electric brakes

[GregTaylor]

my church is asking me to tow a very large brand new trailer. i have yet to see the specks on weight, but they did inform me that it has electric brakes. since i will be hauling what is our entire church (all the chairs and supplys) i didn't want to cheep out on the brakes. so first off does my 03 have the wiring for the controler from the factory and secondly what controller is used the most. and where did you install it on the dash...

2003 so 4x4 larime air bags tork lift... . and yes factiry tow pkg...

greg

 

[CLAYTON]

With the factory tow package they should have given you an adaptor that you wire into the back of the brake controller and clips into a factory harness. There should be a Blue plug ( I think ) under the steering column. Hook up to that and you should have braking power to the plug in your bumper.



I use a Prodigy controller... personally I love it and have had no problems. I read a lot of good things about BrakeSmart and Jordan controllers. Do a search in the tow/haul forums.

 

[mberry]

I'll second what CLAYTON has posted. The Brakesmart would be my choice if I were to do it again from scratch, but I am very pleased with my Jordan.



My order of preference now would be: Brakesmart, Jordan, Prodigy.

 

[GregTaylor]

so lets say i were to misplace that adaptor i assume i could buy one with the controler or should i get it from dodge.

greg

thanks i will look up brakesmart

 

[KHelfrich]

i have the prodigy and i ordered it from southwest wheel www.southwestwheel.com

and you can get it with a harness already wired that plugs into the plug on your truck and the controler and then you dont need the factory supplied pigtails



ken

 

[JLovas]

I have the 40/20/40 split front bench seat with fold up counsel thingy and my adaptor was in that storage bin thats underneath that middle seat. Yes, its blue in color and the hook up is about where your left knee is when your seated in the drivers seat. I got my brake controller from a neighbor and I don't even remember what brand it is, but it works well.

 

[klenger]

Here are my comments on the BrakeSmart http://www.klenger.net/dodge/brakesmart/slide01.html

 

[BrianJ]

GregTaylor, are you only going to tow this trailer once to move equipment, or regularly?



If you are going to only tow once I would think that the brakesmart or jordan are too expensive to justify. I would go for the Prodigy, which I have seen on sale for as low as $128 (Camping World), or $99 if you want to trust an online site like RJays.

 

[crobertson1]

I am a happy Prodigy user. It works great. Very smooth and very easy to install and set. Here is where I put mine. It was a pain to put it there but that's where I wanted it.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=15296&width=0

 

[GregTaylor]

i will probably tow 2 times every other month untill the church is built. i checked out breaksmart and prodigy. i like the sensor in the breaksmart inside the brake line. but at 350 bucks?! i read how prodigy does there cable sensor attached to the brake arm. but since my pedles are adjustable i worry that a cable sensor isn't as reliable. i may just pop for the 350 just to be safe

greg

 

[klenger]

It's the Jordan that uses the cable, and it is compatable with the adjustable pedals. The Prodigy is an initera style controller.

 

[WM-300]

For many years I used the Inertia type contollers. When I bought my 03, I installed a Jordan. It was the difference in day and night. MY GCVW is 19,500 #



WM-300

 

[GCross]

The trailer brake controllers that I had in the 60's and 70's all had a manual lever so that when needed the trailer brake could be actuated independently of the truck brakes. As you can see I've been out of touch with RV towing for a while and from the pictures I see it looks like the trailer brakes can no longer be worked this way. Is that the case?



I'm having a hard time seeing the difference between Prodigy and BrakeSmart for the considerable difference in price, three times as much.



-George-

 

[mberry]

George,



Yes the brakes can be applied independently. The Jordan has a red button that you can push. The older style had a sliding type switch. That seems to be the only difference between the two.



The Jordan is compatible with adjustable pedals. I have them too. I can't say anything bad about anay of the controllers mentioned at all. I think at this point it's a decision your wallet must make.