which brake controller to use?

 

oh no...

Prodigy
BrakeSmart
Jordan

Take your pick...

*ducking for the war which will surely ensue*

 

Prodigy with out a dought,the best one I've had yet.

 

BrakeSmart is probably number one right now.
Jordan is number two.
Prodigy is a distant third.

This is based on reports from those who have used them all. I have used Prodigy and Jordan and the Jordan is way above the Prodigy. My Prodigy is in the storage compartment as a backup. Sure like what I hear about the BrakeSmart though. Man, I don't want to spend more money on that baby - - NO NO NO.

 

I use Tekonsha and I pull a 30 foot GN loaded to 26000 pounds some times. No problems at all and reasonably priced.

 

Your handle indicates you haul heavy. My personal feeling since hauling heavy is that the electronic brake controllers should be outlawed. Hows that for starting a war.

You want to be safe and have control on your brakes, you have to have a controller that links mechanically to the truck brake system. Jordan does that, brakesmart does that. I am well satisfied with the Jordan.

The Prodigy sets on a shelf in the basement. If you haul heavy and have to change the setting often the little plastic control on the Prodegy will break off inside. Left me stuck with no trailer brakes. Sure they will warranty the thing, but that does not help in the boondocks at 2:00 AM.

With the Jordan, hit the brakes in a panic situation, the brakes come on... period. No boost, no cut back on the brakes, never have to use the manual control down a hill. Go down a long hill, a little pressure on the brake pedal drags the brakes on the trailer.

The Brakesmart may be better, don't know, but the Jordan does what it is supposed to. Mine has well over 200,000 miles on it, never been unhooked, never gave a problem. I might add, Jordan has a great service policy, you have a problem, they will take care of you. They rank right up there with Peter of Southbend, and Rod and Scotty.

 

How does the Jordan link up mechanically? I agree electric trailer brakes ought to be outlawed.

 

Barry the Jordan has a cable that attaches to the brake pedal and mechanically operated the electric brake control. I keep mine set so that the trailer brakes come on just before the truck brakes so I can drag them on a hill without killing the truck brakes.

Just like on a big truck where you would pull a little trolly brake pressure on the trailer in the same condition. Works real well.

 

On my tandem dual GN at low speeds you can't really do anything to keep it from locking up the brakes on at least one axle empty. For piece of mind hauling heavy there is nothing better than an ebrake. HID I'm sure you've traveled Mount eagle mt. I used to load in Mcminnville and hit 24 to Atlanta now heading down grossing 30000lbs I would get in the right lane in 3rd gear with the e-brake on at about 2500 rpm or so 35mph and hit the brakes about 6 or 7 times. I'm sure you've been up or down Dunlap mt. First trip hauling trees I headed over just truck and trailer brakes whoaa! Everything was smoking when I got to the bottom. At least on mount eagle mt. if everything gives up you've got a chance it's pretty straight?

 

I just read another post somewhere else in the forums about a guy going down 6% grades with a triple axel and combined weight of 19,000 and setting his brakes on fire. I think his triple was heavier than he thought. Anyone here towing at or above max on grades that have had serious brake issues??

 

Brake issues are simple... If you lose it going down a hill it is driver error. The driver is supposed to know what his rig is capable of and drive it safely. Smoking brakes are because the driver used them too heavy, was going too fast for the equipment he has.

If you smoke the brakes it is not because the brakes are too weak, it is because the driver did not drive down the hill safely. The driver is supposed to know how to drive his vehicle. If he cannot, then he needs to get a heavier vehicle or take some driving lessons from someone that knows how to come down a hill.

Your brake capacity is what you have for brakes when coming down the hill. If you can't handle it, don't drive it. IF you don't know how, better learn fast.

Have I smoked brakes, yep, part of the learning process that gives you respect for the weight that you are carrying. More braking capacity, you can go faster, weak brakes you go slower, and let the truck do the work, not the brakes.

You can only tear it up on hills that you know well. Like one local hill, the truck will get up to 65 fully loaded if I hit it at less than 55 on top. So I run 60 down it in direct, at 65 drag a little brakes on it. On Cabbage or one of the other long grades you don't get fancy, keep it down in control using no brakes on the way down. Generally if you don't know the hill, you treat it as a big one till you find out better. Stay alive.

Other than a minor correction, if you have to use brakes going down a hill, you are going too fast. If you are in first and it won't hold, get a truck that will, you are asking to kill yourself.

 

I think most of the concern is from those of us with the newer automatics that have no exhaust brakes available. many tow heavy and the post in question talked about a combined weight of 19,000 but I don't think he had weighed his triple axle and it was heavier than he thought. Locally we have a couple passes that have grades up to 7% and are 7-8 miles long so we can really test the brakes....

 

I got a my Sure-Pull controller from Summit Racing and it has worked great for the last 2 years. I don't tow too often like some of you guys and my trailer has a GVW of 10,000lb. I have, on occasion, loaded it a bit heavy and the controller worked fine. There are a couple of hills around here but no mountains to speak of. If I was in the mountains I may have gotten one of the more pricey units....

 

What I posted about going down hills covers everything from a motorcycle pulling a trailer to an 18 wheeler. If you can't keep it slowed down with the engine and associated equipment, you are unsafe. You may not like that thought, but that is the straight up truth. The brakes are not made to hold a vehicle back when going down a 7 or 8 mile hill. They are made to stop the vehicle. Relying on the brakes to keep the speed down while going down one of these major passes, is playing with suicide.

Possibly that is why I get near 100,000 miles out of the brakes on my truck pulling near 30,000 and no exhaust brake. I drive it that way. It also has the original roters and drums on it at 306,000. It takes very little extra time to be safe.

 

I had the Tekonsha in my truck, switched to the Brakesmart because of a towing article and what a difference.

Although I really liked the Tekonsha, this Brakesmart is sweet.
I have a tandem dually and a car hauler behind it. I also run a Pacbrake.

The only thing better then this set up would be to go to air brakes.

I hammered the brakes once when a car pulled in front of me while I was doing 65 and nothing locked up...slowed fast and had no hopping or issues. I did encounter issues like that once in a while with the Tekonsha.

I'll let everyone know how the Brakesmart and the rest of this combination does on this next trip. So far I am all

By the way, the Tekonsha has followed me from my 98 to my 01 to this truck without a problem. I just found a lot more refinement in the Brakesmart.