1st Tahoe-trailer brake question

[kbuskill]

That Reese Pilot appears to be a time-delayed brake controller, and will probably be fine for occasional use if set up properly. With heavier trailers you'd get better braking performance from a proportional controller. Here's some info on the differences:
https://www.etrailer.com/faq-brakecontroller.aspx

I use a Tekonsha P3 which is probably overkill for pulling a 3,500 lb. travel trailer but it has the features I wanted and was about $135 when I shopped around for it a couple of years ago. There are less expensive proportional controllers if that's what you determine you need.

I also have the P3... it works great.

 

[drakon543]

ive never installed a time delay controller always the regular proportional. reese was the only thing my shop dealt with except on specific customer request. never had any issue with any reese equipment i installed.

 

[sneasle]

That Reese Pilot appears to be a time-delayed brake controller, and will probably be fine for occasional use if set up properly. With heavier trailers you'd get better braking performance from a proportional controller. Here's some info on the differences:
https://www.etrailer.com/faq-brakecontroller.aspx

I use a Tekonsha P3 which is probably overkill for pulling a 3,500 lb. travel trailer but it has the features I wanted and was about $135 when I shopped around for it a couple of years ago. There are less expensive proportional controllers if that's what you determine you need.

EDIT: I drive a bit more conservatively when towing, since other drivers don't seem to respect my stopping distance, even more than usual.

I wow, I wasn't aware there were different options like this. Is the Tekonsha P3 considered to be a good unit? It's not overly expensive and while I won't be doing much towing right now, I'd like to have confidence that when I hook up this relatively heavy trailer in the near future that I'm 'good' to go.

 

[Fless]

The Tekonshas are rated pretty highly, and they make 3 or 4 different models of proportional controllers. Primus IQ, P2, P3, Prodigy RF, Voyager, none are really all that expensive. What's offered varies by number of axles that can be controlled and by features.

I picked the P3 because it had settings and features that I wanted, like the display, ability to store settings for different trailers, etc. My neighbor and I co-owned a camper at the time we set up his Pilot and my Hoe for towing, and this one allowed us to store settings for each vehicle. The feature is really intended to store settings for different trailers, but our desired settings for the same trailer were slightly different so that's what we stored.

 

[intheburbs]

Go to the RV boards and browse their discussions on brake controllers. The P3 is the undisputed best brake controller on the market. Period. There's no reason to cheap out on such a critical piece of equipment.

When I'm piloting a 16,000-lb rig with my entire family on board, I want the best. Tekonsha is it.

 

[sneasle]

The Tekonshas are rated pretty highly, and they make 3 or 4 different models of proportional controllers. Primus IQ, P2, P3, Prodigy RF, Voyager, none are really all that expensive. What's offered varies by number of axles that can be controlled and by features.

I picked the P3 because it had settings and features that I wanted, like the display, ability to store settings for different trailers, etc. My neighbor and I co-owned a camper at the time we set up his Pilot and my Hoe for towing, and this one allowed us to store settings for each vehicle. The feature is really intended to store settings for different trailers, but our desired settings for the same trailer were slightly different so that's what we stored.

Go to the RV boards and browse their discussions on brake controllers. The P3 is the undisputed best brake controller on the market. Period. There's no reason to cheap out on such a critical piece of equipment.

When I'm piloting a 16,000-lb rig with my entire family on board, I want the best. Tekonsha is it.

Thanks gents, that's good enough for me. Ordered a P3 from Amazon, although it looks like I'll be waiting a bit.