electric brakes and slick roads

[TDIwyse]

didn't find an answer to my question in the search engine, so here it goes:

How do you guys compensate for different road conditions (dry pavement, gravel roads, snow/ice roads) with your electric brake controllers?

I am picking up my travel trailer tonight and installed my Voyager electric brake controller and from reading the instructions it looks like there will need to be adjustments made on the fly for different road conditions.

[a64pilot]

I don't do anything to my settings unless the brakes begin to lock, then of course I back down a little.
BTW, I don't tow (heavy) in slippery conditions, I don't make a living towing so I can wait until roads get better

[Maverick]

TDi,
Where are you located? The only thing that might affect the trailer brakes is ice. Snow and gravel should have little effect on stopping power. If you are locking the brakes up on this type of surface then you are running the brakes to tight to begin with. The way I set my brakes is run up to 10-15 mph and ativate the trailer brakes only. I set it up so I only feel a slight tug and then drag on the trailer. You should slowly slow down. If it jerks hard and you slow down real fast, your brakes will not last and possibly burn them up. Your truck should be the primary braking source and the trailer should be a helper. Often people new to towing set up trailer brakes way to hard and think the trailer has to stop them not the truck.
Your Voyager brake controller is an average controller. It only turn the elec. brakes on or off. If you brake hard or soft with the truck, the same amount of brake will be applied to the trailer regardless. I would invest in a better controller such as a Techonshia Prodigy. If you brake soft with the truck it will make the trailer brake soft also. If you brake hard with the truck it will make the trailer brake hard. Works very nice.
Good luck.

[TDIwyse]

Thanks for the replies. I'm kicking myself for not getting a better ebrake controller, especially after reading posts about the higher end controllers. Oh well, live and learn.

I did at least get the camper home last night without any trouble from the brakes (I live in Cedar Rapids, IA, and there's still some snow/ice on our gravel road and lane). Maybe I'll use the Voyager for this summer and upgrade next year.

[MaxACL]

I don't feel real smart for asking this... But shouldn't the brake lights come on when the trailer brakes are applied? :rolleyes:

[Diesel Freak]

Max ACL: some of the older controllers would turn the brake lights on, the last few controllers I've had do not turn them on. I currently have a Prodigy and it does not, not really sure why.

Maverick: I respectfully disagree with you on how tight the trailer should be set. At maximum braking power from the controller, the trailers tires should be right under lockup. That way in case of an emergency situation, you have the absolute most braking available from truck and trailer. The pickup should not absorb most of the extra trailer weight with it's own brakes, the trailer should do most of it's own braking. Otherwise you will wear the pickup brakes out quickly. I do agree that some people set them so tight the trailer does most of the braking, and that's not good either. And, as you said, "on, off" brake controllers really aren't the way to go. A prodigy or jordan really isn't that much more money when you factor in the cost of the pickup and the cost of the trailer, what's another $50-$75 for safety's sake? :D :D

[Modified]

Max ACL :

The trailer brake lights are turned on and off by the lighting system of the tow vehicle.
The brake controller senses the need for trailer brakes, (by brake light signal, inerta, brake peddle travil, ...), and then sends a veriable voltage to the trailer brakes.
Most brake controllers have a "Manual" brake switch or pushbutton, to allow you to accuate the trailer brakes and not the tow vehicle brakes, and this will help you when adjusting your brake controller.
When using this Manual switch, I don't believe any controller will actuate the brake lights. The brake lights actuate when the tow vehicle brake peddle is depressed.

[Diesel Freak]

Modified, I had an older electronic controller that would turn on my brake lights, it hooked up the same way. I really don't know what's different but that's the way it was.

Jerry

[DonG]

The brake controller I finally settled on does turn on the truck brake lights as well as the trailer brake lights when you use the manual control on the brake controller. Of course the lights also works when you step on the brake pedal.

This brake controller is more expensive, but I love it. It is called the "Brake Smart" controller from Master Brake.

Don

[biker Wayne]

Maverick,
I have to agree with Diesel Freak! The trailer brakes need to stop all of the weight of the trailer. If you have the truck stopping part of the weight of the trailer, your stopping distances with start to increase dramatically. According to several states, you are supposed to have enough trailer braking capacity to stop both the truck and the trailer so that if your truck brakes fail on a downhill, you can still control the rig.
The brake controller needs to be set so that when manually activated at 20 mph, it will almost slide the tires on the trailer. This is especially important as you go over 4000 or 5000 pounds trailer weight.

[Searay90]

They voyager series of brake controllers are not "on/off" brake controllers. They apply voltage consistant with the braking applied (deceleration of the vehicle). The harder you brake the vehicle, the more power is applied to the trailer brakes.

Quote from their web page

The Voyager and Voyager XP is a brake controller for single and tandem axle trailers equipped with electric brakes. It has a patented sensor that makes traveling a smooth experience. Green LED monitors a secure connection with trailer and changes to red to indicate increase of power to the trailer brakes.

[Maverick]

Diesel Freak & biker Wayne,
Its all a matter of personal preference I guess. Trailer brakes heat up and fade very fast.

Searay90,
I have a voyager in the 2500HD. Mine must be broke. Mine is just an on/off controller. Sure the power is adjustable, but it supplies that same voltage setting either in panic or normal braking. I have a Prodigy in my 3500. This is a much nicer controller.

[MaxACL]

Thanks for the heads up guys. I'm going to go looking for another controller.

On another note... Before long I'll be purchasing a Goose Neck flat bed, about 35 to 40 feet and I've heard of a power assist braking system on the disk brake axles. That is a 12v motor on the trailer that powers a hyd pump that supplies the wheels. Runs off the same controller that elect brakes use. Any one heard of this?

Mike

[IndigoDually]

Max, I have seen the type of brakes that You are referring to recently in Trailer Life magazine. They look pretty cool but they are pretty expensive. Another route that You can go is vacuum over hydraulic. These work great but the truck does need to have a vac pump and controller installed on it. This set-up runs around $1500 or so IIRC.

John

[Diesel Freak]

TDI, I used to have a Voyager myself, it worked okay, and it is variable. The Prodigy I have now is much nicer.

Maverick, a safety issue isn't really a matter of personal preference. If your trailer brakes are fading so fast you don't want to use them the proper way, you really should get them checked out. Don't take my word for it, ask the Department of Transportion. :D ;) :D

[ 03-05-2003: Message edited by: Diesel Freak ]</p>

[Maverick]

Diesel Freak,

Ya whatever tongue.gif You must not tow very much.

[ 03-05-2003: Message edited by: Maverick ]</p>

[DonG]

MaxACL,
The brake system you are referring to is exactly what I have on my 31 foot RV. A small motor drives a hydraulic pump that activates the hydraulic disk brakes. You can also get a pneumatic system, but I know little about them.

What I have works absolutely great when stopping my 14,000 lb RV. I paid more for it, but I was tired of problems with the ancient style drum brakes available on most RV's, plus several problems with the magnets.

You can begin your research at www.masterbrake.com

One word of caution. A Tekonsha Prodigy will not work with this system. When I called Tekonsha about the problem, all they would say is: "Our Prodigy controller is designed for electric brakes only". No other help was coming so I threw away my Prodigy controller and bought a "BrakeSmart" controller that works perfectly.

Hope this starts you on your hunt. Ask away on any other questions.

Don

[Maverick]

MaxACL,
I have heard alot of good things about this system. Nice stuff.

[Diesel Freak]

Maverick, I've towed hundreds of thousands of miles, I used to drive truck, and I currently own 9 different trailers, 7 of which are large enough to have brakes. I can assure you than none of my trailers have problems with brake fade, and I have every one of them do their own stopping, not rely on the pickup.

I also am not going to argue about it, I'm sure if you contact D.O.T. they will tell you the trailer needs to have the capacity to stop itself and not rely on the pickup. Try adding 2000lbs to the bed of your truck and see how much longer it takes to stop from 60mph, now double triple, quadruple etc. that figure with the weight of a trailer. I sure don't want to be the poor sucker in front of you in a panic stop situation.

tongue.gif tongue.gif

[Maverick]

Diesel Freak,
Ya whatever. You must not tow heavy very much in the mountains.

[Diesel Freak]

Maverick, look where I live, ya think there might be mountains around? Not to mention I've towed in every continental state but LA.

This is a pointless arguement........

[Maverick]

"This is a pointless arguement........"
Good thing you finally figured that out.
I'm done myself.

[dmaxstu]

I got rather a charge out of all these arguments and all you smart guys aren't even using the best controller on the market, namely the Jordan Ultima 2020. And when 'Modified' listed all the things that have to transpire before you get braking to the trailer (Brake light signal,Inertia, and brake pedal travel) I was again thankfull that I have the Jordan since it only uses the brake pedal travel and brakes proportionately. It will also work well with 'Tow Brake International hydraulic brakes. www.jordanbrake.com. When you tow with the Jordan you will not think about trailerbrakes it brakes in complete unity with the towvehicle even in stop & go commute traffic. The only time you have to adjust the controller is after a brake shoe adjustament. When you are unhooked from the trailer you can, if you want to, unhook the cable from the brake pedal arm and that idles the controller untill you attach it again.No re-adjustment will be necesary when it is hooked up again.Stu