Odyssey II vs Prodigy

[AlanB]

I currently run Prodigys in our trucks (3) and bought a new truck with an old style controller, and it reminded me of how bad I hate them, or how much I like the proportional controllers

I am going to replace the controller and was speaking to the guys selling, and they said one of the best new ones out there was the Odyssey II. It has a couple of more features then the prodigy's.

I am debating if it is better to stick with what is in the other trucks, or step up a level as I progress.

Anyone used the Odyssey II and can compare it too a Prodigy?

I liked that there were 4 presets I can put in on the Odyssey II.

As an important point of reference, we have a landscaping Lawncare business and employees routinely drive the vehicles.

 

[bjcsc]

I don't know anything about the Odyssey II, but I also use a Prodigy. It has four presets as well (0, b1, b2, b3)...

 

[KeithInSpace]

There is a new version of the Prodigy, the P3, that came out recently. I bought one, but have yet to buy my trailer, so I cannot speak to how well it works. It has all the functions of the Prodigy (selectable surge levels, user settings, etc.), but has a large LED readout that talks to you in "plain english" instead of cryptic code that you need to memorize.

I started looking at controllers over a year ago and the Prodigy was ~$150. Now the Prodigy is closer to $110 or $120 and I paid $160 for my P3.

May be worth a look.

I had just heard too many good things about Tekonsha to look anywhere other than the Prodigy family of controllers.

 

[AlanB]

I don't know anything about the Odyssey II, but I also use a Prodigy. It has four presets as well (0, b1, b2, b3)...

These presets are for the boost levels I believe, or, said another way, the percentage and rate of what is on the dial, and you need to set the dial to each trailer weight brake setup.

http://www.tekonsha.com/instructions/Technical Bulletin - 20020062.pdf

I think the other one will let me set up the voltage setting for the different trailers and weights, ie, setting one would be the dump trailer empty, setting two would be dump trailer full, setting three would be goose empty and setting 4 would be mowing trailer loaded, which are 4 different Voltage settings on the prodigy. Hanna and I can feel it and adjust accordingly, I don't believe all our employees have that "feel" of things though, at least with the prodigy we just give them a V # to go to.

 

[bjcsc]

Oh I see. You mean the Odyssey has presets sort of like a radio. That would be the cats meow for multiple trailers pulled by different people...employees can tear up anvils...

 

[AlanB]

Oh I see. You mean the Odyssey has presets sort of like a radio. That would be the cats meow for multiple trailers pulled by different people...employees can tear up anvils...

Actually, pre-sets like a radio is how the Brake Controller website described it, I was not smart enough to copy and show it.

That said, Weewwwwww,,,hooooooooooooooo

Went ahead and ordered the Odyssey II and a new solid drop and ball for the new truck to get the hitch closer to my trailer's standard level.

I would like to offer a big shout out and thanks to Southwest Wheel (brakecontroller.com / etrailer etc.) for being a site sponsor with a discount here. You already were the best, and now it is even better

A sincere Thank You.

 

[SouthwestWheel]

Actually, pre-sets like a radio is how the Brake Controller website described it, I was not smart enough to copy and show it.

That said, Weewwwwww,,,hooooooooooooooo

Went ahead and ordered the Odyssey II and a new solid drop and ball for the new truck to get the hitch closer to my trailer's standard level.

I would like to offer a big shout out and thanks to Southwest Wheel (brakecontroller.com / etrailer etc.) for being a site sponsor with a discount here. You already were the best, and now it is even better

A sincere Thank You.

Alan,

I hope you like the new Odyssey II control. It is a well designed brake control. We do sell the Tekonsha units and they are good, but the Odyssey II is the best functional proportional control to date. 360 mounting, polarity protection, illuminate tail lights when manual override is compressed, four preset memory settings + four boost settings, compatible with electric/hydraulic, small enough to fit in your cubby hole, stick on or screw on bracket, and will handle electronic down shift. These are few features this control can do that the Prodigy series can not. They are both good controls.

 

[chvet73]

The Prodigy is by far the the best controller I have had. Don't know about the Odyssey but it would have to be excellent to beat the Prodigy

 

[AlanB]

I put it in yesterday, as with all the newer one's it was plug and play.

I did have that little taste of bile in my throat as I was pulling down the old one, and got back a little way, and found splices (very nicely done, but still, crimp on splices) in the wire, I thought someone had cut the original harness.

Turns out they had just spliced from their back harness to the adapter harness.

Anyway, I am looking at this one as same as the Prodigy, with the added feature of being able to set up a couple pre-sets, that the employees can switch between trailers, click in the correct user setting, without having to "feel" and go on about the day.

Drove it today and seems to work great.

 

[KeithInSpace]

While I'm sure both are great and the Odyssey, with the different trailer programs, seems to meet the OP's needs better, I thought I'd share a story with my Tekonsha P3.

You know how you read about "improvements" and they are just a bunch of hooey...sometimes more is just more of what you don't need or use.

While the full story is in the "7,000# vs. 10,000# trailer" thread, suffice it to say that there was a problem with the brakes on the trailer I was purchasing.

On the very nice, large LCD display on the P3 was the text in varying degrees of boldness: "Danger; Overload; Trailer Brakes Not Available". There were a couple of other messages at different times (Undervolt; Ground Fault), but in the end, once I gained confidence the controller was working correctly, we were able to track it down to sticky brakes that weren't "expanding" when you hit the pedal. As a result, the open circuit used too much amperage and I got a corresponding REAL TEXT message on my Brake Controller screen.

Funny thing was that the Regional Manager of the place I was buying the trailer from hooked it up to his truck. I have no idea what brand the controller was, but his warning message was "E2". I asked what that meant, and he said, "I have no idea." We went into the store and ripped open a brand new box for the identical controller (which he sells out of his store) and after finding the code sheet buried in the directions, it turned out to say almost exactly the same thing that my screen was telling me all along. Pretty cool.

I have yet to connect a functioning trailer to the P3 (should by the end of this week), but assuming it has the same legendary functionality of the Prodigy, the large, easy to understand screen sure makes a lot of sense for the 'regular guy' that doesn't want to carry the instructions to his Brake Controller around in his truck to the end of his days.