Best trailer brakes?

[PM18S4]

Just installed my 3rd Redarc. I won't use anything else anymore.

Do you follow a guide for installing and wiring Redarcs to a GMT400? I've been meaning to install a Elite V2 for a while now but have been questioning the best place under the dash to mount the controller and best place to tap into the brake wire.

 

[pressureangle]

Do you follow a guide for installing and wiring Redarcs to a GMT400? I've been meaning to install a Elite V2 for a while now but have been questioning the best place under the dash to mount the controller and best place to tap into the brake wire.

Both of mine are '94s. First one put the dial in the trim below the column, strapped the unit box to the bottom of the stock radio receiver brace. Catch the brake wire somewhere above the column. Second install, removed the stock radio and strapped the box to the top of the brace, ran the dial to one of the removable blanking panels below the stock radio head.

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[BNielsen]

Both of mine are '94s. First one put the dial in the trim below the column, strapped the unit box to the bottom of the stock radio receiver brace. Catch the brake wire somewhere above the column. Second install, removed the stock radio and strapped the box to the top of the brace, ran the dial to one of the removable blanking panels below the stock radio head.

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Oh wow that's clean. How does it perform compared to a Tekonsha P3? Out of all the controllers I've used the P3 is the best, but I'm really intrigued by the Redarc; E-Trailer advertises them everywhere it seems.

 

[pressureangle]

Oh wow that's clean. How does it perform compared to a Tekonsha P3? Out of all the controllers I've used the P3 is the best, but I'm really intrigued by the Redarc; E-Trailer advertises them everywhere it seems.

I tow a number of trailers, from my single axle motorcycle trailer to my son's double axle dump trailer full of soil. Set right, you simply can't tell the trailer is behind you when braking. I haven't used a 'standard' brake controller in a decade, so I can't really compare them to the Redarc; I assume they've got better and the high end stuff probably works as well or nearly. I went to the Redarc simply because I didn't want the knee banging nor the digging around and leaning over to get the trailer brake slider. The remote on the Redarc does everything, and does it smoothly. The dial is easy to read, reach, and adjust for the load as well as being out of harm's way. Compared to a 20 year old Tekonsha, it's simply magical.

 

[Supercharged111]

Does it have an emergency brake function? I only see a twisty knob to interface with and the website doesn't specify.

 

[alpinecrick]

I started pulling live weight 50 years ago with trucks a lot less capable than GMT400's. Where I live elevation gain--and loss--are measured in 1000's of feet. Most trailers are going to have electric brakes. Keep it simple. Tekonsha P2 or P3 are the best electric controllers I've been around. I ain't lost a critter yet.......

 

[pressureangle]

Does it have an emergency brake function? I only see a twisty knob to interface with and the website doesn't specify.

It does- simply push and hold the button. It's programmable for a number of different schemes- I think it defaults to 'max effort of your chosen number' so if you push and twist you get max power. I've never used it beyond testing to see that it works. You can also program it to act in timed rather than progressive if you like to use the brakes lightly and let the trailer do the work.

 

[alpinecrick]

I've never had the Redarc, but what I have been told is they don't work well off pavement. I see from the website and their video they have the Elite which has an offroad mode.

I'll try to be semi-humble here.....most drivers in the USA have very little towing experience and even less off-pavement or towing in slick conditions experience, and even less on long steep grades where one loses thousands of feet of elevation before they hit the bottom of the valley. Colorado is full of crashed semis whose drivers are probably excellent drivers on I-40 in Alabana but when they hit the mountains they grossly underestimate what down hill and/or snowpack roads really means.

What the Redarc Elite video doesn't tell me is when the controller is in offroad mode when the knob/button is pushed to operate trailer brakes exclusively is it momentary or can the operator hold the button down and continue to apply the trailer brakes?

The part that won't work for me is in offroad mode when the button is pushed with the Elite to exclusively trigger the trailer brakes it only applies the maximum amount of braking that the knob is set to.

With a conventional "slider" knob on most controllers the amount of trailer braking is proportional to the distance the operator pullls the silder. Now, the amount of porportional braking with the slider is also dependent on where the operator has the dial set, but still the operator has more control over the amount of force the being applied to the trailer brakes by how far he pulls the sliding knob.

As pressureangle noted with the Redarc the operator may be able to change braking force by turning the knob to change the amount of braking force while simultaneously pushing the knob to activate exclusive tralier braking. But in panic mode--like when the trailer is trying to wrap itself around the truck's front bumper-- steering with one hand, keeping one eye on the trailer and the other on the road, while pushing and turning the knob with the other hand adds to busy-ness of the immediate situation.

I know most of this won't apply to the majority of people who tow, but it's something to keep in mind.

As an added note.....I've never understood the rookie mistake of mounting the controller on the left side. I grew up with manual transmissions and the right hand is the free hand while the left hand is the steering hand. I learned long time ago how to dip a chew, open a beer can, tune the radio, shoot road signs, all simultaneously, while keeping my left hand on the steering wheel.

I mean, it plumb unsafe to take both hands off the steering wheel, right?........

 

[pressureangle]

I've never had the Redarc, but what I have been told is they don't work well off pavement. I see from the website and their video they have the Elite which has an offroad mode.

I'll try to be semi-humble here.....most drivers in the USA have very little towing experience and even less off-pavement or towing in slick conditions experience, and even less on long steep grades where one loses thousands of feet of elevation before they hit the bottom of the valley. Colorado is full of crashed semis whose drivers are probably excellent drivers on I-40 in Alabana but when they hit the mountains they grossly underestimate what down hill and/or snowpack roads really means.

What the Redarc Elite video doesn't tell me is when the controller is in offroad mode when the knob/button is pushed to operate trailer brakes exclusively is it momentary or can the operator hold the button down and continue to apply the trailer brakes?

The part that won't work for me is in offroad mode when the button is pushed with the Elite to exclusively trigger the trailer brakes it only applies the maximum amount of braking that the knob is set to.

With a conventional "slider" knob on most controllers the amount of trailer braking is proportional to the distance the operator pullls the silder. Now, the amount of porportional braking with the slider is also dependent on where the operator has the dial set, but still the operator has more control over the amount of force the being applied to the trailer brakes by how far he pulls the sliding knob.

As pressureangle noted with the Redarc the operator may be able to change braking force by turning the knob to change the amount of braking force while simultaneously pushing the knob to activate exclusive tralier braking. But in panic mode--like when the trailer is trying to wrap itself around the truck's front bumper-- steering with one hand, keeping one eye on the trailer and the other on the road, while pushing and turning the knob with the other hand adds to busy-ness of the immediate situation.

I know most of this won't apply to the majority of people who tow, but it's something to keep in mind.

As an added note.....I've never understood the rookie mistake of mounting the controller on the left side. I grew up with manual transmissions and the right hand is the free hand while the left hand is the steering hand. I learned long time ago how to dip a chew, open a beer can, tune the radio, shoot road signs, all simultaneously, while keeping my left hand on the steering wheel.

I mean, it plumb unsafe to take both hands off the steering wheel, right?........

I have never had to ask anything of the controller beyond simply stopping the trailer, but I have in the past wished my controller was more accessible, easier to find in a rush, and hadn't been knee-bashed and upset beforehand. Perhaps someone with direct experience towing a trailer where they wish they hadn't can chime in.

 

[alpinecrick]

Pressureangle,
I'm very aware of conventional controllers being in the way of the knees. On both my GMT400's and 800's my controllers are mounted directly over the edge of the trans hump and don't interfere with my legs, hopefully even in a wreck. Most people want to mount conventional controllers too close to the steering column where they have to reach around the steering wheel to grab the sliding knob or adjust the proportional braking. Been there and dealt with that situation.
I also modified the brackets on my P2's and P3 so the controller is all the way up tight against the bottom of the dash. I'm 6-1, 210 lbs, so I need room to roam in my trucks, I forget the controllers are even there, and they have never reminded me they are there by interfering with my knees.