Trailer Brakes

[gerard]

I have a tekonsha and use it on our two horse trailer and my landscape trailer and it works well and is very easy to adjust on the fly as your load changes. It has an led light that's green when no braking is applied then shaded to yellow, yellow/red, then full red for full braking. This is a gradual progression and makes the adjustment really simple.

 

[HalseyGreen]

Gordon - no I have never had it worked on in Delaware. Its a 1977 23 foot Safari, brought it new in 1977 when my wife and I decided to take a year off to see the country and find a better place to live. We did 48,000 miles in that year pulling with a wide wheel Jeep Cherokee (Chief without the decals). Ended right back in No. VA. working five miles from previous job, raised 3 kids and semi-retired in July 1999 to Central Virginia. Back to the Airstream, we've had little troubles with it other than having to convert the Vacuum Disc Brakes to electric in 1987 when we couldn't get parts. Did that myself. The refigerator is not cooling like it use to and the furnace takes a little TLC to get it to fire up, but it is 25 years old. Don't use it like we did especially when the kids got older. Use it now as a get away from everything outpost. Just tow it up into the mountains and play hermit. Needs a good polishing but it still tows like the day we got it.

 

[MChalkley]

BHarrison - The best brake controller I've ever used is the Ultima 2020 by <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.jordanbrake.com/>Jordan Research</A>. They're unique in that there's a cable that runs from the controller to your brake cable. That makes them a little more trouble to install, but once installed, they work great. Since they "know" exactly how much pressure you're putting on the brake pedal, you can set them to lead your truck brakes a bit, which really helps you in sudden stops. What you end up with is fully proportional braking that always brakes exactly the amount you want it to, because you're controlling it with your foot pedal. It's the most natural and easiest system to use, because it works exactly the same whether you're towing or not. Also, there's never any "ramp up" delay, so in a panic situation you get immediate braking to the trailer leading the braking to the truck, so you don't have to wait for the trailer brakes to catch up, nor do you run the risk of jack-knifing. Check out the message board on their site, if you want some opinions besides mine. Many of the posters there have owned almost every controller on the market and settled on the Ultima. They're more expensive at $140, but I think they're definitely worth it - especially if you think you ever might need to stop in an emergency situation. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Also, they've got guts - one of the trailers I use mine on has 3 9,000 pound axles, all with brakes. Under full braking with a heavy load, they draw well over 20-amps, and the Ultima handles them easily.

 

[njrqs]

Well interestingly enough, Tekonsha are the "Bees Knees" over here too.

Cheers

 

[BHarrison]

Thanks to all for the input. I decided to go with the Tekonsha Prodigy, and here's why:
It's suppose to have a "quick connect" harness, a "snap-in" mount, and a soft-pack holder for when not in use. I ordered a Prodigy, and two mounts and harnesses from www.brakecontroller.com. The prodigy was $124.00 and $13.00 for the 2nd car kit. They are also shipping it 2nd day air for free.
That seemed to fit my situation perfectly, and I've heard pretty good stuff about Tekonsha. Seems they've been around a while. The Jordan also looks llike a great unit. I'll have to give it a try if the Prodigy doesn't work out.

 

[Rodneyd]

I had an older model Tekonsha on my previous truck. Bought a new truck in 2000 with trailer package. It came with the harness to hook up a controler. I opted for the Tekonsha Concord model. Installed it in 30 minutes. I pull a 5th wheel and am very pleased. I would stay away from the cheaper U-Haul and other makers that operate off of the brake lights with a delay circuit. The pendulem models seem to give a more precise braking when properly set up for your trailer. There is an older thread on TBN controlers that you might want to research.

Rod

 

[cowboydoc]

I agree with Mark. I've used them all and I really like the jordan's the best.

 

[MChalkley]

cowboydoc - It's been so long since I used anything but the Jordan units that I forgot to mention another of the main advantages they have: the real ammeter gauge on the panel. Every other unit I've ever seen either doesn't tell you anything about the amount of current going to the trailer brakes, or gives you a display that's nothing more than a ramp-up indicator that tells you how far into the cycle the circuit is. I forget which model it was, but one of the controllers I had actually lied in the owner's manual, saying it was an ammeter when in fact it wasn't.

It's a huge advantage to have a real ammeter, because you can actually tell when a brake is shorted out or open. If you know what your normal readings are when they're all working, you can instantly tell if something goes wrong, and you have a very good idea what.

 

[cowboydoc]

Mark,
Yep that is completely right. Most of the other ones I've used just give you a light that says whether or not they are working or not working.

 

[BHarrison]

I agree the ammeter is more informative than the volt meter on the Prodigy, however you can always add an ammeter to whatever electric brake unit you have.

...considering the price of the Prodigy, once you buy it and an ammeter, you could've bought a Jordan. ...but then you wouldn't be able to pull it out, and transfer it to another vehicle.

From doing searches on the RV boards, it seems the Prodigy and the Jordan are the top two units available. For a one vehicle application, the Jordan seems like a no-brainer. I like the fact that you can mount it wherever you want also. The Prodigy has some sort of "self leveling" feature which is suppose to make mounting not as critical as other units, but I highly doubt it will be as forgiving as the Jordan unit.