Thread: Electric Trailer Brakes

Originally Posted by Jock The Rock

So the Tekonsha would be a very smooth ride I imagine? Does the Redarc lurch much, seeing as the brakes are either on of off?

I have never driven with a Tekonsha so cannot comment on their ride. Clearly if you have the Redarc on full and you are wanting to brake gently most likely the trailer brakes will lock pulling you up quickly however you just adjust the control knob in the cabin to suit the conditions. As a rule of thumb when driving on bitumin I had the brakes set to retard but not lock. Worked fine and after a while you get in to the practice of using the trailer to pull you up in easy braking - just touching the brakes did this - if more braking was needed just push the brake pedal more - the trailer would look after itself.

I would not recommend one type over the other - people swear by what they have fitted - both (based on others comments) seem to work fine.

Garry

I have the Redarc and I find it more than adequate for my camper which is about 1100kg all up. You can adjust the brake pressure by turning the knob as previously stated or you can press the button in the middle of the dial if you want to brake independently of the car.
Never had a problem and the best part is, you can fit it anywhere and bang your bloody knee on it!
Oh... I bought mine from the guy in Bairnsdale...he's great, call him and he'll tell you the best controller for your purposes...he sells them all.

Here's a link to his store. I bought a P3 from him , yet to fit.
No I'm not conected in any way

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Gary

I have a Redarc and it performs well and can be mounted anywhere at any angle, ideal in a Defender as it is really hard to find a position for a unit like the Tekonsha that needs to be set up within a certain angle and plain. Part of why I went the Redarc. Can be adjusted easily in cab. I use it with my caravan without any dramas.
On my car trailer I currently have override disc brakes. Limits the trailer to 2 tonne.
When you say electric brakes there is the basic set up that encompasses a controller and electric wheel brakes. Depending on type, 2 wheel or all 4 wheels etc could be anything from $500 to $1000.
If you want to get your trailer up rated to 3 odd tone you will have to go breakaway brakes and that could cost up to $3k depending on what you want to do, what you need and brand. Last I looked into it it could not be done with discs, only hydraulics or mechanical overide can use discs.

You can do hydraulic (disk or drum) systems for over 2t, just need a actuator (Hydrastar, Dextor or Sensa-Brake), look at the boat trailers in the 2-3.5t range, they are all disk. This will how ever push up the costs and complexity considerably.

Don't forget to check what bearings you have.

I have used both Proportional and ‘dumb’ controllers with trailers from 600kg to 4.2t and I can say there is no way in hell I would use a non-proportional controller for trailers over 1.5 maybe 2t, override system will provide better proportional braking under heavy braking (up until it all goes horribly wrong).

Upper spec Proportional controllers use an accelerometer instead of a pendulum switch, making them smother again and most of the big manufacturers have now completely dropped non-proportional controllers from their line, because cost is no longer a factor. The only companies pushing dumb controllers don’t have the technology like Redarc (as in my brothers D3) – they are just a fancy rheostat.

We had a Teconsha fitted to My wife's Navara and it behaved strangely by activating the brake lights intermittently even when the vehicle was parked and everything switched off. The auto electrician replaced it with a Redarc under warranty and that unit has been trouble free, easy to set, and as it's small, it was easier to fit into a little gap under the dash beside the steering column. Don.

Originally Posted by Graeme

I bought an intelligent Tekonsha P3 (now $139 on ebay) rather than a dumb Redarc. Whilst I haven't used it yet, I consider smartness is preferred, especially in abnormal situations.

I have had a Tekonsha Prodigy for about 6 years and wouldn't use anything else, I have used HR and others previously.
It has proportional braking but also has a "selectable boost feature" which applies the trailer brakes a certain percentage as soon as the brake light is activated. Then as more deceleration is detected the proportional control takes over and applies the brakes even more. I set my boost on 1 generally, sometimes 2 if I am loaded, and I think I used 3 down the Clyde mountain range.
What I like is the fact you don't get the big push from the trailer. It does it's own braking like it should. It's a very nice controller IMHO.
The newer model prodigy P3 should be just as good, has LCD display etc..
With any electric brakes, maintenance and adjustment of the shoes/pads is critical for a good effect.
I believe some of the Tekonsha Voyager controls had a problem, re brake lamps, replaced under warranty AFAIK

i have a tekonsha voyager fitted to the top drivers side of the dash on my defender.fits fine,works fine.