Wireless proportional brake controllers
I'm seeing these wireless brake controllers on the market, are they any good, and are they reliable? Any input would be helpful. Thanks Steve
Forum Discussion
Like Jeremiah said, some vehicles make it almost impossible to wire brakes in. My friend has a Mercedes ML550, rated to tow 7500 lbs. They designed this truck to work with European trailers, which apparently tend to use surge style braking systems. As a result, the Mercedes has no brake trigger wire anywhere... Nothing under or around the brake pedal, no trigger wires available anywhere that is accessible.
In order for my friend to be able to tow his Coachman trailer and use the braking system, the only available option was a wireless system. We installed the Tekonsha Prodigy RF. It requires a traditional 7 pin plug, but we didn't need to feed the brake line wire.
Once set up, the brakes work with or without the handheld module being connected. The system works similar to a surge brake system, but it is much more sensitive. Initially on our test drive the brakes felt a little clunky, but after a couple of miles they became super smooth and everything felt normal.
While I was initially opposed to using wireless, it is the only system that we could install that would allow him to have brakes. I'm sure if we spent thousands of dollars at a dealer they could have eventually tracked down a trigger wire for us and we could have installed a traditional controller.
In order for my friend to be able to tow his Coachman trailer and use the braking system, the only available option was a wireless system. We installed the Tekonsha Prodigy RF. It requires a traditional 7 pin plug, but we didn't need to feed the brake line wire.
Once set up, the brakes work with or without the handheld module being connected. The system works similar to a surge brake system, but it is much more sensitive. Initially on our test drive the brakes felt a little clunky, but after a couple of miles they became super smooth and everything felt normal.
While I was initially opposed to using wireless, it is the only system that we could install that would allow him to have brakes. I'm sure if we spent thousands of dollars at a dealer they could have eventually tracked down a trigger wire for us and we could have installed a traditional controller.
