Thread: Which Brand Brake Controller???

Ask for a remote head controller, there's only a small knob and LED in the dash panel. I bought one of these for a friend who needed one in his Forester:

ELECTRIC TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER GSL REMOTE HEAD | eBay

Hey Nigel,

I have got a Hayman Reece controller and it may be old school but it is reliable and does the job without any problems.

The “Prodigy” has numerous faults that can read about with a simple Google search. They look good but that is where it stops.

The prodigy along with most other new style units must be mounted flat or near flat to function. No such problem with Hayman Reece, upside down, side ways it matters not.

I tow an off road caravan and have not had one bit of trouble with the old HayMman Reece unit.

Cheers
Grant

The reason that the newer style of controller has to be mounted flat is because they are proportional – if you brake harder (or worse an emergency) the controller will send more voltage to the trailer causing the trailer to brake hard as well.
“Older style” controllers and the ones with the remote dial do not do proportional braking – they will activate the trailer brakes at the preset level no mater how hard (or smooth) you are trying to pull up.

We regularly tow 3t of boat and there is no way I would have an older style controller for that. A non proportional controller would be fine for a light van or camper, however last weekend we dragged our 1.1t camper through winding ranges on single lane road complete with blind corners (that all seem to have oncoming cars on), inclines/declines of 14% ect ect ect; was very happy to have a proportion controller doing its thing, applying braking to the trailer from 2.2v to over 8v at times.

Once you’ve used a proportional you will never go back, like all technology they can play up (as can non proportional controllers). With in our immediate family there are 4 Prodigies and 3 P3s that have never played up, 2 the prodigies are about 10 year old now.

Originally Posted by harlie

The reason that the newer style of controller has to be mounted flat..

They only need to be horizontal left to right too - they can slope front to rear at significant angles to match a sloping dash if needed.

Originally Posted by Drover

Hey Nigel,

I have got a Hayman Reece controller and it may be old school but it is reliable and does the job without any problems.

The “Prodigy” has numerous faults that can read about with a simple Google search. They look good but that is where it stops.

The prodigy along with most other new style units must be mounted flat or near flat to function. No such problem with Hayman Reece, upside down, side ways it matters not.

I tow an off road caravan and have not had one bit of trouble with the old HayMman Reece unit.

Cheers
Grant

Hey Drover Im looking to fit a controler to the SVX, was it a big job and dose the Defender already have a under dash brake controler conection i can tapp into ?

Tekonsha Primus IQ, has most of the features of the P2 and P3 but is much cheaper.

Available on eBay for $80.

Hayman Reese sell the same controller rebranded for $200

Originally Posted by Geedublya

Tekonsha Primus IQ, has most of the features of the P2 and P3 but is much cheaper.

Available on eBay for $80.

Hayman Reese sell the same controller rebranded for $200

One thing I would caution about the Primus IQ or Prodigy 2 which use the same housing, is that the adjustment screw is on the top of the unit which restricts the under dash mounting.

If you do plan to mount under the dash of a D3/D4/RRS or L322 then you may be best advised to purchase the P3, which has the display and controls on the front face, rather the Primus IQ or Prodigy 2.

Diana