Brake controller

[Classicfordguy]

Just bought an 29' '83 glendale travel trailer. I'v never owned or towed a travel trailer or anything with electric brakes for that matter.

I guess I am in need of a brake controller; have a friend who bought one for his '04 Z71 Chevy and said it was only $20 or $30 and it plugged right in and worked great. I was under the impression they were several hundred bucks.

Can you guys steer me in the right direction as far as what brake controller to get for my 94 250 XLT, and possibly a good place to find one. Is there a spot for one to plug in or will I need to hack into the wiring??? The trailer is daul axle but I'm not sure what type of brakes they are if there are different types (I know they aren't just brake away brakes though).

Thanks in advance.

-Rob

 

[reklund]

Spend $100 and get the Prodigy controller. Hands down the best one on the market.

It'll plug right in under the dash, about in the center, directly in front of your shifter. Get the plug for a OBS Powerstroke, as it's the same. What kind of plug is on the back of your truck for the trailer to plug into? You might also have to install some fuses in the underhood fuse block to get everything working properly, depending on how your truck was setup.

Ryan

 

[sle2115]

Forget the Prodigy (had one, sold it) get a Jordan! It is a tension cable controlled controller that works much better than anything else. Argve has a write up somewhere comparing all of them, do a search for Jordan brake controller and read about it. They are about the same money as the Prodigy, but work much better as they sense brake pedal position rather than guessing at it!

 

[troutwest66]

If you have the tow package there is either a plug in the harness behind the rear bumper the 7-pin harness will plug into or you already have it. Mine has the package but had no plug. To the wrecking yard, Batman, and I got the factory Ford plug harness from a 1st generation PSD (same chassis) for $6. Ford wanted $90. This way all I had to do was plug it in, wire tie it out of the way and mount the plug under the bumper.

 

[Freight_Train]

What ever do do,don't make your truck like White Lightning.I Think I counted 4 or 5 Trailer hook ups on her.Had one in the bed for goose neck,Had a BIG round one bolted to the bumper that got distroyed when a body shop worked on my truck,have the ford factory on the class 3 or 4 hitch,plus another one or tow under there.Talk about trailer options......And I still had to buy a damn adapter when I had to get a Uhaul trailer.....

 

[Classicfordguy]

I think I have the towing package as there is already a 7 pin round connector next to my receiver hitch. Is the hookup under the dash that small gray connector with 5 pins in it?

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-hitches/prodigy-brake-controllers.htm?source=google

Is this the prodigy you guys are recomending or are there different models?

Thanks,

-Rob

 

[argve]

Below is a write up I did on brake controllers - I tried to explain each type fully.

Click Here for write up

 

[Exekiel69]

The company is tekonsha and Prodigy is the model I think. I have it and it works just fine then again I never used the Jordan, Travis used both I believe and prefers the Jordan hands down.

 

[sle2115]

The company is tekonsha and Prodigy is the model I think. I have it and it works just fine then again I never used the Jordan, Travis used both I believe and prefers the Jordan hands down.

I had a Prodigy also and after reading Travis's article, I needed a controller for my truck (Prodigy was in my van) so I bought the Jordan. No comparison. I have owned a tandem axle trailer since just after I was old enough to drive as I drove drag cars before then. I have pulled everything from a 3,000 pound Vega drag car to a 12,000 pound back hoe and the Jordan is hands down the best I have used. I would guess I have had some 10 or so different controllers and while the Prodigy would be my second pick, it is a long way from my first.

 

[Classicfordguy]

After reading the write up I understand why the Jordan is so much more reliable. Only problem I see with it is that my truck has the sinking brake pedal syndrome that many people seem to have and rarely solve. When I am lightly braking I have to push further and further to a point to maintain the same pressure. Hard braking is pretty consistant though. Think this would effect how the jordan operated on my truck?

Can the jordan be bought with a wiring harness that will plug into the truck?

Thanks again for all the input,

-Rob

 

[ttman4]

What kind of $$$ for one of these Jordans?
If I remember, the Prodigy is $100 plus in most places.
And yeah, after reading up on the Jordan & how it works, I like the sound of it.

 

[argve]

The sinking pedal thing no brake controller will solve - that is a problem with the truck, now they will mask it so you don't notice it. I had the sinking pedal you speak of on The Enterprise and as you were stopping you wouldn't notice it (loaded or unloaded) but sitting at a stop light yes... so you may have more a problem there that needs to be discussed in another thread altogether.

Now the Jordan does not come with a wiring harness that is because it only has these wires (Power, ground, and brake control). Lets talk saftey for a moment - The truck is how old? What's one of the most common things that plagues an older vehicle wiring connections, the brake control wire I would rerun myself and have done on previous vehicles (including my current one) - call me **** but the saftey of my family in the cab of the truck is paramount, I'm not gonna trust that how old wire - but again that's just me... So even if it had a factory wiring plug I would run my own. I don't want to sound harsh so don't take me the wrong way it's just that I feel strongly about saftey concerning my family.

Now for the cost of the Jordan Order here they are currently out of stock but the cost is $119 plus $6 for shipping and handling. It does not surprise me that they are out of stock they are quite the hot item when it comes to RV'ers and Christmas presents - I know that when my was purchased it was for a Christmas present from my MIL and they were running low on stock when it was ordered just before Christmas...

 

[troutwest66]

I think I have the towing package as there is already a 7 pin round connector next to my receiver hitch. Is the hookup under the dash that small gray connector with 5 pins in it?

If it's just under the dash above the transmission hump then yes that should be it. If you go with the Tekonsha the harness is available. You'll have to splice it to the controller wires. I bought the Tekonsha Voyager for pulling the travel trailer and it works fine for me. Maybe not the smoothest in the world but that could be the breaks on the trailer, too. The breaks are good. I just repacked the bearings in the spring and no problems.

 

[RLDSL]

Just to put my 2 cents in here, yes, the fancy high dollar controllars are great, but if money is a concern, there's nothing wrong with the ones they sell at the local parts or farm store for about $40, you just have to pay a little more attention to what you're doing, but no more than the nicer controllers of a few years ago.
I've got one of the Reese cheepies in my f350 and didn't have any problems hauling my *new* '86, 28ft 5er 400 miles home in the rain through the Ozarks the other day. In fact, the controller felt better than the high dollar one that I bought for another truck about 18 years ago ( last new controller I bought after having an old controller fail going down Tehachapi pass in a '63 Willys pickup with a 22 ft silver streak in tow....I hit the outskirts of Bakersfield at about 120. I went and bought the fanciest controller money could buy at the time....It didn't perform as well as the Reese cheapie I have on my present truck ) . Today's cheepies are better than yesterdays fancy ones. Technology marches on.....

Etrailer.com has the harness that will plug into your truck that you splice into the controller wires for about $10

--------Robert

 

[Agnem]

I put a Prodigy in the Moose Truck, and hauling the Moosestang to Chattanooga last summer, I thought it performed very well. I'm not knocking the Jordon, but I'm not sure how it could really be any better.