Trailer Brake controller

[Robert6401]

I just want to go ahead and throw in a vote for the Tekonsha P3. The diagnostic information that it provides is very useful in knowing if you have an electrical issue between the truck and the trailer. I love mine!

[Longshot270]

Me and my dad have been using the Journey HDs and they work just fine. They are also pretty cheap and can be found at any Tractor Supply Co.

[jimmyv13]

I run a Tekonsha P2 with my 6200lb travel trailer and have experienced good results.

[Jackpine]

You guys convinced me. I bought a Tekonsha P3 and used it on a camping trip last weekend. It was great! Very easy to set the braking force and now I don't have to worry about mechanical adjustment levers getting moved accidentally.

- Jack

[ticopowell]

So now that I am all graduated, I decided that it would be a great investment to buy a trailer... that way the air force pays me to move instead of me worrying about them breaking stuff as they move it for me... and I now need a trailer brake. I have found that at orieley and autozone they have ones for $60-$80, also the place I got the trailer from has one for $80. Amazon sells the p3 for about $150-$160, and other ones for cheaper. so with my new trailer, it is a dual axle 7000# max weight 7 foot tall 16x7 trailer with a v-nose, and with my future use of it (worst case, I use it to help people move, best case is I use it once every 3 years when the air force thinks I should change bases), is it worth getting the p3, or should I go for the voyager or the p2 or one of the other off name brands?
Thanks for all the replies!

[Longshot270]

Me and my dad both have a Journey HDs from Tractor supply. It gets the job done at a good price. Mine you can set brake timing and braking pressure. There is also a manual brake switch.

[Jackpine]

I think anything that applies proportional braking will work, but I really like the electronic adjustment capability in the P3. It is very easy to make small adjustments as needed (and you might want to do that as the weight you pull changes), and, once set, you don't have to worry about the settings getting "bumped" accidentally.

With my old controller, I started out on a trip and discovered there was no trailer braking action. I thought I was going to have to cancel the trip but discovered the lever controlling braking force had been accidentally moved, possibly by a technician at the Ford dealership during a visit. I reset it, but didn't have an "exact" reset point - you have to do that by "trial and error" on a level stretch of road with someone observing the trailer wheels for lockup. With the P3, once you get it set right, you simply note the number that appears on the screen, and restore that value if it ever gets accidentally changed.

If your trailer can gross out at 7000#, your tongue weight will be between 700-1100#. You need a Weight Distributing hitch to keep the axle loads on your truck in limits. There's some pretty good information on WD hitches here: Trailer Hitch & Towing Guide ? Hitch Info | Get Connected Basically though, you want a hitch that just about "matches" the tongue weight of the trailer - not rated too much higher, and certainly not less than the actual weight.

- Jack