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Originally Posted by PopBeavers
This topic (brake controllers) is a little old to make me comfortable.
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First, I'll provide a short treatise on "Brake Controllers 101", then I'll answer your specific questions...
Brake Controllers 101
The very first thing to understand is that virtually all brake controllers (and hitches) on the market are now made by the same parent company and are sold under a variety of brand names....specifically Tekonsha and Draw-tite are the same company (and that also includes Reese, Hidden Hitch, SurePull, Bulldog, Wesbar, Fulton). Furthermore, there is now a great deal of model overlap (with different model names) amongst these various companies. For instance, the Draw-tite
Intella-Stop Ultra controller is absolutely identical to the Tekonsha
Prodigy. That having been said, the Drawtite and Reese brands have been mostly associated with lower cost, truly dangerous time-delay controllers. Since the brands (and models) are mostly interchangeable, that means you really need to focus on the controller's technology....
The second thing to understand is there are 4 different kinds of controller technology and there are some pretty huge differences in controller effectiveness and ease-of-use between them. However, with 1 exception there is not much over a $80 difference in "street" price amongst these types. While reading this, always hold in the front of your mind that the ideal brake controller causes the level of trailer braking to be 100% proportional to the level of tow vehicle braking. 3 of the 4 controller technologies provide trailer braking proportional to tow vehicle braking level; one (time-delay) provides braking proportional to the amount of time (not level) that the tow vehicle brakes are activated.
Getting into the specifics of the various types:
TIme Delay Uses a very simple time-based "ramping" circuit that provides a voltage/current to the trailer brakes that's proportional to how
long the tow vehicle brake pedal is depressed. Has a "gain" control that adjusts how great the current will be when fully ramped up; another control determines how fast the current ramps up. Advantatge: lowest cost. Disadvantages: Many. I consider time-delay controllers to be truly dangerous because:
- In a panic stop (particularly at highway speeds), the controller will not provide any effective level of trailer braking for several seconds (until the current ramps up) and therefore all braking has to be done by the tow vehicle during the first few hundred feet of stopping. This is an extremely dangerous characteristic...owners of time delay controllers try to compensate for this defect by adjusting their gain and ramp speed controls very high when on the highway.
- In slow traffic (city driving) and other circumstances where steady but light brake pedal usage is appropriate, a time-delay controller will gradually bring the trailer brakes to nearly lockup state after a few seconds of gradual braking. So owners of time-delay controllers have to adjust the gain and ramping speed way down when they're in situations needing steady but light braking.
- The time delay controller snaps the trailer brakes from full on to completely off as soon as the brake pedal releases...this causes a lot of banging and lurching from trailer into tow vehicle.
The bottom line is a time-delay controller requires almost constant adjustment...a safety factor in and of itself (no wonder dealers of these point out the "ease of adjustment while driving") and seldomly if ever provide a level of trailer braking that's truly appropriate to the level of tow vehicle braking. Most controllers sold under the Draw Tite and Reese brand names are of this type.
AVOID TIME DELAY CONTROLLERS.
Deceleration or "Inertia" based There are actually two kinds of deceleration sensing controllers...those that use deflection of a mechanical pendulum (where the "inertia" name comes from) and those that use multiple solid state deceleration sensors.
- While far, far better than any time-based controller, the pendulum controllers have a weakness...they're affected by gravity as well as by vehicle deceleration. That means they have a fairly narrow range of mounting angles (even with the built in adjustment mechanism that places the pendulum vertically when stopped) and, in hilly/mountainous terrain, they provide too much braking on descents and not enough braking on ascents. For towing on nearly flat terrain, a pendulum based controller will work very well. The Tekonsha Voyager controller is a representative pendulum based controller.
- The solid state deceleration sensor types use at least two sensors on different axis and various comparator circuits to discriminate between the force of gravity and the force of actual vehicle deceleration. Solid state sensor controllers therefore are not affected by gravity and provide trailer braking that's truly proportional to tow vehicle deceleration even on steep mountain grades. The prime (and first) of this kind is the highly rated Tekonsha Prodigy. Since a solid state sensor based controller is essentially self-adjusting for both deceleration and gravity, they're truly a set-and-forget controller that needs no adjustment while driving. The only disadvantage is the extra circuitry makes them a bit more expensive.
Brake Pedal movement based. The only widely sold model of this type is the
Jordan Ultima. It has a mechanical cable that attaches to the brake pedal...the more the pedal is moved, the more braking the trailer gets. Advantage: the display shows actual current going to the trailer, not just the voltage on the brake wire. Disadvantage: (1) slightly more difficult to install; (2) vehicles that non-linear brake movement/brake pressure will not get proportional braking, (3) deceleration using a combination of wheel braking and engine braking (transmission in lower gear) will cause insufficient trailer brake activation. The Jordan controller is priced about the same as the Prodigy.
Brake fluid pressure based The only one currently being advertised is
from MasterBrake. It uses a solid state pressure transducer in the output line of the brake master cylinder and, in theory, should provide the most proportional trailer braking. However, it will provide too-little trailer braking if the driver is using a combination of transmission/engine and wheel braking; it may also provide too little trailer braking if the tow vehicle has some kind of pressure booster as is used in "panic braking enhancement" systems. Much pricier than the other systems too...the controller runs about $239 and requires a harness kit (an additional $110).
End of lesson.
Now for your questions:
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Is the Prodigy by Tekonsha still the electric trailer brake controller of choice?
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Yes...because it provides truly proportional braking. The Draw-tite Intella-Stop Ultra is 100% identical to the Prodigy. Stay away from virtually all other Draw Tite models, particulary any that are time-based.
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Dealer Service Rep says he prefers the Draw Tite (if I got that right) with the digital readout. That is what they have on all of their TV's. Claims it is easier to adjust while driving. It appears to me from reading various posts and forums that the Prodigy is better because it doesn't need to be adjusted while driving.
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Absolutely avoid any controller that is claimed to be "easier to adjust while driving". That's a sure sign of a time-based controller that
must be adjusted while driving
. Solid state sensor controllers truly do not need to be adjusted since they have circuits that automatically provide proportional braking.
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I live in San Jose, CA. Driving in the Sierras will be common. Rockies on occasion. Definitely not limited to flat ground.
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Even more reason to get a solid state based controller instead of a traditional pendulum based controller that will be affected by steep grades.
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Price is not an issue. Compared to what I have just spent this month on the TV and the TM, 100 bucks is cheap. RVWhoesalers.com is still showing it under 100 bucks. Are they a good choice for supplier?
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Do a search...seems to me several people have ordered from them.
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I have some sort of brake controller wiring harness that came with the truck. Plug at one end, pigtails at the other. Will I need to buy a controller specific wiring harness or do I already have what I need?
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If the truck came with a universal controller wiring harness that means the vehicle itself is prewired and that in turn means hooking up the controller is a very easy DIY job. You can use the provided harness and solder its wires to the wires in the universal harness that comes in the Prodigy box. Or you could spend another $10 to $15 and buy a GMC/Chevy specific Prodigy harness that plugs into the Prodigy on one end and the truck on the other end with no soldering needed. Doing the soldering between the wiring of the two universal harnesses isn't hard if you have some soldering skills and use electrical insulation (good quality electrical tape, shrink wrap insulator, or paint on insulator).
Re: Brake Controllers
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