trailer brake controller

[woodslinger]

I have discovered lately that I am severely overloading my trailer on a regular basis and need to upgrade. I am looking at around 16 ft trailers with dual axles and electric brakes. Their gvw's go beyond what my 4runner can pull (trailer I am looking at is 7000lb, truck maxes out at 5000), but with brakes it will handle my current loadings as I am not close to that max load (my current trailer is only rated for 1500lbs). I just started looking up controllers as I just have a 4 pin connector so I need to install a controller and 7 pin connector before I can even bring a new (to me) trailer home, and I was hoping some experienced insight will save me some time. It seems that there are simple controllers that are around $50 and less, and fancy inertia based ones that are up to $200. I'm sure there is more to it than that, but time is short with my 2 year old climbing on me while I am typing this. What type of brakes and controllers are you guys using? What features are helpful? Any issues that are annoying and avoidable? The price doesn't bother me as they are only a few hundred at the high end, I just want to get a better idea of what I need.
Thanks in advance for the help / advice.

 

[Monkeywithasaw]

a prodigy 2 or 3 up to three axle can be controlled as far as a trailer goes find a duel axle trailer and upgrade the springs too 2500lbs each and brakes on both

 

[Pelorus]

Tekonsha Prodigy has a really good reputation.
I've owned a couple of cheaper Reese ones. They get the job done I guess.

 

[sotc]

I agree with the prodigy but I'd rather see you install it in a proper rig

 

[candoarms]

Woodslinger,

E-Trailer is a great place to research these things. Great write-ups on brake controllers and the differences between the various systems used.

As far as electric brakes go, the inertia based systems are superior in every aspect. No matter how hard you apply your truck brakes, the trailer brakes will work in unison. Slight braking pressure in the truck = slight braking pressure on the trailer wheels. Heavy braking in the truck = heavy braking on the trailer. It's all done by computer. No more manual settings, and no more guessing.

I have a reactive hitch on my cargo trailer. It's a hydraulic braking system that works by compressing the sliding reactive trailer tongue. The more braking done in the truck, the harder the trailer compresses the hydraulic piston in the reactive, sliding tongue on the trailer.....and the more force is applied to the hydraulic trailer brakes. I like my hydraulic brakes, as they work equally well with any tow vehicle. There are no plugs or wires involved. Any vehicle can hook up and go without worrying about whether the plugs are the same, the wiring is good, etc.

As others have stated here, having the proper towing rig is far more important. Brakes won't help much if the tow vehicle is too light.

Joel

 

[woodslinger]

I absolutely agree on the proper rig, which mine is not, I just cannot swing upgrading the truck and the trailer at the same time. I am not looking to start loading MORE into the trailer, just make the loads I am currently hauling safer untill I can replace the truck with one from the 1/2 to 1 ton range. I am going to call the local trailer dealer and see if my current trailer can be upgraded to haul safely, which would allow the truck replacement to come sooner.

 

[Raj]

Probably much the same for you guys, but up here once you go over (I think if memory serves correctly) 4400Kg combined weight capacity then you'd need commercial plates for both vehicle and trailer, safeties each, every year. That puts a big dent into the bottom line for small operations. Advice I was given was that over 4400Kg then you are in the "trucking industry, and you don't wanna be in the trucking industry....".

That's the cost of doing business. I like to keep things small, but I guess that's why I'm poor

 

[sotc]

My 14k dump trailer behind my 3/4 ton dodge didn't require commercial, behind my f550 it requires class A.

 

[woodslinger]

I have ample room to play before needing a cdl, I'm not worried about that yet. I probably will have to cross that bridge at some point, but not yet

 

[flushcut]

I agree with the prodigy but I'd rather see you install it in a proper rig

Agreed! I run Prodigy have for the last nine years, same controller.

Chris get a bigger truck first and foremost. You may be able to pull it but a bigger trailer now over loaded is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Willie, why a class A with a 550? Is it 26,001+?

 

[sotc]

If the combination is over that number AND the trailer is 10,001 or more, a CDL is required. The 10,001 or more also requires Class A rather than B.

 

[woodslinger]

I talked to a local trailer dealer today and I am taking my trailer to him tomorrow to see what the weak points are (axle, springs, frame, etc) to see if I can up the gvw on my trailer, which would keep the weight lower and make my current setup safer. If that will not work I will probably buy anther trailer from him same size as mine (6.5 x 12, single axle) that is rated for 3000 lbs, and add brakes to it. While I will still be limited by the trailer's gvw in some cases, its will make me safer for now without overloading the truck even more by having a much heavier trailer (such as the 1500lb unladen tandem axle I was looking at). That should keep things safer until I can afford a bigger truck.

 

[woodslinger]

Spoke to the trailer dealer today, he looked my trailer over and felt it was fine for 3000 lbs. So next week I'm installing brakes and a brake controller. That should make things quite a bit safer until a full size truck finds its way to my driveway. I'm leaning toward the P3 since it will move with me to the next truck. Thank you guys for your advice and comments.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Yes thanks for the info guys. It has annoyed me how hard my chipper brakes would come on at times and I have tried to adjust my controler to no avail. Ordered the P3 today, sounds like it will fix my ills.

 

[candoarms]

After you fellas get your new controllers installed, please revisit this thread to provide some feedback on the difference you see with it. Thanks.

Joel

 

[Merle Nelson]

Ok.

 

[woodslinger]

will do

 

[sotc]

I got feed back, I just bought probably my 6th or eighth prodigy controller. They are great

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

I am curious about the installation process.

 

[sotc]

Cut, strip, crimp.... Mount hanger
Or on newer variety rigs, but the harness adapter

 

[woodslinger]

I have brakes on the trailer, controller in the truck, and it mostly works.

The brakes on the trailer were easy peasy. The axle had the mounting plates so it was just a matter of removing the hub and wheel bearings, bolting the plate on with the shoes on it, greasing the new bearings and putting the one piece drum/hub on. The wiring for the brakes themselves is really simple, they are non directional as far as the polarity goes. Figuring out the wiring up front took a little longer with the breakaway box, but it came with a diagram that made it easy enough. What tripped me up was the 7 way plug, standard 7 way and RV 7 way are different colors. The physical location of each function in the plug is the same, but mine had the colors labelled for the rv setup so that took some head scratching but I finally figured it out.

The controller gets a hot straight from the battery through an automatic resetting circuit breaker, ground, a signal from the brake light switch, and the outfeed to the trailer which has to run to the back of the truck. We spliced a switched 12v from the rear power outlet to charge the breakaway battery, ran the blue wire for the brakes to the back and wired in the 7 way plug.

I got the prodigy P2 and I like it so far, but it doesn't fully work yet. I found that I had to adjust the brake shoes on the trailer to get them more even, and it would not lock them up like the directions said it should till I drove around for a while and "burned them in" a little. After that it still didn't seem to work without the manual lever, turns out my splice for the brake signal didn't take. It must have been too small of a wire for the splice in connector I used ( the ones with the metal plate that punches through the insulation). So after I redo that I will have more feedback on how well it works, but at least I have brakes for now, I just have to operate them manually.