Brake controller

[Hudsoner]

I just bought a Roadmaster tow dolly with electric brakes! That means, I have to install a brake controller. Which would be the best bang for the buck controller for me? There seems to be million and a half of those units, running from around $40 to almost $400.
I will never tow anything else but this tow dolly, and would not need the ability to control more than one axle. what do you guys feel, is the best for my application?

I used to flat tow, but I switched cars and flat towing limits the selections of cars I want to have. A tow dolly allows me to select any car I want, as long as it is not AWD (and I don't really need that in south western Florida)..

[Hikerdogs]

Hudsoner wrote:
To warm this topic up again. Because of health reasons I was not able to install anything. Now i am working on it again. I was able to locate the hidden connector under the dash of my unit, and plugged the controller in, and all lights are on.
My problem is, how to find the other connector under the F53 chassis to connect the trailer plug outlet to? Where would I find the connector?
Can anybody enlighten me? I have to be able to explain it to my niece, who will crawl for me underneath the motorhome, because I cannot do this anymore. She is 35 and very handy with tools! But I have to tell her what to do.

It's possible the wire for the brakes was never run from the original Ford harness to the trailer socket at the rear of the coach. The wire runs along the outside of the drivers side frame rail inside a wire loom to the end of the frame rail supplied by Ford. It's a #10 blue wire. Ford folded back and taped the wires inside the loom.

Open the loom at the joint of the Ford supplied frame and the frame extensions added by the body builder. There should be a tag on each of the wires identifying their purpose. The wire for the brakes is clearly marked either "Brakes" or "Trailer Brakes". The body builder extends them from this point to the rear of the coach.

That particular wire was not connected on our 2001 Winnebago Adventurer built on the Ford F53 chassis. When I inquired as to why it was never connected I was told that it was done by the dealer only if they were aware that the customer was towing a trailer or dolly that had electric brakes.

On our newer (2013) motorhome the wire runs in a loom down the inside of the passengers side frame rail. Winnebago now connects all the wires to the trailer socket.

[Hank85713]

look for a u-tube video or go to etrailer and watch their install videos

[Hudsoner]

To warm this topic up again. Because of health reasons I was not able to install anything. Now i am working on it again. I was able to locate the hidden connector under the dash of my unit, and plugged the controller in, and all lights are on.
My problem is, how to find the other connector under the F53 chassis to connect the trailer plug outlet to? Where would I find the connector?
Can anybody enlighten me? I have to be able to explain it to my niece, who will crawl for me underneath the motorhome, because I cannot do this anymore. She is 35 and very handy with tools! But I have to tell her what to do.

[time2roll]

+1 on Prodigy P3. Works like a dream compared to suffering with the old Tekonsha for a decade.

[jergeod]

Look at etrailer.com for some real good pricing and service

[ScottG]

mowermech wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Another vote for Prodigy.
I do not recommend the Tekonsha. Short life, weakly built and doesn't function in reverse.

Why would you care about reverse? I have never exceeded 5 MPH while backing a trailer of any kind. I can't imagine a scenario where anybody would need to go fast enough in reverse to need brakes on a trailer.
The Tekonsha Prodigy in my truck is several years old, and in the second or third vehicle, and still works just fine.
Oh, yes, according to the digital display, it certainly DOES work in reverse!

To clarify, the old Tekonsha doesn't work backwards. Prodigy does.
I never needed rev. brakes until I was forced through a detour going up a hill in a small town that was at least a 15% grade - conservatively. There ended up being cars parked in the way of us making a turn and I ended up stopped on that hill, pointing upwards and because I had the old Tekonsha and no trailer brakes in reverse, I had to stand on the trucks brakes HARD for 20 minutes to hold my position. Even the parking brake would not hold!
So while you don't use it every day, if one tows enough they will eventually find reverse braking useful.

[mowermech]

ScottG wrote:
Another vote for Prodigy.
I do not recommend the Tekonsha. Short life, weakly built and doesn't function in reverse.

Why would you care about reverse? I have never exceeded 5 MPH while backing a trailer of any kind. I can't imagine a scenario where anybody would need to go fast enough in reverse to need brakes on a trailer.
The Tekonsha Prodigy in my truck is several years old, and in the second or third vehicle, and still works just fine.
Oh, yes, according to the digital display, it certainly DOES work in reverse!

[rjstractor]

ScottG wrote:
Another vote for Prodigy.
I do not recommend the Tekonsha. Short life, weakly built and doesn't function in reverse.

??? The Prodigy IS a Tekonsha product. Maybe you're refer to the "old" Tekonsha controller. I had one for many years, installed in different vehicles and it worked fine, but if I were to buy a controller today it would be the Tekonsha Prodigy.

[Hudsoner]

Reverse would not be a question for me. I have yet to see a tow dolly that can be operated well in reverse when a car is sitting on it.

[ScottG]

Another vote for Prodigy.
I do not recommend the Tekonsha. Short life, weakly built and doesn't function in reverse.

[petrel]

As the Owl recommended. Prodigy is a good product.

[The_Owl]

I don’t think you can go wrong with a Prodigy P2 or P3. I like the P2 just because it’s simple. They are both available on Amazon for $90-120.