Trailer Brake Controller Recommendation Needed

March 16, 2018, 02:52 PM

I need to move my 2015 travel trailer off the ranch where it has lived since the seller delivered it there. My tow vehicle is a 2017 Toyota Sequoia. The trailer is well below all of the max capacities of the tow vehicle so no issues there. I do need to buy and install a controller for the trailer brakes. I will be sure to order the appropriate harness for no splice installation.

Now for the question, what controller make and model. Simple to set up and use is preferred to complex and feature rich as I am not one to wallow around in the fine details of such things. I see them from $39 to $150. What do I need for occasional short distance towing? Will a cheap controller do all I need? Are there features in the higher end controllers that are worth the extra money?

March 16, 2018, 03:07 PM

Chris Anchor

If you are only buying one for a few moves buy cheaper but if you are gong to start RVing buy better. Make sure your tires are good, they degrade sitting in the sun. Chris

March 16, 2018, 03:28 PM

Tn226

After going thru a couple Tekonsha models, I got this one

Hopkins 47297 INSIGHT Brake Control

Couldn't be more pleased with its performance. The big plus for me is it doesn't hang down below the steering column or elsewhere.

March 16, 2018, 03:29 PM

PHPaul

One Word: Tekonsha

It's electronic, no leveling, plug and play. Your Toyota probably has a pigtail tucked behind the kick panels that will plug right into it. If not, adapters are readily available.

I've been using them for years hauling my tractors.

March 16, 2018, 03:35 PM

ArtieS

Depending on the age of your truck, you may wish to use the factory model. I know that for Ford, after 2010 (and possibly before) integrates the trailer brake with the truck programming for the Trailer Tow mode. This means that braking is proportional, rather than on or off, and that the truck senses the trailer and incorporates trailer performance into the automated downshift capability programmed into the Trailer Tow / Tow Haul mode for the transmission.

When we had the factory controller installed in the GF's 2012 truck, we had to have the main computer re-flashed so that all of the integration would work properly together.

"I vowed to myself to fight against evil more completely and more wholeheartedly than I ever did before. . . . That’s the only way to pay back part of that vast debt, to live up to and try to fulfill that tremendous obligation."

Alfred Hornik, Sunday, December 2, 1945 to his family, on his continuing duty to others for surviving WW II.

March 16, 2018, 03:36 PM

92fstech

I've been really happy with my Tekonsha Prodigy P2. I bought a harness and mount for each of my tow vehicles, and just swap it back and forth as needed. It's a really easy swap...takes maybe 2 minutes, and it's easy to set up and calibrate.

The Prodigy has an accelerometer in it that is a little smarter about how it applies the brakes than a cheap time-based controller. It also has a manual lever, which saved my bacon one time when my power steering pump sheared the shaft out and I lost all brake boost in my truck while backing a loaded trailer up a steep incline. I started rolling forward, slammed that thing over and put the brake pedal through the floor...got stopped right before going into the ditch on the other side of the road

March 16, 2018, 03:36 PM

gaf

I second the Tekonsha. I used the Prodigy P2, plug and play.

March 16, 2018, 03:41 PM

kz1000

quote:
Prodigy P2

This.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yidn, shreibt un fershreibt"

"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."
-Bomber Harris

March 16, 2018, 03:55 PM

AH.74

We have an older Draw-tite which was installed by the dealer when we bought our horse trailer years ago. It's always done the job, but that's not the main point of my post.

quote:
Originally posted by 92fstech:

It also has a manual lever, which saved my bacon one time when my power steering pump sheared the shaft out and I lost all brake boost in my truck while backing a loaded trailer up a steep incline. I started rolling forward, slammed that thing over and put the brake pedal through the floor...got stopped right before going into the ditch on the other side of the road !

A manual activation button or lever is a must IMO. Part of our inspection routine upon getting underway after hitching up, every time without fail, is to test the trailer brakes when we exit the gravel driveway onto pavement- activate the manual lever and feel the braking from the trailer only.

March 16, 2018, 04:20 PM

92fstech

quote:
A manual activation button or lever is a must IMO. Part of our inspection routine upon getting underway after hitching up, every time without fail, is to test the trailer brakes when we exit the gravel driveway onto pavement- activate the manual lever and feel the braking from the trailer only.

Agreed, and I do the same. Makes for peace of mind that the brakes will actually work if I need them. Too many points of failure to just hook up and drive off without checking. My trailer is not big, and both of my trucks should be able to easily stop it on their own, but I don't like taking chances. As illustrated by the story I shared above, every now and then you're glad you took the extra precautions.