Another Newbie Brake Question

[Rich_D]

I'm looking for hints on setting up my brake controller. Just picked up my new pop-up, and never towed with electic brakes before.

I can set to get a good stop from speed, but it tends to get Jerky at low speed. In traffic, in the towm, every stop feels 'grabby' -- i'm worried about backing the brakes off, and loosing the required froce for higher speed stops.

Or - do I just need to adjust the sensitivity control? (the one that determines the ramp speed of the trailer brakes?)

Any and all advice welcome

[wavery]

I'm looking for hints on setting up my brake controller. Just picked up my new pop-up, and never towed with electic brakes before.

I can set to get a good stop from speed, but it tends to get Jerky at low speed. In traffic, in the towm, every stop feels 'grabby' -- i'm worried about backing the brakes off, and loosing the required froce for higher speed stops.

Or - do I just need to adjust the sensitivity control? (the one that determines the ramp speed of the trailer brakes?)

Any and all advice welcome

What kind of controler do you have?

[flyfisherman]

Or - do I just need to adjust the sensitivity control? (the one that determines the ramp speed of the trailer brakes?)

That would be my first "suspect"!  What I use to do was have mine set for light around town and turned it up when I reached the mountains!


Fly

[AustinBoston]

I'm looking for hints on setting up my brake controller. Just picked up my new pop-up, and never towed with electic brakes before.

I can set to get a good stop from speed, but it tends to get Jerky at low speed. In traffic, in the towm, every stop feels 'grabby' -- i'm worried about backing the brakes off, and loosing the required froce for higher speed stops.

Or - do I just need to adjust the sensitivity control? (the one that determines the ramp speed of the trailer brakes?)

Any and all advice welcome

This is so controller dependent that we can't give a good answer without knowing what you have.  For example, if you have a Draw-Tite Activator, my advice would be "throw it away and get something from Tekonsha."  If you had a Jordan Ultima (probably the best controller out there), I would say call Jordan's technical service #.

Austin

[wynot]

Get a Tekonsha Prodigy and throw out the one you have...

[tlhdoc]

Welcome to PUT!  More information will be helpful.  With what you have posted so far, I think you need to back it off a little.  Did you warm up the brakes before you adjusted the controller?  

[Gone-Camping]

Sounds like you have a 'Time Delay' controller...they work to a point, but will do exactly as you describe...there is no 'one setting' for a time delay unit, you either set it and live with it, or continue to fuss with it.
 
The advice about buying something from Tekonsha is good, most of their brake controllers are porportional...though not all of them are, and some are better than others. The Tekonsha Prodigy seems to be the Gold Standard around here, if you don't have one of them you're not in the right club! I have a pair of Tekosha Voyagers, they are not quite as good but they are porportional and do a good job. If you're planning on take advice and buying a new one, go for the Prodigy...they sell them at rvwholesalers.com for $99 each...

[Rich_D]

Thanks for the replies!! Sitting at my desk, I cannot remember the brand, but I know it is a solid-state device (time-delay) not a proportional one - and draw-tite does ring a bell!
The issue I had was that the proportional ones I looked at all needed to be mounted horizontally, and in my TV I could not find a suitable place to mount it!  Maybe i'm paying for that decision now....

[fritz_monroe]

Draw Tite markets a lot of tow "stuff" so it could be your hitch is Draw Tite.

I've got a Prodigy and it can be mounted horizontal up to about 70 degrees vertical.  I could be off on the numbers, but it does not have to be horrizontal.  I really like mine mainly because when stopping, you hardly know the trailer's there.

[AustinBoston]

Thanks for the replies!! Sitting at my desk, I cannot remember the brand, but I know it is a solid-state device (time-delay) not a proportional one - and draw-tite does ring a bell!
The issue I had was that the proportional ones I looked at all needed to be mounted horizontally, and in my TV I could not find a suitable place to mount it!  Maybe i'm paying for that decision now....

Most mount theirs near the bottom of the dash.  I have mine there, over my right leg.  I have a Tekonsha Prodigy, and it mounts off up to 20 degrees off horizontal side-to-side, and 70 degrees off front-to-back.

The very best controller, the Jordan Ultima, is not an inertial controller, but works by having a cable that attaches to the arm of the brake pedal and uses that to sense brake pedal movement.  As long as the mechanical cable can be properly activated, it can mount anywhere.

In my not-so-humble opinion, there is a noticeable difference between different proportional controllers.  But the worst inertial controller is so much better than a timer-based controller that timer based controllers should be outlawed.

Austin

[tlhdoc]

I used to have a time delay controller and hated it.  I have the Prodigy now, and it is mounted on a pretty good angle in the TV.  No problems with it working that way.  I have had it for 4 years now.

[brainpause]

I have the Jordan, though I believe that I could have done just as well with the Prodigy. It was a wiring decision for my reason for going with the Jordan.

I agree with others...if you have anything time based (or non-proportional), use it as a wheel chock (or, as my dad would say about anything he was fed up with: "Throw a chunk under it"), and get a Prodigy or Jordan.

Larry

[beacher]

I'm looking for hints on setting up my brake controller. Just picked up my new pop-up, and never towed with electic brakes before.

I just watched The Long, Long Trailer on Saturday.  "Trailer Brakes First, Trailer Brakes First"!  keeps ringing in my ear.  Back then, electric trailer brakes were manually operated!  Fun!  Nowadays it's all automatic!

I would highly recommend visiting the website of the manuafacturer of brake controller that you currently have.  Download a manual and set it as the manufacturer suggests.  It's dangerous to follow setting advice from a web forum, being that we don;t know what exact model you have.

Or, as everyone recommends, ditch it.  Join the club!  Get the Prodigy.

[wynot]

I just watched The Long, Long Trailer on Saturday. "Trailer Brakes First, Trailer Brakes First"! keeps ringing in my ear. Back then, electric trailer brakes were manually operated! Fun! Nowadays it's all automatic!
 
I would highly recommend visiting the website of the manuafacturer of brake controller that you currently have. Download a manual and set it as the manufacturer suggests. It's dangerous to follow setting advice from a web forum, being that we don;t know what exact model you have.
 
Or, as everyone recommends, ditch it. Join the club! Get the Prodigy.

We love that movie and finally got a copy of it.
 
Regarding the controller- I know I already said to throw away what they had and get the Prodigy.  No matter what you do to a time delay controller, it will never feel correct, because we rarely ever stop exactly the same - whether it be weight, speed, weather, or distance. The reality is that we all brake according to conditions.  If you're not stopping fast enough, you push harder on the brake pedal.  If you're stopping too fast, you let up slightly on the brake pedal.
 
All a time delay controller knows to do is to put on the brakes to a particular voltage in so much time, regardless of whether you're in stop and go at 2 mph or on a downhill grade at 60 mph going at a red light.
 
With the Prodigy, your brakes are just the right amount - no matter what.

[aw738]

I am needing to get a new controller for my new TV and am looking for a Tekonsha Prodigy. Does anyone know who has the best price?