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Old 08-25-2015, 12:33 AM   #21
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Trailers do have high level stop lamps these days, and I doubt there were torsion suspensions 50 years ago.
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Old 08-25-2015, 06:40 AM   #22
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Thanks for the replies. It's amazing how much more I know now than a week ago! We are going with the RF primarily bc we do not have the harness in our Audi.

All the information was very helpful....
thanks again,
Christie
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Old 08-25-2015, 01:17 PM   #23
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When I was looking into having a brake controller installed, I found that my FJ was not pre-wired to accept a brake controller, and thus, the installation was more complex ($$) than for most vehicles. Thus, I went with the Prodigy RF, which required minimal pre-wiring to make it work. And I got a pretty good deal on the controller also (about $300 Cdn delivered) which really helped keep the overall costs down.

If you do go with the Prodigy RF controller, make sure that your 7-pin outlet on your tow vehicle has a 12V power wire running from your battery (and best if it provides power to the trailer only when the key is in your tow vehicle ignition and switched on). The controller will not pair with the tow vehicle and will not work properly without the tow vehicle battery supplying power.

Once installed and paired, you should notice no difference between how the wireless controller functions relative to a wired controller.
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Old 08-25-2015, 10:50 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by tractors1 View Post
Trailers do have high level stop lamps these days, and I doubt there were torsion suspensions 50 years ago.
Very few trailers have high-level stop lamps - generally Escapes don't. The lamp in the middle at the top is a wide-vehicle identification group (three light dots in one housing), not normally connected to the stop/turn circuits; the ones on each side just repeat the tail (and combined stop/turn?) functions of the lower lamps. Escapes narrow enough to not need wide-vehicle lighting (which is now just the 17 Foot) don't have any light in the middle at all (unless that's changed very recently). Anyway, it is the basic chassis that is so stagnant in most cases, rather than the lighting.

Airstream started using rubber "torsion" suspensions in the 1960's; they were made by Henschen then, but were the same design now sold by Dexter and others. That is why I picked 50 years ago as the mark for comparison. Of course it has only been 40 years since they became common in multiple brands of small trailers.

I'm old enough that stuff which happened a half-century ago is in my lifetime, but young enough to still have trouble accepting that! "50 years ago" sounds impossibly old for technology which was still current when I first heard about it... but it really has been that long. I expect that some day I'll be in a discussion about how acceleration-proportional electronic controllers for electric brakes have become long obsolete.

Perhaps we should be thankful that sophisticated brake controllers are available, given the generally low standards in the trailer world. I think the key is that they are add-ons, which are always easier to get into the market than more fundamental changes.
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Old 08-25-2015, 10:54 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by ice-breaker View Post
If you do go with the Prodigy RF controller, make sure that your 7-pin outlet on your tow vehicle has a 12V power wire running from your battery (and best if it provides power to the trailer only when the key is in your tow vehicle ignition and switched on). The controller will not pair with the tow vehicle and will not work properly without the tow vehicle battery supplying power.
Right... the Prodigy RF uses the battery on the trailer only for the breakaway function - the power/charge line of the 7-pin connection needs to provide all the power needed for normal braking, which is up to 12 amps for full application of brakes on tandem axles.
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Old 08-26-2015, 07:01 AM   #26
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Brian, you make an important point that travelers towing and Escape should note. Never tow with the master power switch turned off inside the trailer, the breakaway is now disabled!
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Old 08-26-2015, 07:41 AM   #27
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Originally Posted by fudge_brownie View Post
Brian, you make an important point that travelers towing and Escape should note. Never tow with the master power switch turned off inside the trailer, the breakaway is now disabled!
? This comment seems confusing. It appears to be referring to ANY brake controller.
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Old 08-26-2015, 07:45 AM   #28
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Originally Posted by tractors1 View Post
I have too much experience with remote RF devices from military service to ever trust one to keep me/us safe. How does one know when the communication link between transmitter and receiver is lost, and then how do you restore the link?
My thought exactly. We have wireless speakers at home and have dropped speakers at times. I'll wait till the technology matures b4 putting it on the tug.
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Old 08-26-2015, 08:26 AM   #29
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To clarify, the breakaway switch, located on the tongue of your trailer is an electrical device. For the uninitiated the breakaway is the device that has the wire cable running from the trailer to the tow vehicle. Mine happens to be interwoven through one of the safety chains.

This breakaway needs power to apply the brakes in case of a separation of the tow vehicle and trailer, it draws the power for doing this from the house batteries of the trailer. It makes sense to use this rather than the tow vehicle battery, since at separation that power would be lost. If a vehicle were to become separated, the breakaway will apply all brakes to the trailer, bringing it to a halt rather than allow it to wander down the highway. When you cut power to the appliances inside your trailer using the Escape installed master power switch (I understand some ages and models of Escape's did not receive these switches) or if you have the house battery disconnected while towing, the breakaway capability of your trailer is disabled.
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Old 08-26-2015, 08:35 AM   #30
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Hmmm.... This is the first we've heard of this.

Thanks Paul.
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Old 08-26-2015, 01:43 PM   #31
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Perhaps starting a new thread titled "Battery Disconnect Switch and Travel" with post #25
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Old 08-26-2015, 10:53 PM   #32
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Originally Posted by fudge_brownie View Post
Never tow with the master power switch turned off inside the trailer, the breakaway is now disabled!
Quote:
Originally Posted by LarryandLiz View Post
? This comment seems confusing. It appears to be referring to ANY brake controller.
Yes, it is equally valid with any brake controller.
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