Best and most reliable brake controller

[WMann]

Subject says it all. I'm looking for opinions on which electric brake controller to buy.



Wayne



2001. 5 ETH DEE SLT Plus 3500 Sport 2X4

 

[C Schomer]

Me Too! According to the threads, it's looks like it's down to Prodigy or Jordan. Supposedly, Prodigy is debugging theirs and Jordan already debugged theirs! Craig

 

[JJW_ND]

Tekonsha Sentinel!

I can highly recomend a Tekonsha Sentinel. I have had several different inertial and time delay brake controllers. The sentinel was the first to do what it should with not allot of constant fiddling.



When hotshoting new trailers, you start out with brand new brakes (... no brakes) and several hundered miles later you hit it and go though the windshield. Always double trailers in two (Twice the braking force).



Even with all the snow and ice I have pulled through this controler was much easier to keep the trailers behind me and the one and only full lock panic stop the was a very near miss, I was very glad I had instant brakes and six axles sliding rubber or near locked.



There might be better, I just have not used it yet.



jjw

 

[DarrellB]

Just put it in

Just bought a Reese Digital Breakman and I love it. I had a voyager before it and there is no comparison. the Reese is easy to adjust and and can be mounted anywhere you want to put it. You can even mount it upside down. . The read out is digital and displays numbers 1 threw 10 in . 5 incraments. 1 is the lowest braking pressure and 10 being the highest. You can adjust the gain to make the brakes come in early or late depending on how you like it. It can handel up to 6 break axels and has the manual slide bar mounted on the front of the countroler. I paid $80 for it and it's well worth the money. Forgot to mention I had one of the Voyagers crap out on me when I had 30,000lbs in tow , not a fun expirence to say the least.



Big D

 

[RustyJC]

I've run the Reese Brakeman I, the Tekonsha Sentinel and now the Jordan Ultima 2020. The Sentinel, although better than the Reese, isn't even close to the Ultima 2020. The Jordan is the first truly proportional controller I've found - once it's set up, there's no constant "twiddling" with the adjustments to get the braking you want.



Rusty

 

[Dkevdog]

Once you've had the opportunity to try the Jordan Ultima 2020 Controller- you'll know what the best is. I also have a tekonsha that I have installed for use as a backup just in case. Only reason I still have it is cause I don't know what else to do with it.

The Jordan eliminated the severe bucking I once used to have and all the constatnt adjusting I needed to do to get the right amount of breaking at different speeds.





Jordan Brakes



Kev

 

[Patriot Diesel]

I also agree. I now have the Jordan Ultima 2020. I also have a Tekonsha Sentinal. It is OK, but doesn't comapre with the Jordan, in my humble opinion.

 

[Batman]

Okay, currently I have a drawtite POS. This is the only controller I've ever had.

I tow 2 different trailers:

7k cargo trailer

10k 5er



Is there a specific controller that is easily adjustable for more than one trailer, and varying loads for each?? Or, am I asking for too much?



TIA

 

[klenger]

One more vote for the Jordan. The price is about $50 higher than some of the other better units, but what's 50 bucks when you are pulling a $30,000 5er. It does take a bit of time to figure out how to connect the cable to the brake pedel, and then get it adjusted, but after that, you forget about it. The digital display is nice too. I suspect the display would make it alot easier to reset the sensivity when towing more that one trailer.

 

[Dkevdog]

I agree with Klenger- that the digital display on the Jordan is the key to towing more than one trailer (I do). I just recorded the amperage readings as it says in the Jordan Manual and then dial in those numbers after switching trailers. It's pretty easy once you've got settings done.



Kev

 

[C Schomer]

How does the Jordan do on steep declines? That's where my Voyager really sucks! Craig

 

[Dkevdog]

I bet Ken has more towing in the mountains with his new Arctic Fox then I have woth mine- but I do have one mountain decent with mine (8500lbs or so) and I did have to increase the gain a bit going downhill, but once you reach a slower speed it doesn't buck like my other controller used to. As you let your foot off the brake, it gradually decreases the breaking power accordingly. IMHO it works like a charm. My Drawtite used to work fine until I would get under 20mps or so. Then, when I hit the brakes it would grab hard and yank on the truck. Like throwing an anchor!



Kev

 

[klenger]

Dkevdog



Mostly I use the Jake brake to control speed on the descents. The Jake brake, 6 speeds to choose from, and the Jordan controller make mountain driving a piece of cake, so to speak.

 

[Balzac]

Brake Controllers

I had used the Tekonish, and now the Jordan. The Jordan works like the old controllers did, the ones connected to the hydraulic system before dual braking systems. The more braking you need the more you push on the pedal. Come to think of it isn't that the way our truck brakes work? I travel with my fifth RV, 12000#'s, in the Rocky Mountains a couple of times a year, this year the first time with the Jordan. This is the way trailer brakes should work.

 

[Lil' Dog]

Tekonsha, haven't tried the Jordan. . The Drawtite is in a landfill somewhere after one trip. . Terrible and you can always tell who has them, screeching of tires at red lights for one... .



J-eh





hey Balzac, I'll drop a line the next time the SAB (southern alberta bombers) meet for coffee.

 

[Rambling]

Long as usual

Wmann,



As already, stated the Jordon applies trailer braking power according to the amount of brake pedal movement. It has several advantages that I wanted:



1. Activate only to the amount of the truck brake.

2. There's no build up of trailer brake application for those long periods of slight braking.

3. While braking, it isn't affected by surges or steep inclines.

4. There is no need to change gains based on traffic/speed conditions or the changing terrain (hills vs flatland).



It is almost a set and forget. Like any controller, it does need to be adjusted periodically after towing for awhile to offset trailer brake wear or tow vehicle brake wear.



It isn't the most economical unit but I love the way it works. More importantly , the other driver doesn't want anything she has to mess with when towing.



I had two panic stops with the trailer over a three day trip a while back. One was on wet pavement and one was on dry. I never gave the trailer brakes a thought. Everything stopped true. It certainly confirmed to met that I chosen the right product.

 

[C Schomer]

Kev, after you adjusted the gain for the decline did you have to set it back for level driving? Craig

 

[WMann]

Thanks for the opinions

MY Jordan Ultima 2020 will be here Monday. It is such a wonderful thing being able to get so much usefull information about different products from all the people on this forum. I have to say that I trust the opinions of people like myself that are using the available products on a daily basis much more than I trust buying something because of a fancy add.



One guy made a comment about how great the Ultima 2020 was and how their web site wasn't so great. Without this forum a person might look at a couple different brake controllers on different web sites and buy the controller from the company with the nicest web site when in fact the controller they have may not be anywhere near as good as the other controller.



I just hope everyone is aware how valuable this forum is.



thanks again



Wayne Mann

 

[HBarlow]

Brake Controllers (excessively long)

There are four basic types of trailer brake controllers available.



1. Electric-Electric Ramp type - This is the simplest and least expensive and each of the manufacturers makes one. I used one for one year. The controller takes it's input signal from a wire in the tow vehicle leading from brake light switch to brake lights. Although simple, the driver cannot modulate trailer braking with this type. When the brakes lights are energized, the controller is turned on and braking force begins increasing slowly. On a graph, braking signal to the trailer would be seen as a ramp increasing over time. This type works pretty well when towing a trailer that is lighter than the towing vehicle. The problem is, if you call for slow, gentle braking, the trailer brakes will ramp up (increase) as the driver's foot remains on the brake pedal until trailer braking exceeds the driver's intentions. The driver can compensate by lifting his foot from the brake pedal and reapplying, thereby restarting the ramp.



2. Electric-electric Inertia type - Tekonsha is a major manufacturer of this type. I have used this type, two of them actually, because Tekonsha gave me a free replacement. If you tow a relatively light trailer behind a heavy Dodge-Cummins you may like it. The controller attempts to modulate trailer braking with a pendulum inside the controller that swings as braking force is appllied. One of the major problems with this controller is if the trailer is very heavy, the tow vehicle has difficulty creating deceleration to start the controller. It can NEVER be permanently adjusted but requires constant tweaking all day, every day you pull. If you set the gain for light braking then have to make a rapid stop, you will have inadequate trailer brakes. If you set the gain for hard braking then make a gentle stop, you will endure jerking, bucking, even trailer brake locking. If you are braking when you cross a pot hole or railroad track, you will get jerked around by your trailer brakes. If you brake on a downhill grade, you will have excess braking. If you brake on an upgrade, you will have little or no trailer braking. Thousands of them in use but, in my opinion, not a very desirable product.



3. Hydraulic-Electric type - Years ago, before ABS brakes, everyone used a Kelsey-Hayes controller. You installed it by cutting a brake line downstream of the master cylinder, installing a tee, then routing a hydraulic brake line through the firewall to the controller. Once installed and adjusted, it provided perfect, measured, controlled braking that precisely matched the driver's request (foot pressure on the brake pedal. ) Lawyers, lawsuits, and careful auto manufacturers and trailer dealers killed the product and it is no longer manufactured although lots of them are still around. Regardless of everything the RV industry tells you, they can be used on late model trucks with ABS brakes. Chevrolet/GMC truck brochures acknowledge that they can be used if the controller displaces less than 0. 02 cubic centimeters of brake fluid. They displace less than 0. 01 according to Hayes-Lemmerz, the current company name. I used one for years back in the 70s and used a new-old Kelsey-Hayes hydraulic-electric brake controller successfully on a 94 Ford F250HD to tow a heavy Airstream. When I retired the Ford recently I kept the controller but have not yet installed it in my Dodge. I had trouble finding a suitable tee fitting for the Dodge so installed a new Hayes inertia type controller (which is a far better product than the Tekonsaha). In truth, I am a little timid about installing the old K-H controller because of the electronic brake proportioning circuit although I persuaded a Dodge help line spokesman to admit that it was not inherently unsafe to use a hydraulic-electric controller on a new Dodge. Actually, the Hayes inertia operated controller works well without the constant tweaking required by a Tekonsha so I am not in a hurry, but the inertia controller is not a substitute for the old fashioned hydraulic-electric controller.



4. Mechanical-Electrical type - The Jordan Ultima is of this design. A cable is attached between the tow vehicle's brake pedal or brake arm to the controller. When the driver depresses the brake pedal, the brake controller is actuated proportionally. The Jordan provides brake modulation similar to the old style K-H hydraulic-electric controller without tapping into your truck's hydraulic brake lines. I have not used one but everyone who has says they work very well. The only drawbacks I am aware of are the need to install a mechanical cable between truck brake pedal and controller and, as brake pads/brake shoes wear, braking will require slightly more brake pedal travel to get the same level of braking, which may increase trailer braking. This drawback could, I'm sure, be compensated for by adjusting the brake controller's gain setting.



I hope this too long discussion helps someone.

 

[klenger]

Excessively long? Some people would say the same thing about the Golden Gate Bridge. Excellent post. It's too bad that the truck manufacturers can't install a variable resistor or provide an output from the ECM that provides resistance proportional to brake pedel travel that the brake controller manufacturers could build to. The industry could set a standard (yea, right)that they all designed to. The the Jordan type controller could be plug and play.