Brakes on this pup?

Resoman wrote:
OK, the outfit that installed my timed brake controller also sells Tekonsha, and I'm getting the Curt unit replaced with a Tekonsha P2 tomorrow. How does that sound?
Gary

Good deal!

Use the boost function.. that will let the trailer lead your tow vehicle.. basically... by the time your master cylinder is activated on your TV your trailer will already be applying brake power. Very nice and smooth unit.

Love ours.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

OK, the outfit that installed my timed brake controller also sells Tekonsha, and I'm getting the Curt unit replaced with a Tekonsha P2 tomorrow. How does that sound?
Gary

JLTN_James wrote:

Resoman wrote:
Yesterday, I had a Curt Mfg. Discovery Digital brake controller installed. According to the Curt website, this is the "timed" type of controller, for better or worse.
I'll pick up my trailer on Tuesday, thanks again for all your comments.
Gary

Sorry to hear that. You'll want to replace the time based controller with an inertia controller as soon as possible. They are not much more initial cost than the time-based units.

The time based controller is just that, the longer your foot is on the brake, the more power it sends to the trailer brakes. It doesn't matter if you are lightly applying pressure or slamming the brakes. the time controller does the same thing.

The inertia based controller senses how hard you are using the tow vehicle brakes (i.e. how fast you are slowing down) and applies a proportional amount of power to the trailer brakes. This is very important when you have to "slam" on the brakes. In a panic stop, the time based controller won't do any good because it hasn't had time to ramp up the output power. The inertia controller will provide higher output power right away.

Today, somewhere in central Utah there's a woman and her kid that are still alive and well because I have an inertia based controller. They pulled out in front of me crossing the highway. If the trailer brakes hadn't functioned at full output right away, I would have t-boned the car.

What he said. Very important!

Resoman wrote:
Yesterday, I had a Curt Mfg. Discovery Digital brake controller installed. According to the Curt website, this is the "timed" type of controller, for better or worse.
I'll pick up my trailer on Tuesday, thanks again for all your comments.
Gary

Sorry to hear that. You'll want to replace the time based controller with an inertia controller as soon as possible. They are not much more initial cost than the time-based units.

The time based controller is just that, the longer your foot is on the brake, the more power it sends to the trailer brakes. It doesn't matter if you are lightly applying pressure or slamming the brakes. the time controller does the same thing.

The inertia based controller senses how hard you are using the tow vehicle brakes (i.e. how fast you are slowing down) and applies a proportional amount of power to the trailer brakes. This is very important when you have to "slam" on the brakes. In a panic stop, the time based controller won't do any good because it hasn't had time to ramp up the output power. The inertia controller will provide higher output power right away.

Today, somewhere in central Utah there's a woman and her kid that are still alive and well because I have an inertia based controller. They pulled out in front of me crossing the highway. If the trailer brakes hadn't functioned at full output right away, I would have t-boned the car.

Awesome. That's good to know.

BTW, I should mention that I got prompt answers to my questions about the brake system on my trailer from the Forest River representative, Roger Beiler, who I found at the Forest River website!

Yesterday, I had a Curt Mfg. Discovery Digital brake controller installed. According to the Curt website, this is the "timed" type of controller, for better or worse.
I'll pick up my trailer on Tuesday, thanks again for all your comments.
Gary

TekonshaYou will need to change the TV connector to at least five, but seven would be better so you can add a battery charge circuit to the trailer. Something like above, then run wiring for bakes and charge circuit.

Resoman wrote:
Thanks for all the helpful replies! I'm pretty convinced the trailer has electric brakes, since it definitely has the breakaway cable. The owner only used the trailer once, and never learned about the brake system, apparently. I'll definitely be getting the brake controller, which I understand is required by law here in Texas.
Thanks again,
Gary

Since you need a Brake Controller. Don't let anyone sell you a "timed" controller. Get a good proportional, inertia, activated controller.

Thanks for all the helpful replies! I'm pretty convinced the trailer has electric brakes, since it definitely has the breakaway cable. The owner only used the trailer once, and never learned about the brake system, apparently. I'll definitely be getting the brake controller, which I understand is required by law here in Texas.
Thanks again,
Gary