Brake Controllers

[HBarlow]

Regardless of the inferior design and engineering of Ram's OEM brake controller the huge advantage offered by the Cummins engine far overshadows anything Furd or Govt. Motors offers.

An easy solution is a Ram truck, Cummins engine, Aisin transmission, and BrakeSmart or MaxBrake controller.

 

[garford12]

Harvey, I appreciate your in depth reply (#56). I am moving my antique car collection from Florida to Texas and my 16 ft tandem axle flatbed is still in Florida. It may be safer to just pull the empty trailer back to Texas behind the 5th wheel. Thanks, Bob

 

[HBarlow]

Bob,

You are very welcome. I think you are a prudent man to reconsider.

Some TDR members become quite angry when I or another member gives them information they didn't want to read. The Cummins engine is capable of pulling incredible loads but our Dodges don't always have the mass, weight, and brakes to safely handle or stop those combined loads.

Have you already checked to be sure all the states you'll traverse allow double towing? Most if not all southern states do, I think, but here's a website link that might help:

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

I don't know how current or accurate it is.

Welcome to Texas. You probably already know - there are thousands of old car enthusiasts across Texas, hundreds of car clubs, and car events in many communities. I used to be an active member and club president of a '50s car club. What kind of cars do you have in your collection?

 

[garford12]

Harvey, your post got me to thinking about safety and the possible damager to the car on the second trailer instead of trying to save fuel by hauling two cars at once.
My primary interest is Cadillac's with cars ranging from 23 to 58. My oldest is a 12 Garford. I live in College Station.

 

[HBarlow]

Harvey, your post got me to thinking about safety and the possible damager to the car on the second trailer instead of trying to save fuel by hauling two cars at once.
My primary interest is Cadillac's with cars ranging from 23 to 58. My oldest is a 12 Garford. I live in College Station.

I confess my ignorance. I don't think I ever even heard of a Garford.

The Cadillacs of the 1940s into the early 1960s have always had my admiration, particularly the mid-50s.

Are all your cars restored show pieces?

 

[ewcmr2]

I opened their website and found it still displayed and offered for sale at $350 pr $315 of two or more are ordered.

Hmmm, maybe it's time for a TDR/Plug It Rite group buy.

 

[Dutch & Di]

You can still go to their website online retailer at Max Brake, you just can't complete the order. It is my understanding that the link to SW Wheel is in the process of being deleted from the Max Brake website. Diana

 

[khalsey]

I still have a unused in original box older Kelsey Hayes brake controller. On the warranty card it has the date Jan. 31 1998. On the box instructions it says "ALL KELSEY HYDRAULIC ACTIVATED ELECTRIC BRAKE CONTROLLERS REQUIRE LESS THAN . 02 CUBIC INCH OF FLUID FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER" Maybe I'll go ahead and install it in my truck although the Jordan Ultima 2020 works pretty good.

 

[eeoasis]

I recently ordered and installed the DirecLink brake controller. I already have a BanksIQ and Economind Tuner which utilizes the OBD II port. I purchased a Splitter cable and installed it, connected the Banks to one side and the DirecLink to the other. The DirecLink recognized the vehicle and configured itself. The problem that I have is that the Banks now sees a conflict on the OBDII bus and stops working. Unplugging the DirecLink from the OBDII splitter resolved that issue. Looks like I will be going back to my old inertia controller until I can order a Max Brake controller.

Other than connecting to my trailer I have not road tested it to see how it performed. I may do that on Sunday. The DirecLink turns on when the brake pedal is pressed. There are several features of the DirecLink that I do like. 1) You can change the brake power to the trailer when stopped 2) You can adjust the low speed brake power to the trailer 3) I like that you can place the display unit where you can see it and place the control box out of the way.

The only way that I would keep the DirecLink is if I could find a way to resolve the OBDII conflict. I read that devices use an "address" similar to IRQ's that PC's used to use. If there are two devices with the same address on the OBDII network you have the issue that I have. Does anyone know if this is accurate? Does anyone know how to resolve this conflict on the OBDII bus?

 

[HBarlow]

The DirectLink is just one more inertia activated controller with a fancy name and complex sounding description of how it works. In short, its just another pretend brake controller.

No one who pulls a heavy trailer can know how much better a real brake controller is until they install a BrakeSmart or MaxBrake and tow their trailer.

Trust me and trust the comments of dozens of TDR members who have reported back after they finally installed their fancy Tekonsha with lots of bells and whistles and digital displays in a trash can and installed a MaxBrake.

 

[DennyDay]

Brake Controllers AGAIN!

These guys that question Harvey about Brake Controllers have no idea any thing about brake controlers-- - If any of you are old enough to remember the Kelesy-Hays controller of the fiftys through the early 70's - - - - now that was a brake controller - - Hmmmm - - Operates just like the Brake Smart - - - not this new fancy junk coming from the part house or RV dealer or OEM on your truck - - If you really think this new stuff is the Cat's A** - - - are you in for a suprise! :-{}

 

[JMetzger]

Amen Harvey & C D Day. I am old enough to remember the Kelsey Hays of the 50's, had one but was told when the dual brake master cylinder came out that it was a no no to use it. I love my Max Brake. Only had it a short time but it is a pleasure to not have to worry about weather the brakes are going to lock up in town or not have enough brakes at highway speeds. Like I have said before I have had 2 Prodigy's & they were pure junk.

 

[HBarlow]

I still have a unused in original box older Kelsey Hayes brake controller. On the warranty card it has the date Jan. 31 1998. On the box instructions it says "ALL KELSEY HYDRAULIC ACTIVATED ELECTRIC BRAKE CONTROLLERS REQUIRE LESS THAN . 02 CUBIC INCH OF FLUID FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER" Maybe I'll go ahead and install it in my truck although the Jordan Ultima 2020 works pretty good.

I'm seven months late to respond to this post but somehow never saw it. By now the OP knows the answer but for anyone else you CAN use an original Kelsey-Hayes hydraulic over electric brake controller and it will work in our trucks BUT, the extremely high hydraulic pressure in a four wheel disc brake system will damage the brake controller. When the brakes are applied the manual lever on the controller that is connected to line pressure and the internal rheostat to provide measured electrical output for trailer braking will be SLAMMED hard against the stops. Been there and done that.

I have posted about this previously. I had the exact same experience back in the '90s. I found a new in the box old original K-H controller that I installed and used very successfully on a '94 Furd F-250 for towing an Airstream. The '94 Furd had front disc brakes and rear drums. The old K-H worked great on it regardless of all the bad advice and wrong information about how it could not be used on a dual brake master cylinder or a disc brake truck.

The problem came when I bought my first Ram, an '01 HO/six speed with four wheel disc brakes. I installed the K-H controller on the Dodge but had to reluctantly remove it because brake line pressure was slamming it so hard under braking it was being destroyed.

An old original Kelsey-Hayes manual controller will work on any Dodge up to and including early '01s with front discs and rear drums. I gave the K-H to a friend and fellow Dodge-Cummins owner former TDR member who pulls a large Carriage Cameo and a trailer with a VW dune buggy behind the fifthwheel with a 2001 Ram dually. He loves it. It's the best brake controller he has ever owned.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Amen Harvey & C D Day. I am old enough to remember the Kelsey Hays of the 50's, had one but was told when the dual brake master cylinder came out that it was a no no to use it. I love my Max Brake. Only had it a short time but it is a pleasure to not have to worry about weather the brakes are going to lock up in town or not have enough brakes at highway speeds. Like I have said before I have had 2 Prodigy's & they were pure junk.

Yep, I too used the K-H brake controllers in the 60s and 70s. With the advent of ABS I was told that they wouldn't work properly and quit using it. FWIW, I have a K-H Modular brake controller still in the original box on a shelf in a storage cabinet in my shop.

Bill

 

[NIsaacs]

Jack,



I certainly do remember them. I used a Kelsey-Hayes hydraulic-electric controller from 1972 when I bought my first travel trailer through the '70s. I was again using one in the late '90s on a '94 Ford F-250 pulling a triple axle Airstream until I bought my '01 Ram. I installed and used it briefly on my '01 Dodge but the higher brake line pressure of the four wheel disc brakes and large calipers of the Dodge was tough on the K-H controller. Normal braking would slam the potentiometer lever so hard it would have destroyed the controller.



I gave it to a former TDR member for use on his '01 Dodge dually with front disc/rear drum brakes. He has used it for a couple of years now.



The K-H controller definitely can be used with dual master cylinders, ABS brakes, even front disc/rear drum brake systems but could not tolerate a four wheel disc brake dually with big brakes.

Hey Harvey, I think like me you just forgot. This quote was from page three, post 30, in January of this year:-laf



I think you had about 8 or so posts at the start of the thread, haha, I am not the only one.....



Nick

 

[HBarlow]

Nick,

Sometimes I forget what I ate for lunch by late afternoon.