This group not "Very good"--, but arguably the "Best" for the money, installation, performance.
Tekonsha P3
Tekonsha Prodigy & identical Drawtite IntellaStop Ultra
Valley Odyssey (now the Odyssey 2 is avaliable, looks even better than the P3/Prodigy to me)
Hayes Genesis
Hensley Tru-Control, nothing really sets this controller apart from the other proportional types.....except the excessive price.
..As already said, Prodigy is indeed a very good controller, probably is indeed the best option if you want to keep the budget at $150 or below. It is worlds better than most controllers out there.
However, it (Prodigy or P3) is NOT the best controller. Best would be the Brakesmart. Nothing gives you as much direct, proportional control over trailer brakes, and works as smoothly as the Brakesmart, its just that simple.
The proof of such, really is in all the actual owner's experience: You will find several on here that have used both a Prodigy, then later a Brakesmart. Every last one of them preferred the Brakesmart hands down, over the Prodigy. If you start asking questions, you'll find that everyone that swears by their Prodigy or P3, has never used, in many cases does not even know about the Brakesmart. If they did....they wouldnt be using a Prodigy any more.
The Prodigy is no doubt the most popular, mostly 'cause of its wide availability, and ease of installation. However, like with many things, most popular is not necessarily the best.
If you need easy installation and want something $150 or less, get a Prodigy. You'll probably be very happy with it. OTOH, if you don't mind a little extra installatin work and dont mind spending a few more $$$, get a Brakesmart. You'll be even happier with it.
Will & Angela
2 wonderful children that love camping, Stephen & Allison
2003 Ford Excursion V10 4x4
2003 Thor Citation 33M, Hensley Arrow hitch, Brakesmart Brake Control
(wanna see? Here is a picture of it )
willald wrote: ..As already said, Prodigy is indeed a very good controller, probably is indeed the best option if you want to keep the budget at $150 or below. It is worlds better than most controllers out there.
However, it (Prodigy or P3) is NOT the best controller. Best would be the Brakesmart. Nothing gives you as much direct, proportional control over trailer brakes, and works as smoothly as the Brakesmart, its just that simple.
The proof of such, really is in all the actual owner's experience: You will find several on here that have used both a Prodigy, then later a Brakesmart. Every last one of them preferred the Brakesmart hands down, over the Prodigy. If you start asking questions, you'll find that everyone that swears by their Prodigy or P3, has never used, in many cases does not even know about the Brakesmart. If they did....they wouldnt be using a Prodigy any more.
The Prodigy is no doubt the most popular, mostly 'cause of its wide availability, and ease of installation. However, like with many things, most popular is not necessarily the best.
If you need easy installation and want something $150 or less, get a Prodigy. You'll probably be very happy with it. OTOH, if you don't mind a little extra installatin work and dont mind spending a few more $$$, get a Brakesmart. You'll be even happier with it.
Did Jordan fall off the planet while I wasn't looking? The only truly proportional controller this side ($) of the Brakesmart. IMHO, the best for $120. The Prodigy is good at what it does, but at its best it is just guessing about how much brake to apply. There are still people arguing that their time based controller is great. Any controller getting its information directly from the braking system on the TV will always be hands down better than the Prodigy. Prodigy only wins on the "ease of installation." Prodigy is not connected to the TV brake system and uses inertia to make a call on how much brake to use. The driver will have no direct control over the trailer brakes. (except the hand control) Most of the time the Prodigy comes up with the right answer, but not 100% of the time. I much prefer systems where my foot directly tells the trailer brakes what I want rather than a system that waits for the TV to do something before reacting.
I bought a used pop-up which was my first camper 4 years ago, when I bought it I called the local camper store and said I wanted to bring it in to get AC installed and have them check everything out so I didn't have any problems. They put in the AC unit and told me everything else was good, I asked them about brakes and they said there was no need for brakes on a pop-up as long as I towed it with my 1/2 ton truck. After I towed it a couple times and read a few posts on here I decided that they were wrong and brought it back in to have them wire the 7 pin plug in so I would have brakes. They told me I was wasting my money but were more than happy to do it. I bought a Reese controller from a auto parts store and everthing was fine. Last year I upgraded to a 28' TT and pulled the camper all last year with no problems braking. Now when I say I had no problems barking I always kept a very large distance between me and other cars so I never had to stop quickly. I have noticed that I have to adjust the setting almost every time I pull, but thats not a big problem.
I've never pulled a camper or heavy trailer with any other controller than the Reese so I am not trying to say that there is no difference between the expensive ones and the cheap ones. I guess my question is what does a $100 (or $300 for that matter) brake controller do that my $20 brake controller won't do?
I've never pulled a camper or heavy trailer with any other controller than the Reese so I am not trying to say that there is no difference between the expensive ones and the cheap ones. I guess my question is what does a $100 (or $300 for that matter) brake controller do that my $20 brake controller won't do?
Mike
The difference between a cheap timer controller and a proportional Prodigy/P3 is that in an emergency the proportional controller is capable of sending full power to the brakes immediately. The cheap controller sends the same "power ramp up over a set time" even in an emergency, not good when you need full brake power. While a cheap controller is certainly better than nothing, I wont use one.
As for the difference between the $100 and $300, very little. A properly adjusted Prodigy/P3 is almost impossible to beat. Everyone has their own definition of best and love to argue it, but in the end its just splitting hairs. Yes I have a MaxBrake in my 3/4 ton and I like it, but not enough to go buy another to replace the P3 in my 1/2 ton.
Thanks chadsalt, If I were to put a p3 in would I have to buy a new harness or would I just be able to unplug my cheapie and plug in the new p3? Seems to me it would be $100 well spent after your explination.
UPTRAPPER wrote: Thanks chadsalt, If I were to put a p3 in would I have to buy a new harness or would I just be able to unplug my cheapie and plug in the new p3? Seems to me it would be $100 well spent after your explination.
Mike
Yes you would have to buy a new harness with the Prodigy or P3. Should still be plug and play at both ends on the truck in your profile.
rolnrolnroln wrote: Did Jordan fall off the planet while I wasn't looking? The only truly proportional controller this side ($) of the Brakesmart. IMHO, the best for $120. The Prodigy is good at what it does, but at its best it is just guessing about how much brake to apply. There are still people arguing that their time based controller is great. Any controller getting its information directly from the braking system on the TV will always be hands down better than the Prodigy. Prodigy only wins on the "ease of installation." Prodigy is not connected to the TV brake system and uses inertia to make a call on how much brake to use. The driver will have no direct control over the trailer brakes. (except the hand control) Most of the time the Prodigy comes up with the right answer, but not 100% of the time. I much prefer systems where my foot directly tells the trailer brakes what I want rather than a system that waits for the TV to do something before reacting.
Roln, not sure if you know, but the owner of Jordan sold the company/product to Camco some time ago (been at least a year). None have been sold/shipped since. Since then, for over a year now, Camco has been 'promising' to come out with an improved version of the Jordan, but they never have. Here is their web page for such, which has claimed 'out of stock' on the Jordan for over a year now.
I agree 100% with you, that the Jordan is (was) indeed the best, down in the price bracket ($150 or less) the Prodigy is in. I used a Jordan for years, and still would be using it had I not found a great deal on a (used) Brakesmart. I still keep the Jordan as a hot spare for the Brakesmart.
However, being that you haven't been able to buy a Jordan for over a year, and there's no indication as to when you will again...I don't include it anymore, in brake controller discussions. When Camco starts making the new version of it, that will change.
chadsalt wrote: The difference between a cheap timer controller and a proportional Prodigy/P3 is that in an emergency the proportional controller is capable of sending full power to the brakes immediately. The cheap controller sends the same "power ramp up over a set time" even in an emergency, not good when you need full brake power. While a cheap controller is certainly better than nothing, I wont use one.
Exactly right, chad. I think it oughta be illegal, to sell those cheap 'power ramp up' brake controllers. Not much more than an accident waiting to happen, IMO.
Quote: As for the difference between the $100 and $300, very little. A properly adjusted Prodigy/P3 is almost impossible to beat..
Now, thats where I'll have to disagree. No disrespect intended, 'cause I agree with you on a lot, but until you've used a Brakesmart, you really can't make statements like this. Way too many people that have used both, that will tell a very different story here.
Quote: Yes I have a MaxBrake in my 3/4 ton and I like it, but not enough to go buy another to replace the P3 in my 1/2 ton.
Ahhhh, *NOW* I think I understand why you think there is little difference between the Prodigy type units, and the high end (MaxBrake, Brakesmart) units. If Maxbrake is all you have to determine this on, then yeah, there is not a whole lotta difference, I'd agree.
I have a MaxBrake right now, too. Have a friend thats considering becoming a supplier for Maxbrake, and asked me to test it out, and do a review for it (which I did). While the Maxbrake is indeed a nice controller, it cannot hold a candle to the Brakesmart (and remember, I've towed with both). Biggest thing that hurts the Maxbrake: Lack of any way to dial in/configure any initial braking whatsoever.
Sooo, yes, there is a BIG difference between the $100 type Prodigy units, and a unit like the Brakesmart. Now, as to whether or not the difference is worth all the extra $$ and installation effort: Only the individual can make that decision for themself.
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