Brake Controllers

[gbaglo]

Boost isn't used when towing light weight trailers, according to the instructions that came with my P2. There is a chart indicating weights and levels.

[brroberts]

When thinking about brake controllers, I do find the P3 easier to get strong smooth braking than the Redarc which is either not as strong or more grabby.

[John in Santa Cruz]

the Curt brand controller that came in my older F250 has both a gain knob, AND 3 'levels' L1, L2, L3, which are for different weight class trailers, my Escape is L1, this impacts its braking curve. it seems to work quite well.

[Micheal K]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Boost isn't used when towing light weight trailers, according to the instructions that came with my P2. There is a chart indicating weights and levels.

You're right and my manual has the same info. My understanding of the boost setting though is that it determines the minimum (starting) amount of brake signal which will have the most impact in light braking situations. I did try using B1 with a reduced gain to see if it was more to my liking but ultimately turned it off and have the control pretty much set as recommended in the manual.

To be fair, I probably shouldn't have called boost a kludge, tekonsha is no doubt doing the best they can to dial in a decent control response with a minimum number of settings and most people seem to be pretty satisfied with the results.

[Brian B-P]

ABS is available - and even legally required in some cases - for heavy commercial trailers; the system can communicate with the truck.

Light trailers are generally built of the cheapest junk possible, but if you're much more willing to pay than most trailer buyers there are both ABS and brake-based sway control systems available; the anti-lock and sway control features operate independently of the tow vehicle.

[Brian B-P]

I think that Tekonsha's boost feature was created to compensate for the delay inherent in the tuning of response to deceleration required for the system to be stable. With a trailer which is heavy relative to the tow vehicle the delay is noticeable and the boost makes the system more responsive. The amount of momentary boost needs to be appropriate for the trailer, so there are multiple levels. With a light enough trailer relative to the tow vehicle the plain response without boost is okay.

With a trailer about 70% of the weight of the tow vehicle's curb weight, and an original style Prodigy controller, I find that I like the lowest level of boost on the highway but no boost (to avoid jerkiness) in stop-and-go conditions.

[Oldtimer]

Tend to disagree. Our Redarc brakes very smoothly no grabbing guess I got a good one.

[CharlesinGA]

The biggest issue with electric drum brakes is the wiring the trailer manufacturers provide. The wiring is usually undersized and the splices are poor. I'm willing to bet that most trailers are wired with 14 gauge wire to the brakes, when it should be 12 or even 10 gauge depending on the length of the run. Heavier wiring prevents losses of current and the brakes will be more effective.

Charles

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

Tend to disagree. Our Redarc brakes very smoothly no grabbing guess I got a good one.

Who or what are you disagreeing with? I searched the thread and didn't find anyone saying that the brakes grab with a Redarc controller.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by CharlesinGA

The biggest issue with electric drum brakes is the wiring the trailer manufacturers provide. The wiring is usually undersized and the splices are poor. I'm willing to bet that most trailers are wired with 14 gauge wire to the brakes, when it should be 12 or even 10 gauge depending on the length of the run. Heavier wiring prevents losses of current and the brakes will be more effective.s

Unless your controller gain is set to the maximum, reducing the voltage loss in the wiring will make no difference to braking performance - it just allows you to use a lower gain setting to get the same effect. It's common for people to use a gain setting only half way up, so they're very far from having braking limited by voltage loss (and resulting lower current for a given deceleration rate).

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I searched the thread and didn't find anyone saying that the brakes grab with a Redarc controller.

Post 22?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Post 22?

Oops... must have double-clicked the "next" button in my "Redarc" search!

I don't know what would make a controller "grabby" if a feature like Tekonsha's "boost" is not turned on. A poorly oriented acceleration sensor, perhaps?

Any controller can produce strong braking, but just adjusting the gain properly. If gain needs to be turned all the way up, there's something wrong with the brakes themselves.

[brroberts]

With the P3 I can stop shorter without locking the trailer brakes than I can with the Redarc. It locks the brakes sooner, and If I back off I lose the sopping power I want. I have tweaked the adjustment on the brakes, although they seemed pretty good. I’m parked now, but will see when I leave here for home.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I remember with my old Tekonsha Voyager, there were TWO adjustments, leveling and gain. I found that for the tacoma pulling the casita, it worked best if I set the level a bit more 'forward' than centered, this slightly delayed the braking response so they weren't so grabby.

the Curt that came in my F250 has no such adjustment, but just seems to work great regardless.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I remember with my old Tekonsha Voyager, there were TWO adjustments, leveling and gain. I found that for the tacoma pulling the casita, it worked best if I set the level a bit more 'forward' than centered, this slightly delayed the braking response so they weren't so grabby.

the Curt that came in my F250 has no such adjustment, but just seems to work great regardless.

Acceleration-based proportional controllers without a level adjustment (which means anything reasonably recent) typically have a two-axis accelerometer, so they don't need to be level - they can tell which way is up by themselves.

[Jack!]

One good bet is an OEM brake controller if one is available. The RAM OEM can be installed at any point on later models and integrates with the dash systems to display both braking data and a second screen to track trailer trip milage. It's very sweet setup.

[Me@42659]

I have a f150 and I went with a prodigy p2 works great but I wish I had gone with one from Ford much cleaner looking I also have a 2019 5.0 that were going to sell

[Doug2000]

I prefer the older brake controllers. Stay away from the newer Bluetooth and digital controllers.

I had a Curt Spectrum digital controller with the remote knob. It was unpredictable and I didn't trust it.

Many said the Tekonsha P3 is the best, and it's on sale here.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Bra...sha/90195.html