Trailer brake controller

[carld]

I put trailer brakes on the trailer I bought to haul my CJ3A Jeep and my tractor. I finally got everything wired and tested it today 4/10. The used controller a friend gave me only works in the manual mode. It does not apply the brakes using the foot pedal. Yes, it's all wired correctly, it just don't work when you step on the brakes and it does get voltage from the brake switch. Probably the reason he gave it away.

The question is, do I really need it to work off the foot brake? I have a 2003 Ranger that is rated at the same weight the gross weight of trailer and load will be, about 3400 lb. When I hauled the Jeep back from Tenn. using a trailer without brakes that weighs more than the one I have I had no problems at all. In fact I considered not even putting brakes on my trailer when I bought it. I decided I may want them in hilly country.

Since the manual part works can I just use that as needed instead of relying on the foot brake system. Having read the instructions for setting up the trailer brakes I can see where going up hill and down hill is going to change the braking effort of the controller. I have a Tekonsha Voyager Controller and a new one is about $60. The only advantage I can see is going down a long grade and since the settings are not in the least bit self compensating, meaning you could have to much brake or too little brake under different conditions, I don't see much advantage to the automatic part of the controller.

Having towed several trailers without brakes I can see the advantage of brakes as needed applied as needed. I want comments from those that haul a lot using trailer brakes. A friend I go with many times hauls max loads, 10,000+ lb a lot and don't use trailer brakes at all but he uses a 3/4 ton vehicle.

Comments from haulers please.

[roy697]

If your comfortable with what you have go with it, but be careful. When the roads are slick things can get hairy. Is the unit mounted so you can get to it easy? (yes I have been pulling trailers for over 30 years, not real heave though. Mostly travel trailers. I have 2 that I pull with my goldwing 1500)

The last one I installed needed some adjustments, what kind of adjustments have you tried with your unit?

[carld]

The controller is within easy reach. Since the controller won't work with the brake pedal I set the gain all the way up. That way I can squeeze the manual part as hard as I need.

I am trying to decide if I want the new digital type controller or the old pendulum type like my Voyager. The only difference seems to be the price and not having to adjust the leveling knob.

As soon as I get the loading ramps finished I plan to load the Jeep and do some test runs. On wet roads it would be nice to be able to just touch the foot brake to apply the trailer brake to keep things straight. I can see where if you have to much trailer brake gain then the trailer could get out of control. Of course, if you don't have any trailer brakes and apply the truck brake the trailer could push you all over the road. It's kind of damn if you do and damn if you don't.

I never have had trailer brakes before and the only time I had a problem was when I had to much tongue weight or to little tongue weight. You really have to be careful with a trailer anyway so having the brakes may not be as helpful as I imagine.

As I read the instructions and wired the controller I began to realize that with the brake light coming on with only 1/4" of travel on the foot brake that would apply the trailer brakes and the truck brakes would still not be engaged. Then you could apply the foot brake as needed. Since the pendulum in the controller would increase the brake effort on the trailer the trailer brakes should still be ahead of the trk brakes up to a point. If you have to stop real hard with a trk and trailer it's an OH SHIT situation anyway.

[Rich Waugh]

I've driven a number of different rigs pulling trailers over the years, some with brakes, some without. For a light trailer like you're talking about, my preference was always for surge brakes rather than electric. I knew they were going to work even if there was a problem with the electrical system in the trailer or the tow vehicle. I know that some states have outlawed them and the feds have new regs on them, so I suppose they're no longer a viable option. Damn shame, too.

[bradblazer]

I like my Primus. The new ones have an auto level sensor. Price is good.
www.amazon.com/Tekonsha-90160-Primus-Brake-Control/dp/B001P11SCM/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1302614134&sr=8-14
The only thing I don't like is the positive feedback effect where the brake responds to deceleration it is causing. I wish they made an electric controller that worked off the brake hydraulic pressure like some of the RV tow vehicle systems. The cheap timer-based controllers don't make any sense to me.

[roy697]

A test run will help you decide if you need a different controller. I bought my last one on ebay kinda cheap & it works well, I pull a 6000# travel trailer.



Good luck with what ever you decide, just be careful.

[carld]

Last week I loaded the tractor on the trailer and headed for Louseyville, aka Louisville. When I loaded it the tractor almost picked the rear wheels of the truck off the ground. I had it loaded with to little tongue weight and it wagged a very little bit. On the way home I added tongue weight and it didn't wag at 65mph on a down hill run. When I got home I put jack stands under the trailer and unloaded it and put the Jeep on it. Took it for a test run and found it to be just fine.

The new brake controller works great but I am considering putting brakes on the rear axle, an equalizer hitch and I will build jack stands mounted to the rear of the trailer. With brakes on both axles I feel good about taking it West into the mountains.

My next test is a 50 to 100 mile test run with the Jeep to see how it does with the current setup.

[carld]

I now have brakes on both axles and a load leveling hitch and have towed the Jeep on the trailer on a 100 mile shake down run and it tows perfectly. I bought a set of axle tie down straps and everything is looking good.