BRAKE SMART is THE BEST !

http://www.drperformance.com/brakesmart.html

 

BrakeSmart all the way.

 

Been pulling for 37 years or so. Prodigy is the one I use. haven't tried Brakesmart... not reason to change... very satisfied with Prodigy.

Florida Ed

 

Prodigy works great. The install is almost too easy. Shop around you can get them for a good price.

Brakesmart looks neat, but with the ability to control trailer airbags, and hydraulic connections it might be overkill for RV towing. The price tag is right up there too!

 

[ QUOTE ]
Prodigy works great. The install is almost too easy. Shop around you can get them for a good price.

Brakesmart looks neat, but with the ability to control trailer airbags, and hydraulic connections it might be overkill for RV towing. The price tag is right up there too!

[/ QUOTE ]A lot of larger trailers are going to electric over hydraulic disc brakes. The Prodigy and the like controllers are not compatible with some (most?) of the hydraulic actuators. BrakeSmart is. The other functions of the BrakeSmart controller, ABS, airbag controls, EGT monitoring etc. were all vaporware, ie., sounded good but never materialized. The hydraulic connections are really plug and play. If you have ever bled your brakes yourself it is trivial.

 

well, I guess the question should me more so WHAT you are towing.

It seems like heavy trailers, Brake Smart is the way to go.

I've towed no more than 10,000lbs ish, and I've been using the Tekonsha Prodigy, and it's easy as pie to hookup and set up.

 

nothin' is gonna be MORE accurate than the factory controller
OR the BRAKE SMART...they both use brake fluid <pressure>, not
VOLTAGE, or CURRENT to activate the brakes.

the brake smart is a TRUE progressive brake controller...apply
the brake a LITTLE (and hold it) and thats ALL the braking the
trailer will get.

the only other controller that comes close is the JORDAN
(which uses a cable).

i was stuck <brake smart was not in production> and for towing
my 18' car (flat) utility trailer couldnt wait....i went w/
a the Hayes Genesis (its one of the FEW controllers that can
display the CURRENT / AMP drawl...which allows you to determine
if ALL the brakes are working).
http://brakecontroller.com/genesis.htm

i see theres a NEW brake smart knock off now too...MaxBrake
http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-3084-maxbrake.aspx

when we buy our travel trailer ill be installing a brake smart
for sure !

 

I do not know if it is a BrakeSmart knock off, but it shore works good. By they way try this link http://www.brakecontroller.com/maxbrake.htm

I know it does not take 6-8 weeks to ship /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

I purchased a maxbrake controller from brakecontroller.com and it works excellent. The braking action is super smooth without readjustment. There's no jerking on the trailer tongue. Even works with electric over hydraulic trailers. I pull several different size trailers cross country and the maxbrake works awesome! It's like magic. You can control your trailer brakes based on how hard or soft you press down on the brake pedal.

I have been trying to get Brake Smart for almost a year with no success. I am so glad I found the maxbrake! This is the last brake controller I will ever need to buy, bar none.

 

The Brakesmart is available, I drove to DR and had it put in by them. The Max Brake looks like somthing out of a 1950's Sci-Fi space creature film. It does not seem to have the adjustability of the Brakesmart either. And again, I would not put that thing in my truck, maybe if it was a 1956 Ford PU and I was trying to keep a retro look.

JMHO

 

I went WAY retro.
Kelsey-Hayes hydraulic controller.
New old stock off Ebay.
Made in 1986, new in box.
Weatherhead 7921 brass tee from NAPA plumbed the hydraulic line right into my 2006 F 450 that didn't have ITBC.
Works with elec/hydraulic brakes, directly proportional to pedal apply pressure, no delay, no funky tell-tale nagging me when the ground via my ball is momentarily disrupted by hitting certain bumps, adjustable easily without looking at any display.
These work while ABS is engaged, no ill effects.
Whatever the scare was that obsoleted these old style units was BS as as far as my multiple thousands of miles of use has shown.
I guess that a worn out unit does leak brake fluid inside vehicle is the only negative I can find.

What does surprise me is that no one has come out with a Brakesmart or Maxbrake type device with an external pressure transducer that simply clamps onto a brake line for the pressure input for the electronic pressure proportional type system.
Clamp on pressure transducers are reliable and have been around for ages.

 

I have had lots of compliments on the looks of the MaxBrake controller in my truck. However, looks will not get the trailer pulled available product and performance will.

 

1st thing id do to that maxbrake is PAINT IT <BLACK>...
just like i did w/ my cheapie controller !

it may not be the most beautiful thing in the world
im just glad brakesmart has competition...after the way
they screwed around more than a year ago im sure theyve
lost some sales & market share... hopefully now theyll
drop their prices too !

anyone know if the maxbrake fits in the cubbie hole like
the brakesmart does ??

 

The dimensions of the MaxBrake are: 6"W x 3"L x 1.75"H if this helps.

 

darricks thanks...

unfortunately the brakesmart page doesnt
list the dementions...in fact the page could
use a bit of work...theyve got a FAQ but no
ANSWERS !?!

http://www.drperformance.com/brakesmartfaq.html

 

I do not know the exact dimensions but it fits in the cubby on a '02 truck with adjustable pedals. Look here.

 

got cha'...i knew the brake smart fit in the cubby...just
wondering if the maxbrake fits there too

 

I just ordered a Tekonsha P3...I'm excited to see how well it works /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

 

I haven't been towing for decades like others nor am I the trailer brake controller expert. But what I can tell you is I am certainly happy with my Tekonsha P3 controller. The unit is extremely easy to use/adjust, it offers many features that have been mentioned above in other units and it's inertia senor is great! My 17,000lb rig stops on a dime!

 

Where n the cab cn I mount the controler. not to mich space to mount it in

 

Yeah I have a 16' goose neck and it has electric brakes. I just got the harness for my truck to hook up the prodigy. plug and play. $435 isnt in my budget and prodigy works just as well.

thanks

for the info

 

The F250 and Excursion both have Tekonsha's and both seem to stop the dump trailer better than the F350 with the Prodigy. All three were installed by my mechanic and all are set at max when the trailer is loaded (4,500 lbs plus 8-14K lbs).

Starting to wonder if something is not right with the Prodigy, it should work as good if not better than the Tekonsha's one would think.

You can feel the brakes working a lot better on the dump trailer with the Tekonsha's.

One of these days I should take out one of the Tekonsha's and put it in the F350 to see how it stops when loaded.

 

the prodigy is made by tekonsha

 

I got to use the prodigy and it is awesome. it applies the brake as much as needed via pressure on the pedal and incline. very happy with it

 

What we need is for a company to listen to us.
The best brake controller currently made is BrakeSmart. Problem is the cost.
The next best would be P3 or Prodigy (Maybe Jordan?). P3 is new and should be an improvement over Tekonsha's also good Prodigy.
Problem with P3 or Prodigy is that inertia sensor doesn't get much inertia when I tow a dual tandem axle trailer with 17 round hay bales.
The time based current ramp up is not fast enough.
High gain and max boost programs get me WAY too much brake the instant brake light switch closes and still not enough amps when I need to stop NOW.

I am using the old hyadraulic controllers because they can still be found as new old stock and they just plain work GREAT!

BUT, back to what I was going to state:
The truck driving, trailer towing crowd needs a controller that is reasonably priced AND has direct sensing of brake circuit pressure to control brake current. Technologies exist to do this without a T fitting into hydraulics with a pressure sensor as BrakeSmart uses. If the price is within range of the inertia/time controllers it will sell. When the price is more than 3 times the price of those controllers it will not sell in great quantities.
I suspect that liability issues may weigh in on this issue and have bearing what is or is not offered and at what price.

I would buy TODAY, a BrakeSmart for $200. For $475 I will stick with my old Kelsey-Hayes controllers until I can no longer find them ( I do have one more new one on the shelf).
I know that not stopping costs a lot more than stopping well for $475 but right now I'm stopping damn good for about $25 and the rumors of instant death and condemnation to HELL if you put a hydraulic tapped controller on an ABS equipped vehicle have proven to be false.