How do you adjust your Brake Controler

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by joshbw

I see your point but the prodigy manual states to set your controller to the point where your brakes are about to lock up. At 12 my brakes will not lock so how is this too aggressive? This is just my take and I'm not a brake expert.

If its wet the controller setting most definitely reduces to about 8.

Ok, you've got me there. Honestly, I think we're short on perfect answers, and you are always the only "brake expert" available for your own tow vehicle. At 12 the trailer is doing too much of the ordinary braking (rough ride in town, hard on the trailer brakes, possibly fade or even failure inducing on long downhill grades). At 8 the trailer's contribution in a panic stop is capped at some fraction of the trailer's full braking capacity.

The practice of using different settings in different conditions is not a bad idea as long as you can remember to make the changes in time for you to need them. High settings have the trailer doing more of the braking. This can be a good thing in panic stops on dry pavement, and possibly too much of a good thing the rest of the time.

PopBeavers once posted that he never routinely applies the brakes for more than 10 seconds at a time. While this could cause some consternation behind you, I think it helps control heat in the brakes on long downhill stretches.

We're in the process of buying a "new to us" Chevy Avalanche. Is the Prodigy brake controller the best way to go or is there a different controller that works better with a pickup on a Tahoe frame?

Judy
2010 Trailmini
2007 Buick Rendezvous

Let's see, 12 at highway speeds, maybe 6 at low speeds around town, maybe 8 when braking downhill and perhaps in the rain?

There's gotta be a better way ...

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by brulaz

No boost here either. IIRC the manual recommended boost only for heavier trailers.

And what Mr. Adventure says is so true. "Theoretically" the trailer brakes should stop the trailer. That's the assumption behind my Tacoma's 6500# tow capacity. And unfortunately, if that's not the case I cannot necessarily rely on my TV's brakes because it's GVW is pretty well maxed out (>= GVWR).

So you just have to be really paranoid about your trailer brakes. Make sure *both* are working and adjusted properly.

There may also be better controllers out there than the prodigy, but I don't know which. In particular, I would like one that measures current so you can tell if both brakes are working. And one with better or adjustable brake timing/synchronization. Currently at high settings (>7), the trailer brakes come on much sooner and harder than the truck brakes, making for very jerky action at low speeds.

Your manufacturer thought about the possibilities of full and partial trailer brake performance and failures as part of rating the vehicle for towing. The question is "How carefully did they think about it?"

Your ideas about better brake controllers are good. I'd love to see electronic connections from the anti-lock system in the tow vehicle to the trailer brakes, but then I'd also like to see the economy recovering faster and the S&P 500 up about 25%. The Prodigy is a whole lot better than what we used to have, and we'll see further improvements someday.

According to how they do things in Oregon, per the attached, you stop in 1/3 less distance if you drive 60 instead of 70 (go to the end for the tables, skipping to the MPH ones, past the tables with their quaint practice for measuring speed in meters per second and stopping distances in feet).

[rickst29]

Originally Posted by Mr. Adventure

I'm pointing out the weaknesses in trailer brakes and controllers as a reason for caution while towing....

Great post! And we're in total agreement.
On another point raised above: In a lengthy downhill stretch, most of the road will be straight. Engine braking and Tow-Vehicle braking have the same result at the Trailer hitch-- a slightly "risky" push back, into the Trailer. But engine braking via downshift preserves the TV brakes, so I prefer to do that first.

This all leads to a question: There's a new prodigy model, in the last year so. Does it offer better "tuning" of moderate versus extremely firm braking? I've got the "Trailer brakes too strong at light brake pressure" issue too, and I was wondering if anyone has experience with both generations of of Prodigy (V2 versus V3).

[T and C]

Originally Posted by Keith Wire

Hi all,

In another thread I posed the question "How do you properly adjust the Brake Controller?"

I have a Prodigy controller and here are the steps from the Prodigy manual:



As I stated in the other thread it is near impossible to lock the wheels on the TM.

Rick said:

Now I am not new to driving or pulling trailers, but I find it hard to know when I have the power set correctly on the Prodigy Controller.

So the question is, how do you adjust your controller? Is there a proven way, or do we all just have to guess; then hope and pray we have it right?

Thanks, Keith

Folks,

I think I might have hit on the answer as to why the Prodigy controller does not cause the brakes to lock up while adjusting the level. I just bought a new truck. While reading the owner's manual section about adjusting the brake control, I spotted this:

"If towing a heavier trailer, trailer wheel lockup may not be attainable even with the maximum gain setting of 10." This is referring to the Ford controller specifically, but....

I began thinking about the reason for this. The Prodigy directions are GENERAL, intended to fit most travel trailers, not TM's specifically. Most travel trailers have TWO axles. The TM has one. Since most TM's weigh in, loaded, at 4-5000 pounds, that means that the ONE axle on the trailer manor is carrying all the weight! So, the force downward on each tire is DOUBLE that of a two axle trailer!

That means that the little patch where the rubber meets the road on the bottom of the tire is being pushed down, by the weight of the trailer, with the force that you would find on a tire of an 8-10,000 pound trailer that has two axles. This would result in having MAJOR traction on our two tire trailers. No wonder they won't lock up.

Seems to me that this also helps to explain the blowout problem so many have experienced.

Does this make sense to the rest of you? If I have erred in my thinking, please correct me.

Tom

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by T and C

Folks,

I think I might have hit on the answer as to why the Prodigy controller does not cause the brakes to lock up while adjusting the level. I just bought a new truck. While reading the owner's manual section about adjusting the brake control, I spotted this:

"If towing a heavier trailer, trailer wheel lockup may not be attainable even with the maximum gain setting of 10." This is referring to the Ford controller specifically, but....

I began thinking about the reason for this. The Prodigy directions are GENERAL, intended to fit most travel trailers, not TM's specifically. Most travel trailers have TWO axles. The TM has one. Since most TM's weigh in, loaded, at 4-5000 pounds, that means that the ONE axle on the trailer manor is carrying all the weight! So, the force downward on each tire is DOUBLE that of a two axle trailer!

That means that the little patch where the rubber meets the road on the bottom of the tire is being pushed down, by the weight of the trailer, with the force that you would find on a tire of an 8-10,000 pound trailer that has two axles. This would result in having MAJOR traction on our two tire trailers. No wonder they won't lock up.

Seems to me that this also helps to explain the blowout problem so many have experienced.

Does this make sense to the rest of you? If I have erred in my thinking, please correct me.

Tom

Tom,
I agree that a heavier load on an axle makes lockup harder for that axle. However, I'm thinking that a manufacturer of a 3500# axle provides brakes for a 3500# axle, and similarly a 5000# axle has brakes for a 5000# axle, but maybe there are some diminishing returns over there at Dexter Axle, Inc. I like the story from earlier on this thread where adjusting the brakes made them work better so that lockups became possible. (This link shows the range of what Dexter Axle has: http://www.easternmarine.com/Electri...ke-Assemblies/)

Regardless, we really don't want lockups on trailers anyway. The fuzz in all these factors keeps saying to me that trailer brakes are only meant to be helpers that can do most of the trailer stopping, but never all of the trailer stopping. And I bet this idea wouldn't be a surprise to a truck driver. I have a friend with a lot of experience in the trucking business, but I never thought to ask him before. I'll let you know what I learn.

I believe the 14" tires are underperforming relative to their ratings, because that's where the vast majority of failures are happening. We have very few stories about 15" tire failures.

I have upgraded from my Valley Industries Odyssey controller (Prodigy knockoff) to the factory integrated brake controller.

It was only $30,000 dollars for the controller upgrade.

I like the feeling of the braking ability for both city streets and highways on boost level 7, but that does not translate into a prodigy number as far as I know. I determined boost 7 by trial and error and gut feel. A SWAG (Scientific Wild A.. Guess).

The newer truck automatically downshifts the 6 speed transmission when I apply the brakes long enough. So for long down grades I don't have to even think about manually down shifting. I think it does an excellent job of choosing the proper gear.

I had forgotten something I read in my truck owner's manual, so I looked it up again.

The Integrated Trailer Brake Control System is integrated with your vehicles brake, anti-lock brake and StabileTrak (if equipped) systems. In trailering conditions that use your vehicle's anti-lock or StabiliTrak systems to activate, power sent to the trailer's brakes will be automatically adjusted to minimize trailer wheel lock-up.

I think that what this means is that if I slam on the brakes, resulting in the ABS taking control and pulsing the brakes to just barely avoid skidding the truck wheels, then it also reduces the braking power to the trailer to at least attempt to avoid having the trailer skid.

I have not tested this feature. But it sounds interesting.

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

I think that what this means is that if I slam on the brakes, resulting in the ABS taking control and pulsing the brakes to just barely avoid skidding the truck wheels, then it also reduces the braking power to the trailer to at least attempt to avoid having the trailer skid.

I'm beginning to think your factory integrated brake controller is the way to go.

Not only for its ABS integration, but because you can run your controller on the same setting at slow speeds as highway speeds without all the lurching we Prodigy owners are complaining about (?). I bet your factory controller internally modifies its operation based on vehicle speed.

Sounds like a true set-and-forget solution.

Does it monitor current rather than voltage so it can tell if one of the trailer brakes is disconnected?