer brakes control was a hi priority I would have looked for and located it on my final walkaround at delivery.

Bill

Here at FMCA, we prefer to fulfill the mission of information sharing, productive exchange of ideas.

This thread is designed to help future Freightliner owners deal with installing trailer brakes, and I'd rather not stray from that.

Along that line, Tekonsha Technical Support was indeed correct: even though suppliers indicate that the 3027-P harness is incompatible with chassis manufactured after 2016, the item I received today appears to function correctly.

Note to installers: press the gray side tabs to release the OEM end; you'll notice right away that the 3027-P end looks exactly like the part that dangles from your panel. Mine kind of swung as it detached. In the end, you'll walk away from the project with the surplus part shown in the photo below.

Again, thanks to the good folks who added something productive to this exploration; I trust it will benefit many owners in the future.