Electric Brake Controllers

Edd505 wrote:
Check these tekonsha proportional controllers:
http://www.tekonsha.com/products/brake-controllers/proportional-controllers/trailer-brake-control-proportional/TzaIxkVx1cI5XOy!osRB54WVEaGlY%7CzH

Used by a large portion of the larger 5W people.

Umm.. NO.

The OP was LOOKING FOR A CONTROLLER WHICH HAS A PHYSICAL MECHANICAL CONNECTION TO THE BRAKE PEDAL.

NONE OF THE "TEKONSHA" brand products have a DIRECT PHYSICAL (MECHANICAL) CONNECTION to the BRAKE PEDAL, PERIOD!

And just "because" a lot of 5W people own a Tekonsha product does not mean that it is better or as good than a direct connection to the brake pedal.

Ask anyone who has a Hensley Arrow hitch about the infamous HA "bump".

Yes, the Inertial controllers are better than say a timed controller but they do have some timing issues which to get around that they must employ some hokey at best bandaids.. This makes for multiple adjustment controls and settings which depending on traffic you will find yourself fussing with..

My Jordan was a set and forget, once I had it dialed in to turn on and the output was set I never ever had to mess with the adjustment again..

My IBC is the same way, ONE setting and the brakes work seamlessly.

No "P1, P2, P3" gains to play with, no need to turn off those settings..

Inertial controllers do not start the braking process until the BRAKE LIGHT TURNS ON. Once the brake light turns on the "P" settings apply a PRESET OUTPUT. This "covers" (IE BANDAID" the TIME LAG it takes for the controller to detect and determine the rate of speed reduction.

Then once the controller determines (IE CALCULATES) to rate of speed reduction it then applies a MADE UP output voltage which may or may not be more or less than the INITIAL "P" setting.

Once you have stopped, the controller WILL reduce the output automatically after a few seconds to something like 10%-15% of the max output..

Take your foot of the brake to the point the brake light turns off and the controller immediately turns off the output COMPLETELY..

The result can be pretty annoying to downright hazardous depending on the situation.

IF you can live with the shortcomings of the bandaid fixes then that is good for you.

As for me, NO THANKS.

I dealt with a cheap timer for ONE TRIP and decided no matter the cost I was going for THE BEST my money could buy. In my mind, the best was something that did not depend on "timing" did not depend on brake lights, did not try to cover up short comings with bandaid trickery.

The Jordan 2020 was the ONLY controller at that time the met MY criteria.

Fast forward to now days, pretty much all of the big three automakers now supply most all trucks with IBC, hands down IBC IS the best you can get (although I have seen some complaints with RAMs version not being strong enough lately).

For a vehicle that is not able to be factory equipped with IBC, the DirecLink would be the closest to a direct pedal connection you can get since it uses the VEHICLES DATA TO DIRECTLY DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF BRAKING NEEDED.

That would be MY choice if faced with the need.

The TEKONSHA products would be my absolute LAST RESORT in order to have some sort of " PSEUDO proportional" control.

I don't buy on price or ease of installation when it comes to my health and welfare or comfort..