Towing Question

[mrp116]

Soon my wife and I are picking up a 2003 Coleman Sedona a couple states away.  I will be towing it with my Nissan Titan.  The camper has electronic brakes, and I have had a few people tell me I need to have a brake box installed while others have said I didn't need it.  My questions are: 1) Do I HAVE to have a brake box installed to tow the camper?  2)  If I don't HAVE to have it, what is the benefit.

[Eric Sass]

If you want the trailer brakes to work you will need a brake controller.
If you don't then all the weight will be on your truck brakes. That can cause them to over heat.

[fritz_monroe]

The brake controller applies the brakes on the pup.  Without the brake controller, the brakes are not applied.  There are several trucks on the market that have a built in controller, but I don't think the Nissan is one of those, at least my Nissan Armada does not have one.

If you end up getting a Prodigy, there is a harness availble for the Nissan.  It truely is plug and play, just connect the harness, attach th cradle and plug in the controller.

[AustinBoston]

Soon my wife and I are picking up a 2003 Coleman Sedona a couple states away.  I will be towing it with my Nissan Titan.  The camper has electronic brakes, and I have had a few people tell me I need to have a brake box installed while others have said I didn't need it.

You only need a brake controller if you want to use the brakes.

My questions are: 1) Do I HAVE to have a brake box installed to tow the camper?

If you want to use the brakes, YES.
If you live in a state that requires brakes for trailers over 1,500 lbs, YES. (If you tell us where you are, we can tell you what your state requires.)
If you will be towing in the mountains, YES.
If all of your towing will be on rural roads (no stop & go traffic) in areas without significant hills, then you don't need brakes.

2)  If I don't HAVE to have it, what is the benefit.

Panic stops will have far less panic to them.
The truck brakes will have less wear & tear on them.
The combination will stop more like you expect the truck to stop on it's own.
Trips down mountains will be more peaceful.
Because there will be less stress to towing, you will use the trailer more.

One of the most telling tests (this is something you can try yourself) is to go to an empty parking lot.  Pick a spot in the lot, and drive past it at a specific speed (such as 30 MPH) and HIT THE BRAKES HARD.  Mark where you stop.  Now do the same thing with the trailer attached.  Notice how much farther you had to go to stop with the trailer.  Even with trailer brakes, the panic stop distance will be farther, but it's a lot farther without them.

If you divide the weight among the various brakes, you may find that the trailer brakes have more weight to stop than the truck brakes.  For example, my van weighs 1,000 lbs per wheel, but my trailer weighs 1,600 lbs per wheel!  If the trailer has brakes, you really want to use them.

Unsolicited advice:

It is well worth the money for a Teknosha Prodigy or P3 brake controller.  Any timer-based controller is only useful for a paperweight; they are 1940's technology and should be outlawed.

Austin

[mrp116]

Thanks for the replies so far.  I live in VA and don't know the requirements.  I know that my truck is prewired to accept the brake box, and it doesn't look too terribly difficult to install.  I'm mainly just wondering if this something I need to get done before picking this up, or if I'd be okay to pick it up and drive it the 400 miles home.

I see mention of "Prodigy".  Are there online dealers to purchase from?  What type of brake box is this?

[AustinBoston]

I live in VA and don't know the requirements.

Virginia only requires brakes on trailers over 3,000 lbs., but they require breakaway brakes, which are often required if the trailer has brakes (regardless of weight).  It is possible to rig breakaway brakes without a controller.

I see mention of "Prodigy".  Are there online dealers to purchase from?  What type of brake box is this?

I'm not a bargain hunter, so I can't tell you where to buy a Prodigy, but someone here will reply with links.

The Prodigy is a type of inertial controller.  Inertial controllers sense the rate at which the tow vehicle is slowing down, and apply the trailer brakes in proportion.  Early proportional controllers used a pendulum which required some tricky adjustments to work well.  The Prodigy was the first solid-state inertial controller, and uses a solid-state detector to eliminate the tricky "leveling" adjustment.  The Tekonsha P3 is a "second generation" solid-state brake controller, adn is supposed to be more reliable and easier to use...for a price.

Timer-based controllers apply the trailer brakes based on how long you have the brake pedal down.  That means you can not come to a gradual stop.  If you want to avoid hard braking with the trailer, you have to "tap-tap-tap" the tow vehicle brakes.  If you get in a panic situation, you have to slam on the brakes, and WAIT for the trailer brakes to g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y come on.  Hopefully, they'll come on in time.

Austin

[mrp116]

Alright, I'm convinced that I should install the brake box.  It seems like I need this

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/product.php?productid=60

and this

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/product.php?productid=1954

I know that my truck is prewired to accept the brake control, and based on what they say on the Titantalk forum, it looks like it should be just a plugin, 5 minute install.

Does all this seem correct?

[wavery]

Alright, I'm convinced that I should install the brake box.  It seems like I need this

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/product.php?productid=60

and this

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/product.php?productid=1954

I know that my truck is prewired to accept the brake control, and based on what they say on the Titantalk forum, it looks like it should be just a plugin, 5 minute install.

Does all this seem correct?

Yes. ....be careful to read the instructions about setting the controller for the 1st time.

You will be very happy that you have it. Some moron pulled out of a driveway, in front of me this weekend. I had to brake hard and swerve. Had I not had trailer brakes, I could have rolled my truck or at least hit the dummy.

[wavemaker]

yes it took me ill say 10-15 minutes but i solder all connections but the prodidgy is very easy to install

[fritz_monroe]

I know that my truck is prewired to accept the brake control, and based on what they say on the Titantalk forum, it looks like it should be just a plugin, 5 minute install.

Does all this seem correct?

Yep, it's just a plug.  Look under your dash above the emergency brake pedal.  Untape it and plug in the harness.

Took me about 5 minutes and that included installing the pocket.

I think you should do it before picking it up.

[austinado16]

There was a big recall on Titan/Armada brakes, so make sure you've had that done if yours falls into the affected year models.  Also, the Titans had a lot of problems with rearend failures due to how tiny the assembly is.  Make sure yours is not one of those year models and if so, install the big aluminum finned diff cover and synthetic gear oil.  What they came with for a rearend is what most full sized trucks use for a front diff.