Prodigy or Brakesmart better with exhaust brake??

[seafish]

Hello all; I drive a 2005 2500 CTD with G56. I custom mill and deliver lumber for a living, which means I often tow up to 10k on a 2 axle flat bed with electric brakes. I am going to be installing an exhaust brake soon (BD or PXRB) , but want to also have a trailer brake controller. I need to know whether a proportional/inertial controller like the Prodigy or the Brakesmart hydraulic controller will work better with an exhaust brake. It seems to me that an inertial controller will activate the trailer brakes automatically if the exhaust brake is slowing the truck, while the Brakesmart won't come on until I actually hit the brake pedal. If I am right, which do you guys think will result in smoother, controlled braking. Opinions from anyone are more then welcome, but obviously it would be great to hear of the experiences from someone who is running both a trailer brake controller AND an exhaust brake. TIA.

 

[klenger]

My money (literally) is on the BrakeSmart. Slide Show

 

[seafish]

Klenger, nice installation and great pix!! The bolster panel where you mounted the controller is exactly where I was hoping to install mine--obviously this can only be done with a controller that does not require level installation. According to info I have right now, both the Prodigy and Brakesmart fit this requirement, even though the Prodigy is inertial controlled. 2 questions for you--
Does the Brakesmart controller then plug into the factory wire harness near the dash??
Also, are you using the Brakesmart with an exhaust brake??
Thanks again.

 

[wcjp]

I had the Prodigy and now Prodigy P3. I also have the Pacbrake PRXB with my 06' G56. Neither Prodigy works with an exhaust brake. Having both components come on at the same time could be dangerous. The Ebrake is not recommended during low traction road conditions. The rear wheels can break loose causing poor handling. I've broke the rear wheels loose on accident. During ice conditions it might be necessary to manually activate the brake controller without touching any type of vehicle brakes. This would be necessary if the trailer was in the process of a jack knife. Activate the trailer brakes only. This would cause the trailer to track straight behind the tow vehicle.

 

[Radshooter]

I used to use a Prodigy when I was pulling with a V10 auto. It worked great. Then I switched to the CTD w/ 6 speed and Jacobs Exhaust brake. I noticed that I could not seem to get the Prodigy adjusted to my liking. It was either too jerky or not enough stopping power. It never dawned on me that the exhaust brake could be interfering with it. I just never put them together in my brain. I switched to the Jordan 2020 (which is activated by pressing the brake pedal, not inertia of slowing down), and I love it. Very smooth and interfaces with the Jake brake very nicely.

Good luck whatever you choose.

Steve

 

[ScottLewis]

The 2 brakes operate independently. While the exhaust brake does slow the truck considerably, I don't believe it is ever dramatic enough to activate the inertia type trailer brake control. I used a Prodigy in my '98 and have a Jordan Ultima in the '06. The Jordan performs much like the Brakesmart, using pedal pressure to activate trailer brakes. I havent driven a lot on icy roads so have never been in a situation where the exhaust brake might cause traction problems. Having an exhaust brake greatly reduces the need to apply service brakes but definitly does not eliminate the need for a good trailer brake controller. They do work together whenever you need a bit more brake.



Dan

 

[klenger]

Does the Brakesmart controller then plug into the factory wire harness near the dash??

Also, are you using the Brakesmart with an exhaust brake??

Thanks again.

Yes, Yes

 

[seafish]

Thanks for all the info, guys. After reading this, and more about the Brakesmart, I realize that while the prodigy is an excellent product, the Brakesmart is going to offer more controlled braking particularly in conjunction with an exhaust brake and with widely varying loads like I haul. Any leads on reputable Brakesmart dealer with a price less then $415. 00??

 

[SnoKing]

Trailer brake controllers do not active the trailer brakes with a signal for the stop light switch or manual lever. So an exhaust brake will not effect a Prodigy controller.



Dr. Performance is the only place in town to get a Brakesmart. There is another controller on the market now that is like the Brakesmart, and about $100 less. SNOKING

 

[HBarlow]

I use a Brakesmart and an exhaust brake on my '06 Ram with 48RE automatic pulling trailers of varying size and weight almost daily to the tune of about 130k miles/year as an RV transporter. The truck and Brakesmart controller currently have over 191,000 miles on them. I used the same Brakesmart on my previous Dodge, an '01 with the NVG-5600 6 speed transmission and Jacobs Exhaust Brake for over 225,000 miles.



I am an absolutely devoted fan of the Brakesmart. It delivers precisely modulated and finely controlled trailer braking perfectly matched to the truck's braking in every situation regardless of the size, weight, and number of axles/brakes of the trailer being pulled. It requires no adjusting, tinkering, or maintenance. You simply connect the Tee fitting to a line out of the master cylinder, install the pressure transducer on the Tee fitting, plug the harness to the transducer, run the harness through the firewall, mount the controller under/on the dash, plug the controller into the factory tow package harness, make the initial setup adjustments, and enjoy its superb performance. Your trailer brakes will do exactly what your right foot asks them to do.



My Brakesmart controller has been in use on two trucks for over 400,000 miles and remains trouble-free. If it ever fails or develops a problem I will simply call Dr. Performance and either send it back for quick repair or order a replacement, whatever the price is at that time. Beyond the braking performance and confidence it provides it also provides a digital date and time readout, truck/trailer electrical system voltage readout, trailer brake current read, and other data on request.



The fact that there is now a competing brand of the same or similar design and performance is probably a good thing for users and potential users. Competition always produces better products at lower prices.



Harvey

 

[jelag]

We have exhaust brakes on all our trucks and we use 4 different brake controllers... . we look at the brake controller as part of the truck but by far the best for us has been the brake smart... . If you remember years ago, all the old style controllers tied into the master cylinder and used proportional braking... .

With the advent of modern master cylinders you didn't have a spot to take off the extra fluid needed to run these brake controllers... The brake smart brings back that exact control... . you want light brakes, you get it with light pressure and if you panic you get sever brakes...

We tow a heavy trailer (20K lbs) and that trailer has electric/hydraulic brakes and its nice to know its under control... . When your ready for an exhaust brake send me note..... We've offered the Pac to a lot of the TDR guys...

 

[WestTN]

I use the Prodigy and Jacobs e-brake and they work perfectly together. When you step on the brake the service brakes operate immediately and then the e-brake comes on. As for driving in icy conditions, you might with a want to dis-engage the e-brake. They are equipped with a separate switch to disable them.



If you engage the e-brake first, then the e-brake doesn't work as hard.

 

[SnoKing]

If you engage the e-brake first, then the e-brake doesn't work as hard.

Who is confused here, exhaust brake's primary role is to do your braking on a long down hill with a heavy load, so that you do not have to use your service brakes!



SNOKNG

 

[WestTN]

Oops! I meant to say the service brakes don't work as hard.

 

[jelag]

One thing I might add... . with a pac we've found that you can handle up to about 13-15,000 lbs of trailer weight without the use of the service brakes on 6% grades with a stick in the right gear... . we pull trailers up to 20K and once we get past that 15,000 lb trailer weight we find we're using the service brakes...

Our 04 3500 dually went 160K miles pulling one of these trailers with the exhaust brake, and the elect over hyd disc brakes on the trailer...

 

[seafish]

Jelag, thanks for the additional info and hard numbers on towing and braking; Your posts always are insightful and contain useful info. AT some point in the future ( 4 years or so when my extended warranty expires) I will likely upgrade my turbo to something to achieve better spool up and hopefully lower towing EGTs. Everything I've read in past forums indicates that one should buy a remote mount exhaust brake if ever planning to change turbos. Still, most of the posts were at least several years old and I am wondering if anything has changed in terms of upgrading turbos and fitting exhaust brakes. I am hoping that you also can fill me in on the basic advantages/disadvantages of turbo-mount versus remote mount exhaust brakes; While I am still undecided between the BD and the Pac, I haven't even researched yet whether BDs turbo mount brake fits both stock and BD super B turbos, but I am assuming that they do. I also don't even know if Pac makes a variable orifice remote mount exhaust brake that will work on a 3rd gen CTD. as well as the turbomount PXRB. Hopefully the info you provide can help me make a decision. If this is hijacking this thread too much, perhaps you can start another on this topic or simply make current this one from 2002--https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/product-accessories-forum-no-engine-transmission-discussions/52952-exhaust-brake-turbo-mount-remote.html TIA.