Brake controllers, what do you have and why......any and all discusions.........

[skippy]

I find that with towing a caravan its like driving a prime mover/semi trailer, you want the trailer brakes to engage first before the towing car does like a semi as @chartrock also suggested.

With the boost function on the P2/P3 it allows the caravan brakes to engage first.
I then bought a Tow Pro for an upgrade but the auto calibrating function was the main reason I was going to purchase one of these and the other reason is the remote installation. I was happy the way the unit worked apart from the braking delay that I found I was getting compared to the P2/3.

P2 Tekonsha
http://www.tekonsha.com/products/br...rs/prodigy-p2/TzaIxkVx1cI5XOy!osRB52uqDvaehMa!
P3 Tekonsha newer version of the old P2 Tekonsha
http://www.tekonsha.com/products/br...trollers/p3-/TzaIxkVx1cI5XOy!osRB55TR19SXShj4

The tow pro EBRH-ACC (version 1) is suppose to calibrate this but I found the delay was too long and could not bring on the brakes quick enough compared to the P3/P2. I rang Redarc technical help and after explaining how the P2 had a boost function and theirs apparently could not match this feature so unfortunately I retuned the Tow Pro and stuck with the P2. I really liked the idea of the remote head which allows you to install the bulky part of the unit under the dash but performance was the main reason for trying to update.

Also the P2/P3 has a leaver that allows you to apply on the brakes in a controlled manner which is also great for a non jerky tug test before travelling.

I see that there is another version for the Tow Pro and the focus is on the auto calibration, isn't funny how there is another version. That makes 2 versions of this unit and I wonder if mark 2 is finaly up for the test against the P2/P3.
Redarc make really high quality products but for me I am not keen on their brake controllers just yet. Maybe mark 2 will get them there.

EBRH-ACC version 1
EBRH-ACCV2 Elite version 2
https://www.redarc.com.au/tow-pro-elite-electric-brake-controller

 

[bigcol]

EBRH-ACCV2 Elite version 2

I think - from what I have read - it gives you the option to manually change the braking - like in stop start traffic

I have read nothing about being able to calibrate it so the vans brakes come on first..........nothing at all

part of the reason for this entire thread is if some people know of other literature that specifies exactly what the Towpro does........

I'm all ears

 

[skippy]

I think - from what I have read - it gives you the option to manually change the braking - like in stop start traffic

I have read nothing about being able to calibrate it so the vans brakes come on first..........nothing at all
I'm all ears

I can't answer your questions unfortunately @bigcol but I would say the new version would have changed to try and keep up with the P2/P3 boost function at a guess >>>
https://www.redarc.com.au/Content/Images/uploaded/Manuals/EBRH-ACCV2 Instruction Manual.pdf

 

[bigcol]

I am guessing (only guessing) that if you can adjust the braking effort from light to heavy
this means that the brakes are only doing that
not earlier or later

so, apart from adjusting the amount of effort - its not adjusting when the effort is used / needed

my guess, and my guess only - from reading that link

 

[skippy]

I would be keen to see who has what brake controller as well @bigcol maybe time for a brake controller poll?

These are the one's I know about >>

Tekonsha
P3
P2
Voyager

Hayman Reese
IQ Guardian
Sentinel
Vinotour
Compact
Compact IQ

Redarc
EB original
EBRH remote head
EBRH-ACC Towpro
EBRH-ACCV2 New and improved Towpro

 

[skippy]

I am guessing (only guessing) that if you can adjust the braking effort from light to heavy
this means that the brakes are only doing that
not earlier or later

I agree and with force only and not coming on earlier or later as you put it.

 

[Pauly]

First up ,Great thread!
Many moons ago hr (was just happy to have a helping hand at pulling the wagon up , didn't really overthink it back then). But now I have had the same p3 in my last three vehicles . Love it as I have full control and easy to read display at a glance. Manual applying the brakes is smooth and precise . I like the boost modes and being able to fine tune for differing terrain/conditions.
I'm also really interested to hear others opinions on the towpro,being a red arc product fan myself and liking the look of it built in.

 

[WHHEMI]

I have the v2 redarc on my Jeep GC towing a 17.55.8.Journey OB and don't even feel the van on the back when braking, I've never liked the feeling that the van is pulling the tow vehicle up and always have my brake units set so it feels seemless as if your not towing anything, previously had the Tech p3 on a JK wrangler towing a 14 foot Viscount and didn't see any advantage on the p3, the main reason for buying the redarc was the hidden control box with just the knob through the dash as the wife is a bit on the short side and has the seat all the way forward leaving other units dangerously close to her left knee, since the first calibration when we picked up our Journey in September I haven't had to touch it. I would happily buy the redarc V2 again.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

I have the v2 redarc on my Jeep GC towing a 17.55.8.Journey OB and don't even feel the van on the back when braking, I've never liked the feeling that the van is pulling the tow vehicle up and always have my brake units set so it feels seemless as if your not towing anything, previously had the Tech p3 on a JK wrangler towing a 14 foot Viscount and didn't see any advantage on the p3, the main reason for buying the redarc was the hidden control box with just the knob through the dash as the wife is a bit on the short side and has the seat all the way forward leaving other units dangerously close to her left knee, since the first calibration when we picked up our Journey in September I haven't had to touch it. I would happily buy the redarc V2 again.

My old Hayman Reese had the timing setting to bring the brakes on the van before the car (well technically it's impossible to have the van brake before the car, but there is obviously time between the activation of the brake lights and the braking force applying to the cars wheels).

Now having the towpro EBRH-ACC it feels significantly better to tow with than the Hayman Reese despite not having this timing feature as a setting

The proportional nature means that the braking force will be applied at a higher level if the vehicle is being stopped faster, thus effectively applying the brakes on the van both faster and harder, so the end result it's pretty much the same.

 

[crackacoldie]

I have a really old tekonsha unit in the cruiser, first fitted in 2001, has always worked well, have looked at the redarc units but figure "If it ain't broke why fix it?"

 

[dagree]

but figure "If it ain't broke why fix it?"

Same here @crackacoldie but might have something to do with Scottish blood.... Long pockets and short arms.

Would have still been using the old teckonsha IQ primus if it didn't get blown up :target:

 

[JT76]

I have the tow pro v1 and after the initial calibration it's just set and forget. There is a manual mode or auto. Both I believe you can adjust from 1-10 with I think 1/3rd increments. Manual mode I believe is a set amount of force depending on you setting where as auto you set a baseline but it will apply more force under heavy braking by Inertia. I leave mine on about 3.5 out of ten and never touch it. Never feel van lagging behind car brakes they operate simultaneously.

The initial calibration (needed once after the install) takes around 30seconds. I think the v2 does not need to do this and somehow does it itself. The initial calibration is so it knows what way the box is mounted to detect the direction of inertia.

The above is all from memory when I looked it up around 9 months ago just before I installed it. I'm sure Google would help but there seems to be some negative info on it so wanted to say mine seems to work perfectly without having to adjust it ever.

 

[skippy]

The main thing is to consider with the boost on the brake controller is that you will only really notice the need for boost braking if the van weighs more that the car, see a more in depth explanation below>>



Power Boost for Heavy-Duty Towing
Aside from smoother, more efficient braking, Tekonsha's P3 brake controller also offers a boost feature that gives you more initial braking power for those times when you're towing heavy loads. You can switch boost levels so that the power output to your trailer brakes automatically starts out at either 13 percent or 25 percent of the predetermined power setting.


So, if you boost the initial power so that your trailer brakes activate with 25 percent of the overall intensity at the start, the brakes will reach maximum braking faster. This is particularly beneficial if you are towing a heavy load because the intensity required to stop that load may be far greater than that needed to halt your vehicle. Therefore, sending out more initial power to the trailer brakes - and causing them to reach maximum braking faster - allows you to better control the trailer so that it doesn't push your tow vehicle before coming to a complete stop.


If your trailer weighs less than your tow vehicle, no boost is needed. But if you wish to set the boost so that your trailer leads the braking of your towing setup, you can select level B1. The following table gives an indication of when you might use the different boost levels and the power increases that they offer.


Approximate Gross Trailer Weight Boost Level Increase in Initial Power Output
Less than tow vehicle GVW B1 13%
Equal to tow vehicle GVW B1 or B2 13% or 25%
Up to 25% more than tow vehicle GVW B2 or B3* 25%
Up to 40% more than tow vehicle GVW B3* 25%

*Both B2 and B3 offer a 25-percent boost in initial power. But the braking curve for B3 is more aggressive than that of B2. This means that, even though you will start out with the same intensity when using these boost levels, you will get an overall more aggressive braking experience with the higher level. So if you use B3, you will reach maximum braking sooner than if you use B2.

 

[skippy]

I have the tow pro v1 and after the initial calibration it's just set and forget. There is a manual mode or auto. Both I believe you can adjust from 1-10 with I think 1/3rd increments. Manual mode I believe is a set amount of force depending on you setting where as auto you set a baseline but it will apply more force under heavy braking by Inertia. I leave mine on about 3.5 out of ten and never touch it. Never feel van lagging behind car brakes they operate simultaneously.

The initial calibration (needed once after the install) takes around 30seconds. I think the v2 does not need to do this and somehow does it itself. The initial calibration is so it knows what way the box is mounted to detect the direction of inertia.

The above is all from memory when I looked it up around 9 months ago just before I installed it. I'm sure Google would help but there seems to be some negative info on it so wanted to say mine seems to work perfectly without having to adjust it ever.

Does the van you tow weigh more than the car? If this van weighs less than the car towing, the van should stop in conjunction with the towing vehicle. The problem becomes when the van is heavier than the towing car. This is when you will really understand when you really need the boost function to fully understand the benefits of this function.

Towpro's are are a great brake controller. I feel the P2/P3 are more advanced brake controller for larger vans and you don't really notice the difference until you test both against each other, especially when the van (Panda) weighs more than the car towing it. :eagerness:

 

[dagree]

Some good advice there @skippy

With my P2 I have it set on B1 (13%) @ 6V for normal towing and B2 (25%) @ 6V for highway driving when I remember to switch it over

 

[bigcol]

one of the things I have found, while driving and towing here in Wait Awhile,
although we dont have the hills as such, like the east coast (Princess Hwy - Bulli Pass, that one on Cunningham) we only pretty much have Gt Eastern Hwy - Greenmount & Toodyay Rd - Red Hill. maybe throw in Scarp Rd in Waroona & Del Park Rd Dwellingup (maybe more.....)
all of which, if your not careful, will leave you with no brakes left at the bottom of the hills
Gt Eastern is not so bad as it is 2 lanes, the rest are single country roads

I prefer to "feel" the Van brakes come on and help to "anchor" me as I am braking while going down any hill - not being able to feel that the Vans brakes are working scares me
my car is more than adequate to tow with, and its braking, like most cars towing, will do the job properly

maybe I am just a woossy with my braking
but I have come down Greenmount on a wet road in an auto in reverse because the brakes failed

 

[skippy]

Some good advice there @skippy

With my P2 I have it set on B1 (13%) @ 6V for normal towing and B2 (25%) @ 6V for highway driving when I remember to switch it over

I basically run the same as you but I switch from B3 for highway driving and back to B2 for around town.

It's hard to explain this function, most people don't really understand until they have had experience towing.

The down side is makeing sure you don't forget to switch it around :doh:

I really like the idea of the fully automatic Towpro but only if you are towing a van lighter than the towing vehicle. :ranger:

 

[skippy]

one of the things I have found, while driving and towing here in Wait Awhile,
although we dont have the hills as such, like the east coast (Princess Hwy - Bulli Pass, that one on Cunningham) we only pretty much have Gt Eastern Hwy - Greenmount & Toodyay Rd - Red Hill. maybe throw in Scarp Rd in Waroona & Del Park Rd Dwellingup (maybe more.....)
all of which, if your not careful, will leave you with no brakes left at the bottom of the hills
Gt Eastern is not so bad as it is 2 lanes, the rest are single country roads

The hills don't really worry me @bigcol its more the wildlife that's unpredictable.:deadhorse:

I prefer to "feel" the Van brakes come on and help to "anchor" me as I am braking while going down any hill - not being able to feel that the Vans brakes are working scares me
my car is more than adequate to tow with, and its braking, like most cars towing, will do the job properly

I am with you as well on this one you can't beat the van brakes coming on first before the car. My car is also more that capable but I still like to know that the van is pulling up its own weight first.

maybe I am just a woossy with my braking
but I have come down Greenmount on a wet road in an auto in reverse because the brakes failed

:shocked: OMG are you for real, what car was that in and I hoped no one was hurt.

 

[JT76]

I'm learning again, Yes my van is lighter than my car so the above all makes sense. Interesting to hear different ideas re peoples preferred braking set up, having the van take more etc.

One time I went to leave the driveway with van hooked up, after just touching the brakes I jolted to a halt. Kids must of played with the brake knob and it was set to 10 (max). Now first thing I check is the brake setting before I take off.

 

[skippy]

I'm learning again, Yes my van is lighter than my car so the above all makes sense. Interesting to hear different ideas re peoples preferred braking set up, having the van take more etc.

One time I went to leave the driveway with van hooked up, after just touching the brakes I jolted to a halt. Kids must of played with the brake knob and it was set to 10 (max). Now first thing I check is the brake setting before I take off.

I away perform a tug (brake test) test before we sent off too.