Towing--What brake controller is best?

[Diesel Thunder]

Hello all,



This is my first diesel truck and I love it. With 26K miles, I am now to the point that I am needing to do some pulling. I need to get an electric trailer brake controller. I am expecting to tow around 10,000# at most. What do ya'll recommend and where exactly is the plug under the dash? Are there different features that make one controller more desirable than another? I have previously towed only small trailers with no brakes, so I am definitely in a new arena here. Thanks in advance for your recommendations!



Diesel Thunder.

 

[mattymac]

I have the Drawtite Activator 2. Digital display and basically idiot proof. I love it.

 

[klenger]

Check out the BrakeSmart at http://www.drperformance.com/brakesmart.html



See my comments at http://www.klenger.net/dodge/brakesmart/slide01.html



It is by far the most expensive controller, but IHMO, is the best around. 2nd choice would be the Jordan 2020. Both are proportional brake controllers that apply tralier braking signal in proportion to the amount of braking the truck is doing.

 

[KBennett]

I have the Tekonsha Prodigy and have towed up to 16K pounds but I think I would go with the Brakesmart with anything over 10K.

Most of the towing I do is less than 8K and the Prodigy works really well, even in panic situations.

 

[Jaysyl]

I like my Prodigy, works well for me.

 

[wneubauer]

Another vote for the Prodigy. Worked great for me in a couple of panic stop situations. I tow a 2005 Sunnybrook 3310 which is a good size rig... .

 

[RHuby]

I'll throw my hat in with the Prodigy recommendations. Used them on three trucks now and never had a bit of problem. Smooth braking and easy to use.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Anything made by Tekonsha (ie prodigy) is top of the line for inertia activation. I tow 30K with a Primus (by Tekonsha), no need for Brakesmart due to weight. Not saying anything against Brakesmart, from what I've read here I would love to have one, but weight isn't a factor. I can stop 40K gross hard enough to break stuff with an inertia controller.



Whatever controller you get, make sure it can handle the # of axles you have/plan to have and if you're going to get elec. /hyd. brakes you need to make sure the controller works with the system... a lot of the common controllers don't.

 

[Radshooter]

I used to have the Prodigy. Now I use the Jordan 2020. Wish I could afford the Brakesmart.

 

[RustyJC]

The original question was "What brake controller is best?"



1. The Brakesmart is probably best, but expen$ive.



2. The Jordan Ultima 2020 is a close second and price competitive with the Prodigy et al.





Rusty

 

[Jeepr]

Love my Prodigy and have had at least one good emergency stop. As others have said, it is an inertia controller, which is what I wanted this time. I had the Activator II in my Tahoe and it was not intertia and I had a few scary emergency stops.

 

[JThiessen]

Another vote here for the Brakesmart. I dont even feel the trailer brakes activate with it (and yes, I double checked to make sure its working).

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

the prodigy is still inertia driven, meaning it depends on the truck slowing to work. What happens if you are going up on hill on ice and start to slide backwards, This happened to me on a snow packed road once, I nearly jackniffed but I had the presensce of mind to hit the button on my old voyager XP and that saved me, had I been using a brakesmart or a jordan this would have never happened. heck even on level ground in ice or snow, the inertia controllers leave you doomed



all the inertia controllers work essentially the same, ie they suck, get the jordan or brake smart

 

[JJW_ND]

Brakesmart.....

I have used (100K miles or more) several Tekonsha products. Lots of experience with Prodigys. They are good controls but are limited to by their inertia control. I have not tried a Jordan but would guess it works similar to Brakesmart.



This type of controller that it "tied" to the brake pedal effort is in a league by itself.



We run hydraulic disk brakes that have awsome stoppping power. This can be a hassle if your control is over compensating. With a Brakesmart, you have a hard time seperating the trailer brakes (effort) from the truck. They work the same. I pulled the same trailer with three different truck one week putting on a 1K miles or so with each. Two with Brakesmarts, one with a Prodigy. You forget how much adjusting one has to do with the prodigy. I drive aggressive which requires agressive use of the brakes. We run 20K gross loaded. I found myself sliding the tires with the Prodigy (even with lots of adjustments), which never happens with the Brakesmart. I have not touched the Brakesmart adjustment in my work truck in 80K miles, even with several diffent trailers. We haul 7K lbs in water on our trailers which causes the load to constently be changing (from empty to fully loaded to partial load all in the same trip).



If you tow occiasional a prodigy is plenty good. If you tow fulltime or tow in heavy traffic situation that demand the most from your brakes, the Brakesmart is justified.



Of the controller I have ran under similar situations, Brakesmart is the best.



jjw

ND

 

[Jeepr]

When I said I wanted inertia, that was over the on/off (no in between) kind like the Activator II. I was not aware of how the brakesmart and others worked, that is pretty slick.



Not to hijack this thread, but help me understand. My Prodigy is interia, but if I'm sitting completely still and hit the brakes it registers a number, if I push on the brake pedal harder, the number on the controller goes up. All without the truck even moving. That would lead me to believe it is tied to the brake pedal and braking effort??

 

[mpwalker]

Brake controller

I am on the road full time pulling 15,000 lbs and have used all the controllers mentioned in the previous posts and feel without reservation the Brake Smart is by far the best with the Jordan a close second. The brake smart does a automatic calibaration each time it is hooked up and can be used with up to 4 axles without any mods and it finds the number of brake axles during the hookup check. It will give a beep and writen message when it finds a problem with the electric hook ups to the trailer. The braking is super as it applies the same pressure to the trailer brakes as is being applied to the tow vehicle brakes, but it is not cheap, however remember most of the time you get what you pay for. If you only tow once and awhile maybe the the cheaper models will do just fine but for a lot of heavy towing, it appears to be the best on the market now.

 

[steved]

I like my tekonsha, but I have had a couple time where it scared the crap outta me... all were at really low speeds on slippery surfaces... the inertial sensing doesn't apply the brakes and the trailer literally pushes you along... sliding the truck... and usually, it happens too fast to react with the manual engagement...



Other than that, the tekonsha is an awesome on the road piece IMO...



steved

 

[GrahamS]

I just installed a Brakesmart in my '06, and couldn't be happier. Installation was not too bad either. They supplied everything needed, right down to the wire ties. If you have an automatic, just run the pressure sensor wire through the plastic cover on the firewall that plugs the hole for the clutch on M/T trucks.



I dropped it off at the dealer after I installed it, and the only complaint I heard was that the guy who moved it around the lot almost wrecked the truck because he was so distracted with the brake pressure readout! It is pretty cool!



On your other question, according to the service manual "The connection (blue 4-way connector) for the harness is located under the instrument panel to the left of

the brake pedal on top of the large body harness connection. " Just reach up above the "large body harness" and feel around you'll find it taped up there. Just pull it free.

 

[RustyJC]

I like my tekonsha, but I have had a couple time where it scared the crap outta me... all were at really low speeds on slippery surfaces... the inertial sensing doesn't apply the brakes and the trailer literally pushes you along... sliding the truck... and usually, it happens too fast to react with the manual engagement...

That's a fundamental design flaw with inertial controllers - they depend on the deceleration of the truck to determine how much braking to send to the trailer. Now, if it's slick and the truck won't generate enough deceleration to trigger trailer braking before wheel lockup (or ABS engagement) on the truck, then the trailer pushes the truck into an instant jack knife. Not good... . been there, done that, got rid of the inertial controller.



Rusty

 

[Matt400]

I used to have the Prodigy. Now I use the Jordan 2020. Wish I could afford the Brakesmart.

I used to have the Voyager. Now I use the Jordan 2020. Wish I could justify the Brakesmart