Excuse my ignorance but it appears there are better controllers around than the one I have been dealing with in recent years.
I have been looking for a while to get a car that will tow the victory better than the Prado which struggles a bit when both are well loaded.
I looked at a cruiser that had a tekonsha prodigy controller already installed and so that got me looking at compatibility with my hydrastar brakes , and it seems that since they are series 7 that it would be OK
I have a "DRAW TITE" unit at present and I spend half my life turning the controls up or down, turning the unit to zero at the lights or using the handbrake so as not to keep the pump running and the brakes locked on.
Will the prodigy make my life easier ? Am I doing it all wrong at the moment, or is my current controller just crap?
Can I simply replace the unit that I have with a prodigy or does it mean rewiring??
Any suggestions gratefully accepted>
Brendan
It seems while your foot is on the brake the trailer pump will run.It happens with all the controllers I've used.These thing work off brake pedal switch(cold side) and apart from using handbrake at lights etc you just have to wear it.The pump on the trailer does get quite hot after a while.Tekonsha are a good unit .I fit the voyager because it suits my purpose ok.
Interesting I have a tekonsha prodigy that runs my electric brakes on the van yep there a good unit.Originally Posted by tenzing
But with your situation and the pump running while at lights has got me thinking.
If you hook up a fridge switch 20 Amp or 40 Amp, after your battery but before your 20 Amp Auto resetable circuit breaker. That wire then goes to your brake controller to activate the trailer brakes when the pedal is pushed.
Anyway a fridge switch is a motion switch and will shut of power to your caravan fridge when parked or when at the lights. (saves flatening your car battery)
So basically it will do the same for your brakes on the trailer! and the pump over running.
Once the car is still for a few seconds the power will go off to your brake unit and shut the trailer pump off! only the car brakes will hold the unit.
Once the vehicle moves slightly power will be restored to your brake unit and all the trailer brakes will be working again. Sounds easy Don't know if it's legal but I would try it anyway.
A fridge switch is around 70 bucks.
A marriage licence should be like your fishing licence!
Expires every year and you get a 3 day pass when you go interstate.
If you were really worried about the heat of the pump maybe a thermal overload could be put on the pump motor rather then no supply available.??
It might have one already?? I don't know much about them suckers.
I intend on living for-ever....so far so good
Well there you go.Would not be hard to do,and yep would prob be not legal but who would know.
Must give that a bit of thought.I tow many diff boats/caravan/trailers with elec brake units so would be good to try.
cheers r.a.g. must crackatinnie and start thinking
From memory the Tekonsha instructions say to not sit at traffic lights etc with foot on brake when trailer is being towed. Use hand brake not foot brake in this ciurcumstance. Remember when you were taught to drive and learned about handrake starts on hills? Same deal. If its flat dont need to rest your foot either and if its an auto put it into P or N while waiting. Easy!
Tekonsha is good with Hydrastar and is one of the recommended units. Much cheaper and less prone to "issues" than the "sensa......:" units that also need a dearer specific contoller too.
Cheers
Chimo
What could go wrong.......................
Thanks for the replies. It appears that the situation at the lights will remain the same. Is there any significant advantage in the inertial type controller then over the fully manual system that I have at present. The trailer will be back at Leo's for its annual bearings and brakes checkup and I would get him to look after this too if there is going to be something to gain.
Brendan
Hi Brendan
As long as the system is automatic apart from the occasional fine tune adjustment that I have made infrequently; but only using one boat trailer, KISS is best IMHO.
heres a link to the compatible contollers for HBA Hydrastar. tekkonsha was the winner as far as my KISS world went. Therefore able to move to the next issue!
http://www.carlislebrake.com/product...ontrollers.php
Cheers
Chimo
What could go wrong.......................
The clear benefit of the inertia controller is that it provides a measured amount of braking relative to the decceleration of the tow vehicle.
Slam the brakes on hard and it will provide very heavy trailer braking, slowly apply the brake and it will provide a low trailer brake effort. Everywhere in between it will provide measured braking once set up for the towing load.
Having towed a very large caravan with both systems there is no way I would go back to the non-inertia type.
- Darren
Late edit: Sorry, I would only go back to the non-inertia type if towing in severe off-road conditions where the inertia sensor can be adversely affected by the heavy bumps and ruts etc.
Hey Brendan,
I have a hydrastar setup with a Tenkonsha Voyager. I am towing 2.3tonne with a Nissan Navara STX, Auto. The voyager is simpler to use than the Prodigy and in my opinnion works better with the Hydrastar setup. Quite a few Auto elecs have agreed with this oppinion. Having said that both units will work fine.
The system I use is as follows. for the first 5 to 10 minutes of driving I set the trailor brakes to a minimum and let the car do most the work. Once things have warmed up a bit I increase the intensity of the trailer brakes until I can feel them working to the level I require. I always stay well behind the car in front so I never have to brake suddenly. When I'm at traffic lights and I think it's going to be a while I put the car in Neutral and use the hand brake. It's a pain but once you get in the habit of it, you just forget you're even doing it.
I would suggest getting an auto elec to wire up the new controller as every car seems to be wired slightly different and it's just not worth taking a risk for the sake of a few bucks.
Cheers
Dave
Hi Dave, leaving an Auto in neutral might not be a good idea as the trans fluid is no longer circulating or pumping! and going through the cooler. Therefore things get hotter than they should. Don't need to fry a tranny there not cheap.
Cheers
A marriage licence should be like your fishing licence!
Expires every year and you get a 3 day pass when you go interstate.
Yep the solution seesm to be use the hand brake.
If you should not have to fiddle with the controls, one set up for the laod you are carrying.
If weight of the trailer is consistent like most boats, you may not have to adjust the controller at all.
I have to agree thata decent enertia controlled electric brake system properly set up should be a joy.
I have the voyager and find it just fine....I fitted mine because that is what energex specify.....I can see why.
I can not see any purpose at all in setting the brake controller to minimum " so the car can do the work"
Set up your controller properly and let it do its job from the start.
cheers
Its the details, those little details, that make the difference.
Hey Rough as,
You sure that is correct?
- Darren
Thanks oldboot. I really enjoy the feedback. It is interesting to see how many ways we all cope with the same problem.
I gather that your "set and forget " coments are in relation to the inertia type controllers. It simply doesnt work for me having the same brake pressure at high and low speeds. City is different to highway etc. I find it a little weird having to dial down on the highway at higher speeds, but the feeling of having the arse torn out of the prado when the four discs lock up on the trailer isnt that great. ( I dont really lock them up of courses)
So how do you adjust the inertia type controllers ? just get it right for the load ( which stays about the same)then just leave it alone??
If so, it sounds a lot better then my current arrangement.
Where can you get your hands on these controllers?
Does the voyager sound like the right one for the job?Is there much of a difference between the voyager and the prodigy. The digital readout on the prodigy seems like a better idea than the colour changing LED but I cant really see it that well where it is mounted anyway
Why have I never wondered about this before??
Brendan
So I have been told.
It's a bit like idling your car with the water pump disconected nothing circulating just going to get hotter.
But hell I don't play with auto's I hate the things mainly cause I know nothing about them.
But I do know that you check the oil at idle! as that is when the dip stick will read the highest as the oil is not splashing around and circulating.
Or is that a safety thing! Hmmm who knows someone might stand in front of a car when it's idling and in gear to dip the oil.
So am I wrong with what I have been told? I can't even remember when I heard about it or who by.
Cheers.
A marriage licence should be like your fishing licence!
Expires every year and you get a 3 day pass when you go interstate.
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