Being a towing n00b, I need some advice on buying an electronic trailer brake controller.

Any good brands? How much? Where to buy? Anything to avoid? etc. Thanks in advance.

 

No specific brands. I like the ones with a digital number and a thumb wheel so you can dial up a number that you know you like for normal driving then something lighter for backing. Not all have this feature but otherwise find a good deal. I have bouyght two at the local farm and trailer patrt supply store and had no luck at Autozone.

 

Being a Ford Diesel forum guy, most of the people that tow there agree that Jordan makes the best controller. It is more expensive, but worth a look.

I have a Valley controller, and it works OK, but takes a while to get adjusted right.

 

I like the Tekonsha Prodigy myself, about $125 from southwestwheel.com

edit: I had a kelsey-hayes pendulum type before the prodigy and it sucked in comparison.

joel


Modified by JoelG at 9:42 AM 10/21/2003

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JoelG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I like the Tekonsha Prodigy myself, about $125 from southwestwheel.com

joel</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is the same one I have & where I got mine. I like this controller better than the Drawtite Activator unit that I had. The Prodigy is just as popular IMO on the Ford Diesel forums.

The benefit of the Jordan is that it uses the actual travel of the brake pedal to determine how much braking to do. I actually purchased a Jordan & didn't like the idea of attaching the cable to the brake pedal. I used to work in bicycle shops for years. The cable & housing seem to be of less than stellar quality. Seems like something that could cause problems down the road.

 

I have the Reese Brakeman Compact unit with two adjustments and the squeeze bar. I think it was $69 from Schucks.

 

I'm using the Tekonsha Voyager. It's pretty basic but I have never needed anything more. Easy adjustment.

 

I'm using the Draw Tite and it does take some getting used to-but very effective.

 

I have the Tekonsha Voyager. I wish I had the Prodigy!

Scott

 

I've got the Prodigy and love it. It works great.

 

tekonsha Voyager here; no problems, other than you have to change the gain if you are pulling a heavy trailer on the highway at high speeds; then come into town where you are starting and stopping alot at low speeds....

i am kinda an "oldster" here on this board; anyone remember the old old old brake controlers of yore that worked off the actual hydraulic brake lines?? those kicked ***; had one on our 73 ford f250 farm truck... with those types, you actually had a read on how hard the driver was pressing on the brake pedal; and therefore how much current got applied to the trailer in question....

haven't seen one of those in years and years... my guess is that they were deemed a safety concern (cutting/tapping into existing high pressure brake lines) and have been mandated into extinction....

 

Thanks all .. The Tekonsha Voyager is looking good to me. I didn't realize these things were accelerometers that had to calibrated, etc. I figured I would just hook it up and toss it into the glove box when I was towing. Doh. I guess I got a lot to learn.

 

if by "calibrated" you mean adjusted then yeah, you need to make some adjustment to it for the first few stops with your trailer. But that's it. At least with the Prodigy. For instance, it was set to brake a lot less when I went to pick up the car in Atlanta than when I came back with the car on the trailer! But with the Prodigy, it's just a thumbwheel adjustment that you can make on the fly. No biggie.

hth.

 

The Tekonsha Prodigy is they way to go. I have one and love it.

 

I've had both the Tekonsha Voyager and the Prodigy. The Prodigy is far better.

Gary
Sheehan Motor Racing
http://www.teamSMR.com