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[RC] Which brake controller? - Roger RittenhouseKrsti wrote the below Yes, I use this one - I think it is the best one out there. Reviews in Motorhome Mag and Trailer Life concur This controller is super 'smart' does not have to be level. Displays the voltage applied and has options for trailer pre- braking.. which I use with my overloaded rig. I set the pre-brake boost to B2 unless Carol goes then I use B3. The trailer brakes will lead the truck brakes. Makes a difference. AND the shop guy is full of it. IF you setup the controller as defined in the manual you WILL feel the trailer brakes come on. At 21K over load with about 12k on the trailer loaded. I KNOW this works and the brakes DO activate. The way to setup the controller. is go to a flat lot LOADED let the truck 'drift' along in drive. adj the brake level control (top left) all the way down.. no level set. manually slide the controller control to bring on the brakes you will see the LED voltage go from 00 to a number indicating the volts applied. slowly increase this until you feel the trailer pull back. If none noted turn up the level control Top left. and keep doing this until you find the correct point when you get trailer braking action. I like to get a solid but NOT skid lockup at full action of the manual controller. Then drive off and let it drift cost in drive - or with the clutch in for a stick shift, and put on the brakes easy then hard - the voltage LED will increase.. and you should feel the trailer brakes apply. If it is not enough turn up the level just a bit .. If over loaded press the right button to set the pre brake boost. Read the manual for what level to set. IF this does not work - and you do not feel the trailer brakes - then the trailer brakes need adjustment.. and I assume all with big rigs have brakes on ALL 4 wheels? Also you must insure all the brakes work - wires connected and they activate the mechanical brake system. To test this put on MAX control level pull the manual contol for FULL brake action and see IF all 4 wheels LOCK up as you drive off slowly. Drift... IF you cannot LOCK the trailer wheels - they need work. I have already had a few hard stops - shorter then what I would like, but the trailer did not push the truck and it helped stop the whole rig . If set correctly it will do the job, this is one of the best controllers I have used. Roger R After hauling our 3 horse 10 ft LQ 50,000 miles with not enough use of the trailer brakes, we cracked and had to replace the rear brakes on our F250. Lesson learned. The brake controller we were using had two extremes - it didn't engage the brakes enough, or it caused them to be very jerky (it was a Tekonsha Voyager), so we buried our heads in the sand and didn't engage them enough for those 50,000 miles, I'm ashamed to admit. After lots of dollars for new truck brakes, I bought a Tekonsha Prodigy (supposed to be their top of the line?) and took it to the local hitch/tow shop and asked them to install it. They guy there told me (after he installed the Prodigy) that he didn't like that brand much. Gee, thanks....anyway, what do those of you who haul a lot of weight use for your brake controller? And how do you KNOW that your trailer brakes are pulling, er, slowing, their share of the load? The guy at the shop didn't seem to know the answer to this question; he told me that I won't even feel the trailer brakes engaging with the Prodigy. What? Shouldn't we feel the trailer brakes kinda 'tug' the trailer back at the beginning of deceleration, like the trailer is starting to slow down a split second before the truck? Kristi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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