Brake controller advice, what do i need?

[rob37dawn]

I searched brake controller in the forms and did not come up with much. Do most new TT come with electric brakes? If so any advice on a good controller (not a cheap one)? I like the sound of the proportional ones over timed. Do the controllers come with everything needed to hook it up? I have no problems wiring something in. Looking at a Trail runner SLE SLE 23 5000lbs.

98 chevy 3door short bed c1500 5.7 4l60 3.42 (going to 4.11 before getting a TT) 31s on the back 200k miles but still runs good.

[restlesswind]

I never could quit understand how anyone could try to save money on a brake controler.The "best for the money" ?? Why not "the best"?
MaxBrake! Too bad they did not have the marketing department that could overcome the "best for the money" idea.
The Direclink seems like a good replacement.Pricey? Sure,but a pretty small amount compaired to the overall cost of some of our RV and TVs.
(BTW,I am retired,and do not work for any company)

[larry_barnhart]

funny as we all have a different opinion of what we like. I have no problems with our prodigy and the brakes work great. I had a fast stop on the trip south in September and I was very happy with our stopping power. Just a short story, another alpenlite couple were at the rv park and he told me no brakes on the trailer. He also had the prodigy so I offered him our extra prodigy but he refused. Next day as we were towing 60 mph he passed us at a high rate of speed with his wife driving the car around 10 ft behind him and he was out of sight quickly. This was just before we had our fast stop. I was thinking about them and what would happen in the same story. He didn't know why he had no trailer brakes but a different controller would be a good test.


chevman

[Cummins12V98]

Me Again wrote:
There is only one remaining higher end controller with MaxBrake out of production. It is http://www.brakecontroller.com/direclink.htm.

If you can find a used MaxBrake and work with Dutch and Di to get the brake line fitting for your vehicle, you will have the best controller available in recent years.

Hundreds of thousand's of people tow with Prodigy's and think they are fine. I never liked mine, having to play with Boost settings, and city vs highway was always a compromise.

With the MaxBrake the truck and trailer always just stop like a single unit, as it measures brake fluid pressure with a load cell in the brake line.

Controllers like the Prodigy require the tow vehicle to slow down first. So they add boost settings that start applying part of the braking current to the trailer to minute you touch the brake pedal.

So I would set this for highway use and in the city we would get the trailer jerking on the truck. Turn down Boost for city drive and forget to turn it back up for highway driving and you can come up short when you really need your brakes.

Chris

I had the same experience with the P2. Total PITA!

Yes find a MaxBrake if you can. As said seamless braking.

[hone_eagle]

AH - too good to be true then - sigh.

[RCMAN46]

hone eagle wrote:
direclink


Now that Maxbrake is gone here is a controller for those who want better then 'good enough'

there is video on U tube where a mag tested it and it shortened a emergency stop by 80 feet.

anti lock to the trailer and seamless like a hayes or max brake.

The anti lock module is not on the market yet. Only in testing which is where the mag got the braking results.

I believe it also requires hydraulic disk brakes.

We are talking about a system not in production and may never be due to the high cost and stiff competition.

[hone_eagle]

direclink


Now that Maxbrake is gone here is a controller for those who want better then 'good enough'

there is video on U tube where a mag tested it and it shortened a emergency stop by 80 feet.

anti lock to the trailer and seamless like a hayes or max brake.

[BenK]

Jeremiah, see that you have a Ford and am wondering if you can adjust the brake
pedal switch a bit

On GM's, the brake pedal switch can NOT be adjusted, but they will turn on the
brake lights with just a touch and NOT move the MC piston rod

This will turn on the TV & trailer brake lights and turn on the
trailer brakes without starting the MC's PSI to the TV's brakes

I can stop the whole setup without ever getting the TV's brakes to initiate

[noteven]

edited -

[jerem0621]

I like the Hayes brake controllers.. proportional and time based both.

I "upgraded" from a Hayes Syncronizer time based brake control that worked great to a proportional Tekonsha Primus and later a Voyager. The Syncronizer never failed me and the gain was easy to use on the fly. I still have it on the shelf even though my proportional controllers went with the TV's that I sold.

There is one feature of the time based Hayes that I can't find on the Tekonsha's. If you tap the manual over-ride on the Hayes brake controllers the trailer and TV brake lights will activate. If you do this on a Tekonsha.. nothing happens to the brake lights. Your vehicle will slow down without any brake lights.

This is only in the case of touching the manual over-ride.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[bikendan]

hone eagle wrote:

bikendan wrote:

rob37dawn wrote:
I searched brake controller in the forms and did not come up with much.

How can you not come up with much, when the Prodigy brake controllers are recommended overwhelmingly in these Forums, all the time?:h

These forums are not the centre of the RV universe.
Unless you have used both you can't say the prodigy is the best .....I have and its not.

never said the Prodigy was the best, i said it was the most recommended.
it's mainly is due to its performance for the price.
just like i say that the Equal-i-zer WDH and Reese Dual-Cam WDH are the most recommended WDH's.
the Hensley and ProPride WDH's are considered the best but they are very expensive and the other two do a great job for much less money.

[Me_Again]

Hone Eagle, I kind of get a hick out of that also. My first controller was Kelsey Hayes hydraulic and taped into the brake system and it worked very well. Had several others thru the years and then got a Prodigy. Until one goes beyond that, then they do not know that there were much better controllers in the Brake Smart, Jordan, and MaxBrake. Chris

Picture of the old Kelsey Hayes:

[hone_eagle]

bikendan wrote:

rob37dawn wrote:
I searched brake controller in the forms and did not come up with much.

How can you not come up with much, when the Prodigy brake controllers are recommended overwhelmingly in these Forums, all the time?:h

These forums are not the centre of the RV universe.
Unless you have used both you can't say the prodigy is the best .....I have and its not.

[camp-n-family]

I'm in the Prodigy boat too, works great. Most new vehicles are plug-n-play if you get the harness adapter for your tow vehicle. The '98 in your sig might be too old for that (not sure).

[Majja13]

I love my P3. And if you have the tow pkg on your truck you will probably just need the adapter that plugs into the P3 and then into the truck.