New Brake Controller - Recommendation.

Ezbagr wrote:
As I have posted before on several brake controller topics. No one can say so and so brake controller is the best unless they have used a Brakesmart or Maxbrake controller. If you have used one of the two and also used a prodigy and still said that the prodigy was the best-you are in a very small minority.
To me there is no comparison between a Brakesmart or Maxbrake and a prodigy, and yes I have used prodigy`s.
I have no experience with the new integrated brake controllers from the factory
but I have heard they are very good also.

I have never heard of anyone that has said the prodigy is better than the MaxBake. Plenty the other way around!

Yes I have used the Prodigy and I hated it!

Cummins12V98 wrote:

APT wrote:
Really, no one can say which one is the best unless he has tested all the ones available. I don't think many people have tried a time based, inertial sensor, Brakesmart/Maxbrake/Jordan, and OEM integrated.

I have and the MaxBrake is far superior to all the others!

X2

Jerem....GREAT write-up !!!

Again, there is no one size fits all here...best for one may not also be so for another person

I've got a old original Prodigy, about 9 years old and it still works fine. I had it originally on my 2000 first gen Tundra and when I bought the new gen Tundra in '07 I moved it to that truck as the wiring harness (plug and play) was the same. It's the only controller I've ever owned so I don't have anything to compare it to. It just works.

I have a Tekonsha Voyager... I am very well pleased with it. Like the other poster said, it hasn't burnt up or destroyed itself. If it did, I would probably buy another one.

I have trusted pendulum based proportional brake controls for years and will continue to do so... I understand how the master cylinder brake controls work, also I understand the Wii based inertia sensors in the Prodigy work (in principle, not as an engineer). I had an Original Primus and was pleased with the performance of this control, it was just not nearly as easy to use as the Voyager.

Quite frankly I like the simplicity of the single LED interface on my Voyager. If I see Green, I have a good connection, as I brake the light changes from green to orange to red as power is sent proportionally from the control to the Trailer. I love how this brake control performs, setting the level so that the trailer leads the TV is super EASY no boost button to push (Did I press it once, or twice?) No confusing display to send me messages, just a light out of the corner of my eye confirming to me the performance of the control.

I have not been convinced of the superior performance of the Prodigy triplets (P2, P3, and Primus IQ), other than the self leveling, I see no practical performance advantage over the Voyager, except for the display, which I personally do not prefer.

I am not tapping into my brake lines so MaxBrake, or BrakeSmart etc. is not an option to me. I do not dispute the performance, many testimonies attest the fact that they are good performing controls. I simply have a fundamental distain for modifying the hydraulic braking system of my vehicle. Maybe that will change at some point in the future for me, probably not.

That said, if I were buying a new aftermarket brake control they would be in this order.

Note: This is simply my preference.

1) Tekonsha Voyager
2) Tekonsha Prodigy P3
3) Tekonsha Prodigy p2
4) Tekonsha Primus IQ (really a rebadged Prodigy 1)

Thanks

APT wrote:
Really, no one can say which one is the best unless he has tested all the ones available. I don't think many people have tried a time based, inertial sensor, Brakesmart/Maxbrake/Jordan, and OEM integrated.

I have and the MaxBrake is far superior to all the others!

I have the Prodigy P3 and am very happy with it.

There are many to choose from. From the ones I have used over the years I do like the Tekonsha P3 and is the unit I am using now. Nice unit and easy to adjust. Just something to look at if looking for a unit.

I had a an older Prodigy in my 2003 F-150 for two RV towing seasons. My Suburban has the OEM integrated and I've towed one season with it so far. They both work very well and performance is very similar. The value of the P2 $ about $125 or less is really good. So is the integrated at $200.

APT wrote:
Really, no one can say which one is the best unless he has tested all the ones available. I don't think many people have tried a time based, inertial sensor, Brakesmart/Maxbrake/Jordan, and OEM integrated.

Even then...so subjective and as normally say, there is no one size fits all here

The loyalists who say because seamless, no jerking, banging and stops
as 'one'. MC PSI sensed say that. Jordan say that. I say that with a P3

Boils down to liking what you have, pure and simple.

To chastise others for not having what you love is a blind loyalty

On another brake controller thread of recent...the OP says he is ASE
certified brake mechanic and his first comment on the MC PSI based
of mine was to gravity bleed and exactly my point. As that is what I'd
do to any hydraulic brake line opened up to atmosphere...but...the
instructions of those MC Sensed controllers do NOT instruct to do so
and only instruct to bleed the new stub line to the sensor

Telling on the fastidiousness of that OEM's engineering both in braking
systems and that they left a cantilevered stub line with a weighted
end (that sensor) without fastening it to prevent fatigue failure

Key to that seamless, no jerk, no bang and stopping as one is to have
the trailer brake's lead the TV brake's. Of course both the TV and trailer
brake systems need to be in good order.

Most who complain about jerking and banging have either or both their
TV and trailer brakes in need of attention. All the way to needing
a new harness with larger gauge wires and better connectors for the trailer