Trailer Brake controller

[ticopowell]

Hey all,
I am looking at getting a trailer brake controller for my F-150 with a 5.4. I have the 7pin hookup already, and from what I can tell all I need is the little box and the plug (which I have) and then hook them up an go. so firstly, is this all I need? and secondly, I have seen a few different controllers, but since I have never bought one or looked into one before, what should I look for and about how much should it cost me?
Thanks in advanced!

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by ticopowell

Hey all,
I am looking at getting a trailer brake controller for my F-150 with a 5.4. I have the 7pin hookup already, and from what I can tell all I need is the little box and the plug (which I have) and then hook them up an go. so firstly, is this all I need? and secondly, I have seen a few different controllers, but since I have never bought one or looked into one before, what should I look for and about how much should it cost me?
Thanks in advanced!

I have the Tekonsha Primus controller: Brake Controllers - Tekonsha

It supplies "proportional" braking to the trailer (the harder you want to stop, the higher the braking force applied to the trailer. As I recall, it does not apply brakes while backing up - that feature seemed a bit unnecessary to me. It was easy to install and calibrate. BUT - I did need an "adapter" for the controller plug to the truck's wiring harness.

I've attached a picture showing where it's mounted. It's the black thing just under the steering wheel to the right of it. I simply drilled two small holes in the plastic panel there to mount it. (I took the panel off first.) The connector is right behind the panel.

Both the controller and the adapter are available at Camping World, and you have one of those just south of Colorado Springs. If you're going to be buying several trailer supplies, it's worth having a membership in Camping World. Here's a link to Camping World's page for it: Cequent Performance Products - Primus IQ Brake Control - Braking Controls - Camping World

There are more expensive ones, but I'm happy with this one. I had a less expensive model on my last truck and I like this one better.

I don't know if there's a Camping World in Del Rio (I got my pilot training at Laughlin by the way, class 65-XF), but I doubt it.

- Jack

[TwinTurbo]

Tekonsha makes good products for many different price ranges and all work well for what they are designed to do, generally the more expensive it is the more it can do so you need to know what the biggest trailer your going to be pulling will be. The more expensive ones can also support more axles, but since you have an F150 I think its safe to rule out any triple axle or greater configuration so that can narrow down your choices, (I just looked on Tekonsha's website and they all support 1-4 axles. other brands could be different though) From there it still kinda depends on the weight your towing, if its just a single axle with less than 3500 lbs I'd go with the cheapest one you can get. you can even get by with them for heavier loads, (I had a Voyager model which I think is the cheapest one and still towed 10,000lb + loads) however I have the Prodigy® P2 now and it is way better. It helped that I got a deal on it too. Bottom line - if you don't tow very often go cheap, if you tow a fair amount spend a little extra for one that's self leveling. Just my .02 hope it helps

[wood4heat]

For my first truck I bought the best brake controller U-Haul offered and HATED it! It had a feature that supposedly activated the brakes gradually but it didn't work. I could watch the reading increase from 1.0 - 1.5 - 2.0 and so on up until it reached the level I had it set at. Unfortunately no braking actually took place until it reached it's maximum and then it came on with a JERK! It wasn't so bad at freeway speeds but at 25mph or below it was a real irritant. I bought the Tekonsha Prodigy for my current truck and LOVE it! It activates so seamlessly you could forget there is even a trailer there. It did surprise me one time, the road I live on is off of a fairly steep hill. As I was approaching my road coming up the hill I applied the brakes and the trailer brakes locked up. I guess the extra slowing power the hill provided tricked the inertial sensor into thinking I was hard on the brakes. Since then I give a little extra space and let the hill slow me without using the brakes.

[ticopowell]

Awesome! Thanks for all the responses! Ill check out camping world here sometime and like you guys guessed, I am not planning on towing much right now, but this summer I might tow a 25+ foot camper to lake Powell with my parents, and it requires a trailer brake.
Again thanks for the help, it's quite useful.

[cleatus12r]

I have a couple of these and I love them......but I do experience this problem:

As a disclaimer, every trailer brake controller I install is installed level. I never could understand how one was supposed to work correctly (especially the ones with pendulums) when they are pointed toward the sky.

Thermal Instability of Voyager Brake Controller

[wood4heat]

Originally Posted by cleatus12r

As a disclaimer, every trailer brake controller I install is installed level. I never could understand how one was supposed to work correctly (especially the ones with pendulums) when they are pointed toward the sky.

They must have some form of level compensation. Otherwise how would they work when you are going up or down hill?

The Tekonsha says it doesn't matter what orientation you mount it in. Mine is mounted at a pretty good angle and works great.

[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.