# electric trailer brake controllers



## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

Im looking for some solid feedback on pros/cons of timed and inertia electric brake controllers. I hate mine, I have a drawtight timed controller, and I am constantly F&*King with it, brakes to hard, brakes to light, excessive wearing on shoes, always adjusting the shoes. Little backround, 5x10 wells cargo with a single 5200# torflex axle. It is a small trailer which for the most part is relatively light when loaded. I primarily needed that axle and brakes for when I put the mixer and mini loader in. so other than mobing and demobing those items don't ride everywhere the trailer goes. I initially leaned torward an inirtia unit, but I suspected that they have quirks too (level mounting, vehicle position relative to level, non braking related differences in inirtia etc)I feel as though the trailer brakes are not applied proportionally to tow vehicle braking and is the cause for the excessive wear... what do you guys have, what works good, any and all input tia


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## Patrick (Apr 12, 2006)

Mine sucks too, Im looking forward to some good info here guys


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## Dustball (Jul 7, 2006)

I'm a big fan of the Jordan Ultima brake controller- http://www.bestbrakecontroller.com/

I've been waiting a while for them to get more in stock so I can put one in my new-to-me truck.

I really liked the LED amp display. I could set the bias to a certain number for an empty trailer then change it to a certain number for a known trailer load. Example- empty trailer would be 1.2A (.3 amps per brake drum) and a loaded trailer with a 6k lb load would be 8A (2A per brake drum). This would get me maximum braking without actual tire lockup during panic braking.


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

Dustball said:


> I'm a big fan of the Jordan Ultima brake controller- http://www.bestbrakecontroller.com/
> 
> I've been waiting a while for them to get more in stock so I can put one in my new-to-me truck.
> 
> I really liked the LED amp display. I could set the bias to a certain number for an empty trailer then change it to a certain number for a known trailer load. Example- empty trailer would be 1.2A (.3 amps per brake drum) and a loaded trailer with a 6k lb load would be 8A (2A per brake drum). This would get me maximum braking without actual tire lockup during panic braking.


this looks like it will do the trick

I stumbled on this which looks like a killer setup too, anyone have one?


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## wolffhomerepair (Jan 27, 2006)

I have the Tekonsha Prodigy. Well worth the money. Allows quick adjustment for different trailer loads. Digital display makes it easy to get back to the setting you need. It also the the brake spike feature that will spike the trailer brakes to a set level when braking is initiated. http://www.tekonsha.com/prodig.html


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

> Applies power to the trailer brakes in proportion to vehicle's deceleration.


does this mean that brakes are applied when you "cease" accelerating or maintaining constant speed? This is the part that I can't understand. there are many reasons you may be "decelerating" but not applying brakes, how does the controller know this? feedback guys, feedback, lets hear it???


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I have a Prodigy in my F150 for hauling a 6000-7000 lb tandem axel tailer. Not sure what the model is, but it's the one that does it all automatically and you can program it. Whichever model it was, it was the expensive one, the cheaper one was too manual, you had to mess with it all the time. I've never touched this one, it just does it's thing. 

Sounds like I have the one Wolf has.


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## MVH (Jun 24, 2007)

I have the Jordan and it is the smoothest controller I have ever used. It is easy to adjust and feels safe. It receives commands via a cable connected to the brake pedal.

Mike


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## wolffhomerepair (Jan 27, 2006)

Bone Saw said:


> does this mean that brakes are applied when you "cease" accelerating or maintaining constant speed? This is the part that I can't understand. there are many reasons you may be "decelerating" but not applying brakes, how does the controller know this? feedback guys, feedback, lets hear it???



Any controller I have every used only applies brakes upon the brake pedal being pressed. If you downshift or just let off the gas there are no trailer brakes applied.


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

wolffhomerepair said:


> Any controller I have every used only applies brakes upon the brake pedal being pressed. If you downshift or just let off the gas there are no trailer brakes applied.


Doh, brainfart:whistling makes total sense, 

first and foremost my timed unit has got to go

Now, these inirtia units,(which I initially leaned torwards) look good in theory, do they proportionally regulate voltage going to the brake magnets? what about backing up??? the more feed back, pros, cons etc the better, I want to hear it all before I change it once and for all tia

gotta admitt though , that jordan unit and the other one I stumbled on seem to be designed well


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## Dustball (Jul 7, 2006)

The one issue I know of with the Jordan is routing the cable. You have to mount the unit where it'll route the cable with as minimal of a bend as possible. Too sharp of a bend and the cable won't slide smoothly.


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## Chris Johnson (Apr 19, 2007)

Have pulled 22000 lb triaxle 5th wheel with my chev 3500 and a Prodigy, easy to use and set up. Don't recommend pulling 22000 lbs daily little nerve racking.


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

Tekonsha Prodigy is what I have in my dump truck and my pick up truck.
Pulling a 9 ton and 7 ton trailer. I have gotten good service from them, very reliable, and adjustable to varying loads easier than any I have used before.

I have no experience with the Jordon controller talked about above, but looking at the site, and seeing how it works, to me, it seems that you would have excess wear on the pulling vehicles brakes. Which for me are much more expensive than the trailer brakes.


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

2 for jordan
4 for prodigy
anyone want my drawtight I'm getting a prodigy:thumbup:


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## wolffhomerepair (Jan 27, 2006)

Bone Saw said:


> what about backing up??? the more feed back, pros, cons etc the better, I want to hear it all before I change it once and for all tia


The prodigy works in reverse also.


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## RockRanger (Jul 17, 2007)

Another vote for the prodigy. I use it for my 16ft car trailer with 5000lbs of 4wd truck on it. I tow with a half ton Chevy still loaded full of tools. Works great.


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

thanx ranger and the rest for your input, Im sold on the prodigy. Now I contacted the dealer that I got the trailer and controller from, and they don't have a problem taking back my 5 month old unit for store credit, but they dont have the prodigy, they have this instead looks to be the same thing, think this one is equivelent to the prodigy, or should I eat mine and go get a prodigy??? tia


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## wolffhomerepair (Jan 27, 2006)

Chris
I gotta say that unit looks just like my prodigy. Mine is 4 years old so it looks different then the prodigy now but that intella-stop is a dead ringer for mine.


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

this controller ROCKS!!! thanx


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

I have a $99 timed controller because I wanted a Prodigy and no one local had it in stock, and two installers talked me out of it saying I really didn't need the inertial controller.

The timed controller works OK for pulling my 10k dump trailer. I've never had it fully loaded. Maybe 7,000 lbs max so far.

I know empty I set it on "2" and the most I've had to set it up to is "3.5". It goes up to 10!

The only thing I notice is that when I come to a slow stop the trailer brakes sort of slam the truck forward if I take my foot off the break right before I come to a stop. I am not a trailer junkie, so I don't know if there's a remedy for it.


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

I don't think theres any getting around that greg, that's just the nature of timed units. I think timed controllers work better on larger, heavier trailer than on smaller lighter ones. When I use to be a commercial diver, we mainly worked off shore, but spent alot of time on the road servicing power plants all over the mid west and we use to run around in an 8x20 with a f350 which had a timed unit, the trailer was LOADED with heavy ***** and it seemed to work fine, but on my little 5x10 it sucked, it actually seemed to work better when I had the loader in it. anyway I just hooked up the intellastop unit and it is proportional and smooth as silk. non of that surging and slaming especially at lower speeds, very awsome controller:thumbsup:


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

btw I couldn't return the other one (no origional packaging), I just ate it and got the intellastop anyway, so the other unit will become a permenant fixture on my garage shelf unless anyone here can use it, pm me


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

Bone Saw said:


> I don't think theres any getting around that greg, that's just the nature of timed units. I think timed controllers work better on larger, heavier trailer than on smaller lighter ones. When I use to be a commercial diver, we mainly worked off shore, but spent alot of time on the road servicing power plants all over the mid west and we use to run around in an 8x20 with a f350 which had a timed unit, the trailer was LOADED with heavy ***** and it seemed to work fine, but on my little 5x10 it sucked, it actually seemed to work better when I had the loader in it. anyway I just hooked up the intellastop unit and it is proportional and smooth as silk. non of that surging and slaming especially at lower speeds, very awsome controller:thumbsup:


Did you have to mount the new one perfectly level and all that jazz? I think the inertials can't be mounted on their sides due to the guts needing to pendulum properly.


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

...


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

Bone Saw said:


> I know some of the lower end inertials are level sensitive, but the prodigy has a 0-70deg. nose up margine. I initially leaned against the inertia units due to my sprinter dash being very verticle, rounded and curvey with little to no mounting area due to a large center console that juts out. under the steering collum was out due to that is where one of the fuse panels is plus its almost vertcle too, leaving just the lower most portion furthest to the driver side door just above where the hood latch handel is. I think "bilatterally" it needs to be level, and it needs to be in line with the vehicle. but it doesn't need to be perfectly level, although I was able to get mine level since I mounted the bracket as low on the actuall dash panel to the unit basically sits level into the area under dash where pedals are. I installed it last week and adjusted the shoes perfectly, then set the max output as per instructions, and man this thing is just perfect, smooth as butter. I noticed with the timed unit since it basically applies brakes as per the output setting, it is very hard and "abusive" to the hubs as it gets pretty hot especially as slower around town speeds, now it stops on a dime, real smooth, the hubs are cool to the touch and that surging and and lunge are no more.


I may have to check it out. I have the same problem of not having a good horizontal surface to mount to. Right now, mine is mounted vertically on the side of my center console.


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

http://www.tekonsha.com/instructions/Prodigy Instruc 7689_H web.pdf


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## Drywall1 (Dec 12, 2005)

wolffhomerepair said:


> I have the Tekonsha Prodigy. Well worth the money. Allows quick adjustment for different trailer loads. Digital display makes it easy to get back to the setting you need. It also the the brake spike feature that will spike the trailer brakes to a set level when braking is initiated. http://www.tekonsha.com/prodig.html


X2 its awesome. My new truck has one integrated into the dash. Dont miss having somthing hanging off my dash.


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