open roads
Niles, Michigan USA
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Joined: 11/28/2000
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My Son bought a new Chev PU, 3quarter ton, He
has not installed the pig tail brake controller
and was wondering if the brakes on his Trailer
will work without the controller? We hooked
the Trailer up and it sure seems like the Tr Brakes
were coming on. Is that possible?
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blt2ski
Kirkland, Wa
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Joined: 03/15/2001
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How do you know/think the brakes are working? If you are going by the lights are on, then you're in trouble. As the lights and brakes are a seperate wire and circut.
On the other hand f you have tried to pull the trailer and the brakes are on, you may have the emergancy cable pulled. Yes the brakes will work here without a controller. But you need the controller to send power back to the trailer for the brakes to work.
You will need at minimum a 6 pin plug, most RV trailers use a 7 pin Bargman plug, with the center pin being for extra circuts, in my case the reverse lights to the trailer are hooked up in this spot.
Marty
05 Chev CC D/A LS Dooley
92 Navistar dump truck, 7.3L 7 sp, 4.33 gears with a Detroit no spin
00 Chev C2500, V5700, 4L80E, 4.10, base truck, no options!
92 Red-e-haul 12K equipment trailer
3 Single axle utility trailers
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wellsdesigned
Above the Sacramento Fog, CA
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Joined: 07/10/2002
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Trying to hook up trailer brakes directly to the brake wire will make the trailer brakes come full on even when you just need to slow a bit.
Cheap brake controllers work by starting with a small amount of power to the trailer brakes when you press the peddle. Then the longer your foot is on the brake, the controller slowly gives more stopping power to the brakes. This is o.k. but requires a lot of adjusting for driving conditions.
The better controllers use things like inertia sensors that apply an amount of trailer brake force directly proportional to the amount of slowing you are creating. This is defiantly a much safer and easier system. It's worth the $125 or so for a Prodigy or similar.
*This Message was edited on 01-Apr-03 08:46 AM by wellsdesigned*
2002 2500HD 4X4 Ext. Cab 6.0L V8
2004 Eagle Cap 850 Camper w/slide-out
See How We Built Our RV Storage Barn
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thebrakeman
Westland, Michigan
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Joined: 03/25/2003
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I'll second that!
I brought home my popup behind my minivan and am very pleased with the Prodigy controller. This is my first trailer, so I've never used any brake controller; but the previous reply is enough description to understand the proportional unit's worth, even without prior experience.
1997 Chrysler Town & Country 3.8L-V6
2000 Coleman Mesa (A/C, add-a-room, grey water storage)
Class III Hidden-Hitch, Prodigy Brake Controller
Reese 400 Single-Bar WDH & Friction Sway Control
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