Brake controller

[Idlespeedonly]

Well I finally decided it was time to give up on the surge brakes. I have everything swapped over to electric drums now.
I picked up a time delay controller, which I like way better than the old style. It works fairly well.
But I have been reading up on the proportional style also. I think I might like this one even better.
Any disadvantages to this one?

 

[gm280]

Idles, I worked on my neighbor's electric brakes on one of his trailers. He has only one lung due to cancer and can't do much of anything now. So I get to do the maintenance on most everything he has. I really don't mine to help him and the family out though. It was obvious the OP didn't do any maintenance to the trailer before my neighbor purchased it. The electric brakes were totally rusted absolutely useless. I had to totally disassembly them and wire bush everything back to solid metal then do some painting to help keep the rust at bay. It took a lot of effort and some new parts as well. So just keep your electric brakes in good condition and they should work well for your needs. But don't forget about them either. A good controller would make them work amazing too. But like everything else, it take effort to keep them working.

 

[bruceb58]

I will actually try to answer your question. I use a Tekonsha Prodigy P3 on my trailer with electric over hydraulic. I wouldn't even consider a time delay type brake controller. Slam on the brakes fast for an emergency stop and I want my brakes to work instantly. Going to a slow stop, I don't want my trailer brakes going on harder than they need to be. No brainer in my opinion. Also, make sure you get one that doesn't have to be mounted level. The one I have can be mounted in any position.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Hands down get a proportional controller.... Time delay only works correctly for a normal stop from a certain speed.....

Change the speed or brake lighter or harder than 'normal' and it is wrong.

If you actually like the timed controller you will LOVE the proportional one...

The difference is like going from Fred Flintstone's rockmobile to a new Cadillac.

 

[Idlespeedonly]

Thanks.
I will look into these.

 

[oldjeep]

Time delay sucks. P3 or p4 are the best controllers you can get.

 

[bruceb58]

Time delay sucks. P3 or p4 are the best controllers you can get.

Out of curiosity, what is a P4?

 

[oldjeep]

Out of curiosity, what is a P4?

A mistake . Meant p2 and p3

 

[JASinIL2006]

Tekonsha P3. Nice controller! Works great with my fully electric drum brakes.

 

[bruceb58]

A mistake . Meant p2 and p3

I used to have a P2 and sold it to buy a P3 since the P3 has an electric/hydraulic mode. Both are good.

 

[redneck joe]

question - what is the difference (never heard of this thought they all worked the same) and how would one tell what is currently in truck?

 

[Idlespeedonly]

Proportional brake controllers use a motion-sensing device to detect how fast the tow vehicle is stopping. The moment the driver applies the brakes, the brake controller applies the same amount of braking power to the trailer's brakes -- if the truck is stopping quickly, the trailer will stop quickly; if the truck stops slowly, the trailer will stop slowly. In a situation that requires heavy braking, for instance, a proportional brake controller will cause the trailer to stop at exactly the same time as the truck does. This type of brake controller provides the smoothest braking, and because both systems are doing the same amount of work, it reduces the amount of wear on each vehicle's braking system.
The above was copied and pasted from howstuffworks.com
They explain it better than I could.

 

[redneck joe]

Perfect. Went and looked at mine - googled it and it is timed. Thanks for finding me a way to spend more money.

 

[bassman284]

I'm going to throw a vote in for the Tekonsha Primus IQ. I got one on my Jeep last year to pull a rented travel trailer. I got to make a couple of stops hard enough to test the proportional feature and it worked great. Won't work with electric over hydraulic, though.

I did have one bit of irritation with it, though. My Jeep was supposed to be prewired for electric brakes but apparently somebody at the assembly plant decided not to do his job that day. Cost me an extra 130 bucks to get it wired.

 

[bruceb58]

Won't work with electric over hydraulic, though.

A lot of controllers, especially the one built into the trucks, have a problem with electric/hydraulic because the controller can't tell there is a connection. There are adapters you can put on your trailer that supply a fake load to get around that. Both the Tekonsha P2 and P3 don't need that load with the electric/hydraulic unit that I use(Titan).

 

[redneck joe]

Probably a stupid question but that never seems to stop me - electric over hydraulic is a hydraulic system activated by electricity?

 

[Blind Date]

I'll be honest that I didn't realize they sold anything but the proportional controllers these days. Why would you go any other way? After renting a pull behind RV for a weekend and experiencing electric brakes I converted the tandem under my SeaRay from surge to electric drum.. Some the best money i've ever spent. Wow what a difference!

My brake controller is a Tekonsha, got it off etrailer. Works great & would recommend.

 

[bruceb58]

Probably a stupid question but that never seems to stop me - electric over hydraulic is a hydraulic system activated by electricity?

Yep, its a hydraulic pump that operates my brakes.
http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-...9AIhoCcsfw_wcB

I have Kodiak disc brakes. Personally, I wouldn't have drum brakes ever again on a trailer be it electric or hydraulic

 

[redneck joe]

Well I put on drum but going from none to four of them I'm pretty happy with what I have, but a few bucks to change the controller - especially if it can be plug and play - is in the future. It just seems to make sense to have the proportional.

 

[Blind Date]

You can't beat the simplicity of electric drum brakes. I have the Dexter never-adjust and can replace the whole wheel assembly minus the drum for under $50. 4 bolts, 2 wires, I'm done. No calipers or actuators to fail and no messy brake fluid to deal with and bleed. In MN they give me all the braking power I need and then some. I'll never go back to a brake system on my trailer with fluid.