Tekonsha P3 any good with "Hensley bump"?

BarneyS wrote:
Hi Tery,
I used a Teckonsha P2 controller for quite a few years until I got my new truck last year. Both the P2 and P3 controllers have the "boost" feature that sends a boost to the trailer brakes before the regular settings kick in. That boost lasts for a few seconds and then tapers off to the amount of braking required by the tow vehicle. The amount of boost is set by you before using the controller. I set mine once and rarely touched it again although it is easily changed if you wish. The only time I changed it was when driving slowly through campgrounds, some city streets, etc.

In addition, the boost starts by the application of the tow vehicles stop lights. This happens before the tow vehicles brakes even start to do any stopping. This allows the Prodigy to apply trailer braking before the truck braking starts. You can easily feel this by very lightly stepping on the brakes with enough pressure to light the brake tail lights but not enough to stop the truck. You will feel the trailer brakes come on - the amount depends on the boost setting you have set up. This is something equivalent to using the hand control to apply trailer brakes.

I have never had any problem with the Hensley bump but have felt it once or twice while applying brakes and turning at the same time in the city. Never a single problem while driving normally or descending a mountain or hill at highway speeds. Perhaps I just got used to using a light foot on the brake pedal at first and that applied the trailer brakes before I needed to use the truck brakes. I really never thought about it while driving though.

I wouldn't worry about it. The P3 is a great controller, works seamlessly with the Hensley hitch, and will give you long, reliable, and smooth braking for many years. :)
Barney

Thanks Barney! I just took the time to more carefully read your message. I am not prepared to spend the money on a "$350 high flyer," although I'm sure that those ones would likely be marginally superior. For me, who only tows a few weeks out of the year, it sounds like the P3 would do the job, albeit not always as smooth as the Direclink. (which seems to be the only true proportional aftermarket controller now).

Had I known my Jordan would go out (it's actually my 2nd), I would have purchased a couple more of them before they went out of business. The dirt-like simplicity and effectiveness of the Jordan was too good and easy to keep going I guess! :h