Trailer Brakes

[Bill]

Oilspot -

You are right - some of the inertia controllers are very good, including the Prodigy. And the self-levelling feature is very nice.

My description of a pendulum was intentionally over-simplified, to describe the concept in a quick and simple way. To my knowledge, none of them has an actual pendulum. But by definition, "inertia" refers to the forces experienced by  mass (weight) under acceleration. And there is no way for an inertia sensor to distinguish between the force experienced when you slow down, and the force experienced when you tilt the housing. From the point of view of physics, they are the same.

This is not to put down the inertia controllers - they have evolved and are quite good today, and I would feel comfortable with one (as I would NOT feel with a time-cycle controller). But if I could have one of the old-fashioned hydraulic-based full proportional controllers, that would be my ultimate choice, since it is not fooled by steep hills.

On the other hand, it occurs to me that the inertia controller might actually do better than a full proportional in one specific but common circumstance. Suppose you are going down a steep hill, and to prevent the brakes from overheating, you downshift into a lower gear. Once in the lower gear, the engine is holding you back - you don't need to put your foot on the brake pedal. The full proportional controller will see that the brake pedal is not being pushed, so it will not apply the trailer brakes, and the tow vehicle's engine ends up doing all the braking for both the vehicle and the trailer. On the other hand, an inertia controller will sense the steep downhill angle, and will apply some trailer brakes - thus lessing the wear on the engine and transmission.  Hmmm ... I'll have to think about that one.

Bill

Hey Oilspot, do you have a website where I might obtain one of those controllers? That was the last thing on my list as I'm completing the overhaul luckily, (and with good reason). Lol, my dad said something that made pretty good sense, "well, don't go spending the money on something like that till you're ready to go, you might not even have the same tow vehicle!" How right he was.......lol  

Happytrails..........

Don't worry about your "over simplification."  As far as I can tell you are spot on with the pendulum description.  They must be leveled and are susceptable to inclines.

The Prodigy controller is not in this class of controllers.  It contains an acclerometer.  Once it knows front from back and up from down, you can tilt an accelermeter and not register anything.  

I have carefully watched the readout for any indication of braking beyond what I requested (via brake pedal) and haven't observed anything yet even on some steep mountain passes or curvy country hills.  I even used the engine braking a few times, but this type of decelleration did not activate the trailer brakes.

I don't mean this to be a testimonial, as I am not a seasoned evaluator of brake controllers.  I'm just a humble engineer that enjoys a good technical discussion.

[RickNewcomb]

Happytrails,

You can check out the controller on the Tekonsha webpage at:

http://www.tekonsha.com/frproducts.html

Happytrails,

I had the dealer throw my Prodigy in with the deal, but I saw one last night at the Campers Choice Website www.camperschoice.com for about $126.

Their prices seem reasonable, so I do a lot of accessory ordering from them.  I ordered on Tuesday and got my order yesterday (only 2-days!) withouth expediting the order.

I also saw the Prodigy controller on Ebay about the time I bought my trailer (almost bid on it).  The final price was $86.

Good Luck!

Good day all,

I am using an old (1982 vintage) Tekonsha inertia controller, which still seems to work ok. When I hooked it up to my van I tapped into the third brake lite wire in the back of the van, which doesn't pulsate when the flashers are used.

I also installed a switch ( the kind you can buy for small lamp cords), and installed it in the wire from the controller that attaches to the brake lite circuit.

This allows me to turn off the controller when in stop & go traffic or when I am backing up the TM.

Have a great day,
Dan

I just completed a 2 1/2" lift on my 3023 and while completing the work, pulled the drums and found the brakes shot (new to me trailer). Decided to install new wheel bearings and bought two complete brake assemblies from a Dexter dealer here in the Tampa Bay area.
My question is, is there a break-in period or system I should follow? My first pull after all the work was completed was disappointing at best. My old brakes had much better stopping power than the new ones. Could the pads need seating in to get better stopping power? Even with the controller power at full the stopping ability seems diminished.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Woody

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Clwpaddler

I just completed a 2 1/2" lift on my 3023 and while completing the work, pulled the drums and found the brakes shot (new to me trailer). Decided to install new wheel bearings and bought two complete brake assemblies from a Dexter dealer here in the Tampa Bay area.
My question is, is there a break-in period or system I should follow? My first pull after all the work was completed was disappointing at best. My old brakes had much better stopping power than the new ones. Could the pads need seating in to get better stopping power? Even with the controller power at full the stopping ability seems diminished.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Woody

Yes.....there is a seating in period. The important thing is to just use your brakes normally. A lot of people make the mistake of pulling the controller lever time and time again, stopping the TV and trailer with the trailer brakes. This can overheat the new brakes and cause hot spots in the drums and/or crack the new brake lining.

Did you get new drums or have the old drums machined?

no new drums or turning. Checked the roundness with a dial caliper and have less than 2/100 run out and no scoring or ridging

After we had a new axle+brakes put on, we were surprised at how weak they were. I adjusted the controller to the max and after a few days of usage they were fine.