electric brake controllers?

[meburdick]

I had a 10 year old Reese.....didn't like it when I was hauling a load on the trailer...got a P3....Man,,,,what a nice controller! bobg in va

So, you used to have a Reese that you didn't like, but now you have a Reese that you do like.



Same company now...

 

[meburdick]

Got a Tekonsha P3 for a Honda Ridgeline and a 7k hauler with one brake axle. The truck came with half the cable and the P3 had the other half. Splicing them together and installing the bracket under the dash took a morning, mostly deciding where it should go and reading the instructions umpteen times from paranoia.

When not using it, it gets unplugged and lives in the console, because it always gets juice even with the engine off. It takes 30 seconds to reach under the dash, fish out the cable, plug it in, and click the controller into its bracket. There is a power-up self test, and if the unit is left plugged in with the engine off it goes to sleep at minimal current drain.

Haven't had a panic stop yet, but the unit displays (in your choice of designer colors!) a voltage going out to the trailer brakes that corresponds to perceived braking effort. I can lock up the trailer brakes using the manual lever to check the system.

Similar here... Tundra came with the harness, spliced it to the harness with the P3 and had enough wire to locate it under the radio, between the aux power outlets. Clean, easy, and simple.

 

[Soundguy]

i personally wouldn't worry about the very residual power draw the controller has.. but instead of disconnecting it every time.. I think I might just install an inline switch into the power cable.. then click her off.

I leave them plugged in on my vehicles full time. my 450 can sometimes set unused a month at a time in the barn and starts just fine.

Got a Tekonsha P3 for a Honda Ridgeline and a 7k hauler with one brake axle. The truck came with half the cable and the P3 had the other half. Splicing them together and installing the bracket under the dash took a morning, mostly deciding where it should go and reading the instructions umpteen times from paranoia.

When not using it, it gets unplugged and lives in the console, because it always gets juice even with the engine off. It takes 30 seconds to reach under the dash, fish out the cable, plug it in, and click the controller into its bracket. There is a power-up self test, and if the unit is left plugged in with the engine off it goes to sleep at minimal current drain.

Haven't had a panic stop yet, but the unit displays (in your choice of designer colors!) a voltage going out to the trailer brakes that corresponds to perceived braking effort. I can lock up the trailer brakes using the manual lever to check the system.

 

[meburdick]

i personally wouldn't worry about the very residual power draw the controller has.. but instead of disconnecting it every time.. I think I might just install an inline switch into the power cable.. then click her off.

I leave them plugged in on my vehicles full time. my 450 can sometimes set unused a month at a time in the barn and starts just fine.

The amount of power it draws after "going to sleep" is negligible... The clock and onboard computer use more power to retain settings. Leaving the device powered all of the time ensures that all of your customizations remain.

 

[Soundguy]

yup.. all mine stay powered full time.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Mine stay on all the time also. Never a issue.

Chris

 

[Carl Bert]

I have one of the cheapo ones. This is my first trailer and didn't know anything about the controllers when I had it installed. The place didn't even offer me any choices, they just told me the price, I said ok and they installed it. I believe it was about $125 total.

Anyway I would like to change it for a better unit. After reading this thread, it seems like the Prodigy P2 or P3 is the way to go. My question is, can I just swap the units out, using the same wiring, or is there more involved? Thanks

 

[meburdick]

Chances are, you'll need to swap some wiring.

Did your vehicle come with a tow package?

 

[Carl Bert]

Chances are, you'll need to swap some wiring.

Did your vehicle come with a tow package?

When you say "swap some wiring", what exactly do you mean? Say there are 4 wires going into my existing unit, will those be sufficient to hook up the new unit, or will I have to locate additional wires from under the dash?

My Tahoe came with the tow package, but for whatever reason, it did not have the plug for the controller.

 

[meburdick]

Do a little research on sites like hitchanything (.com) to see if there's a custom wiring module for your truck. They're about $20 and are the simplest install.

Otherwise, you'll be cutting off the existing harness and splicing in the new one.

 

[aczlan]

When you say "swap some wiring", what exactly do you mean? Say there are 4 wires going into my existing unit, will those be sufficient to hook up the new unit, or will I have to locate additional wires from under the dash?
My Tahoe came with the tow package, but for whatever reason, it did not have the plug for the controller.

Yes, if you have an existing (working) controller and want to upgrade, you will just need to connect the new one to the correct wires under the dash.

Aaron Z

 

[saltbranch]

MaxBrake - Hydraulic over Electric Variable Brake Controller is a very good unit. Yes, it does cost about 3x more, but does safe and cheap have to be interchangeable? I get a laugh out of how alot of these posters say to use nothing but grade 70 chain, only ratchet binders will work, brakes on both axles, bigger tow vehicle, blah blah. Then when it comes to the actual control mechanism, "any old cheap controller will work just fine."

Never have seen these before, looks nice. I put a P3 in our F650 at work about a year ago. Truck pulls a 48' drop deck with 2-15k axles, by far the best controller to date we have had. It has worked great. Definetly keeping this one in mind for the future that truck.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Never have seen these before, looks nice. I put a P3 in our F650 at work about a year ago. Truck pulls a 48' drop deck with 2-15k axles, by far the best controller to date we have had. It has worked great. Definetly keeping this one in mind for the future that truck.

No comparison in the two. I have about 10 years of towing with a P3 and have used the Max Brake and installed a few. The only thing that beats them is the factory units like the one I have on my 06 F-350.

Chris

 

[Soundguy]

carl.. you can either splice the 4 wires.. or hit a store and grab the pigtail that goes from thecontroller to your truck .. either way is easy...

 

[CurlyDave]

I have had two Tekonsha P3s (still have one on my F-150) and I put a MaxBrake on the F-250.

There is no comparison. The MaxBrake is the best controller I have ever used. Yup, it sure is pricey, but my life is worth more than the money for the controller.

I will still tow with the F-150, but only for short distances, with light loads, and at lower speeds. Anything heavier than 4-5000 lbs now gets towed by the F-250.

 

[meburdick]

MaxBrake - Hydraulic over Electric Variable Brake Controller is a very good unit. Yes, it does cost about 3x more, but does safe and cheap have to be interchangeable? I get a laugh out of how alot of these posters say to use nothing but grade 70 chain, only ratchet binders will work, brakes on both axles, bigger tow vehicle, blah blah. Then when it comes to the actual control mechanism, "any old cheap controller will work just fine."

I looked at this site. The product, from a functionality perspective, appears to do a lot and to do it in a smart and safe way.

Two reasons I won't buy one...

1) I simply don't haul enough, or for long enough distances, to warrant the major jump in price. It's the law of diminishing returns. The controller that I have (let's call it $125) works very well and is considered a "step up" from the basic, 'timed' units. Thousands of people use this specific controller with excellent results, and don't haul enough to increase my safety margin by what can only be considered a small percentage.

2) It's ugly and big. Mounting it inside the cab will not leave a result that's eye-appealing. And, again, I don't haul that much. So, it needs to not "muck up" the cabin the rest of the time.

Adding a correction to a previous post of mine - the P3 is not a "timed" controller. It is a full proportional braking controller that applies braking force based on vehicle deceleration rate. You set the max braking force based on the load on the trailer and off you go (stop vehicle, apply trailer brake with boost lever, try to drive away - set the max brake power to where the wheels will "almost" lock on pavement). Remembers five different settings that can be tied to different trailers, or trailers with different loads.

 

[Carl Bert]

I looked at this site. The product, from a functionality perspective, appears to do a lot and to do it in a smart and safe way.

Two reasons I won't buy one...

1) I simply don't haul enough, or for long enough distances, to warrant the major jump in price. It's the law of diminishing returns. The controller that I have (let's call it $125) works very well and is considered a "step up" from the basic, 'timed' units. Thousands of people use this specific controller with excellent results, and don't haul enough to increase my safety margin by what can only be considered a small percentage.

2) It's ugly and big. Mounting it inside the cab will not leave a result that's eye-appealing. And, again, I don't haul that much. So, it needs to not "muck up" the cabin the rest of the time.

Adding a correction to a previous post of mine - the P3 is not a "timed" controller. It is a full proportional braking controller that applies braking force based on vehicle deceleration rate. You set the max braking force based on the load on the trailer and off you go (stop vehicle, apply trailer brake with boost lever, try to drive away - set the max brake power to where the wheels will "almost" lock on pavement). Remembers five different settings that can be tied to different trailers, or trailers with different loads.

Ok I bought the P3, hope I didn't make a mistake. Should I have bought the Max for 3x the price, I guess I'll find out. Just like you, I don't use the trailer much. I am looking for a dump trailer, but it will mostly be used for light loads like mulch.

The big and ugly factor didn't have any part in my decision. I am more concerned with how well it works over appearance. Though I do understand.

 

[Soundguy]

the big$ one will work a lil better.

if you don't haul every day, nor max loads.. the p3 should be fine.

 

[jeffsw6]

why wouldn't you want the additional braking control from the trailer when you're backing up?

Because it makes it a pain in the *** to maneuver your trailer, that's why!

It's usually counter-productive to have your trailer brakes activating when reversing. Your truck should easily be able to handle all the braking needs for reversing which you probably do at no more than 10 MPH. If it can't, how are you going to stop your rig if it's going forward down the highway at 60 MPH and the trailer brakes stop working?

 

[Soundguy]

i agree.. I was trying to back my trailer into a loading bay and the shop yard was gravel, and the bay was 1' wider than the trailer. stepping on the brakes made the brakes grab more int he gravel on one sid ethen the other making me go in crooked till I realized I still had brakes dialed in on my drawtight. once I zero'd brakes I got in in 1 try like normal. for a moment I thought I had forgotten how to back a trailer.. was kinda embarrising witht eh guys at the loading dock wondering why I couldn't get the trailer in like i did all the time..