Forum Discussion

Saltlick's avatar
Saltlick
Explorer
May 15, 2013

P2 Brake Controller

Hi,

I have a P2 Brake Controller. I installed it and went to pick up my first trailer, the guy i bought the trailer from got in my truck with me and set it up (programmed it to 6, then flipped the lever and the trailer brakes locked up, so he backed it off a bit til they didnt lock up.

Its been a month or two since then, i took my camper on its first outing and noticed when i stepped on the brake the display only read between 1-2 on the brake controller. Even when i was going down a steep hill or putting the brake on pretty hard if someone pulled out in front of me it didnt really go above 2.5 on the display. I kind of felt like i had to put the brakes on harder than if i didnt have a TT behind me to stop the truck. Is this readout normal for the brake controller? Should i feel any weight at all pulling my TT with the brake controller? The trailer fully loaded is about the same weight as my truck or a little less.
  • CarnationSailor's avatar
    CarnationSailor
    Nomad
    May 20, 2013
    My P2 does NOT require adjustment for different driving conditions such as highway versus city. My loaded tow vehicle weighs almost as much as my loaded tt so I use "Boost 2". A gain setting of about 3.8 gives me confident braking (no push, no pull, and no grabbing in stop and go traffic).
  • Mark_and_Linda's avatar
    Mark_and_Linda
    Explorer
    May 19, 2013
    I have a P2 that I installed last year. No problems with it. The brakes worked great, checked it out good when I had a blow out on my tv. I checked mine with the lever when going down the street at the first stop sign. I had to adjust it a little on the last trip.
  • Beachums's avatar
    Beachums
    Explorer
    May 15, 2013
    There are a few "housekeeping" procedures at the start of every day's trip.
    #1 Accelerate while manually actuating the brakes enough to feel them engage to clean the nightly (or long term) surface rust and to dry them out from possible dew. A few seconds should do.
    #2. Adjust your controller per manufacturers recommendations.
    #3 . Fine tune to suit your towing tastes.

    I have a P2 as well. You should have three "boost" levels, Those are independent of your gain setting. The boost is the initial "power" curve applied to the brakes. I have found that the higher the speed conditions, the higher the boost setting.

    Again, just as others have mentioned, you should be finding yourself adjusting your controller several times as temperatures, surface conditions, speed conditions, and loads change.
  • jmtandem's avatar
    jmtandem
    Explorer II
    May 15, 2013
    Hmm guess i need to get comfortable adjusting the brake controller then. I understand the principles behind setting it, i just need to hook up my trailer and actually do it myself a few times to get the feel for it. Thanks guys


    Before you start checking contacts in the hitch connector and use a volt meter on the magnets why not drive it a half hour and use the brakes some to see if rust is the issue. That would be my first effort at a resolution especially since it worked just right before it was put away for the winter.
  • Saltlick's avatar
    Saltlick
    Explorer
    May 15, 2013
    Hmm guess i need to get comfortable adjusting the brake controller then. I understand the principles behind setting it, i just need to hook up my trailer and actually do it myself a few times to get the feel for it. Thanks guys
  • rjsurfer's avatar
    rjsurfer
    Explorer
    May 15, 2013
    +1 on not being a set and forget controller.

    I too have two settings, one for the highway and another for traffic situations. One reason why I have been thinking of getting a controller that works off the brake fluid pressure.

    Ron W.
  • jmtandem's avatar
    jmtandem
    Explorer II
    May 15, 2013

    I have a P2 Brake Controller. I installed it and went to pick up my first trailer, the guy i bought the trailer from got in my truck with me and set it up (programmed it to 6, then flipped the lever and the trailer brakes locked up, so he backed it off a bit til they didnt lock up.

    Its been a month or two since then, i took my camper on its first outing and noticed when i stepped on the brake the display only read between 1-2 on the brake controller. Even when i was going down a steep hill or putting the brake on pretty hard if someone pulled out in front of me it didnt really go above 2.5 on the display. I kind of felt like i had to put the brakes on harder than if i didnt have a TT behind me to stop the truck. Is this readout normal for the brake controller? Should i feel any weight at all pulling my TT with the brake controller? The trailer fully loaded is about the same weight as my truck or a little less.



    This topic comes up fairly regularly. In my experience the conroller is not a 'set it and forget it unit'. It does need to be adjusted for the differing conditions usually one setting for highway travel and another for around town or the brakes will lock up or as you indicated not appear to be working correctly. If your trailer has been sitting all winter you may have rust on the brakes and a few stops will usually take care of that.
  • TomG2's avatar
    TomG2
    Explorer
    May 15, 2013
    The instructions for setting up the controller are available online. Basically, they tell you to use a setting that "almost" locks the trailer brakes using the finger lever. There is also a setting for GAIN which relates to how aggressive you want the trailer brakes to be. Not as complicated as it sounds.
  • phenrichs's avatar
    phenrichs
    Explorer
    May 15, 2013
    The "6" setting is the maximum output that the controller will ever send to the trailer brakes. The display you are seeing is the real time output being sent to the trailer. It is a proportional controller. Or for lack of a better term, a smart controller. It adjusts the output based on incline and the amount of force you apply to the brakes. You will notice a difference in braking between a TV with no trailer and one that is hooked up. It won't, and you shouldn't be trying, to stop in the exact same manner as you would with no trailer. It will take a longer distance to stop and you should plan to start the process sooner.
  • sky_free's avatar
    sky_free
    Explorer
    May 15, 2013
    I have to adjust mine about once on every trip. When I feel the trailer "pushing" during braking, I crank it up a bit. When it's "pulling" too much I back it off. It's usually between 8 and 9 for me. A small change makes a pretty big difference.

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