inertia vs time based brake controllers

banshee42096 · August 2, 2004

NEED SOME HELP PICKED UP MY 04 2500HD D/A CC

NEED TO GET BRAKE CONTROLLER JUST WONDERING

WHAT ONE IS BETTER THE INERTIA ONE OR THE TIME

RELEASED ON I HEARD THAT THE INERTIA ONE DOES

NOT WORK THAT GOOD IF YOUR TRUCK DONT NOSE DIVE

ALOT ANY HELP PLEASE

whitesnake01 · August 2, 2004

NEED SOME HELP PICKED UP MY 04 2500HD D/A CC
NEED TO GET BRAKE CONTROLLER JUST WONDERING

WHAT ONE IS BETTER THE INERTIA ONE OR THE TIME

RELEASED ON I HEARD THAT THE INERTIA ONE DOES

NOT WORK THAT GOOD IF YOUR TRUCK DONT NOSE DIVE

ALOT ANY HELP PLEASE

I used to use an inertia based controller (Tekosha). For the past couple of years I have used a wire based controller: Jordan's Ultima 2020. This is an excellent controller. In fact, I have just received a new 2020 for my soon to arrive 2005.

You basically attach a wire to your break pedal which then modulates the controller. Your trailer responds like your truck. You press harder, it gets more, etc. You come to a stop light and release the pedal slightly, you can see how it backs off on the Amperage against the trailer. It is, in concept, identical to controllers that rely on brake line pressure to modulate trailer brakes. The differences are (a) you do not tap into your brake lines and (b) it still works even if your truck's brake line pressure goes low.

This may have been fixed since, but in my 93 truck there is no distinct brake signal. Instead, a traditional controller taps into the brake signal lead. As you press your brake pedal and cross a magic threshold, your truck's brake switch bleeds 12V to the brake lights. This alerts a traditional brake controller you want to brake. The settings on the controller determines how much juice to send and a pendulum may help the controller how soon to react. Unfortunately, this also means your trailer brakes go bananas if you try to use your hazard lights on steep climbs as this produces a fake signal for the brake controller when your brake lights flash on and off. I do not have this problem with the Ultima.

Search for Ultima 2020 on the web and you'll find lots of info about it.

JimWilson · August 4, 2004

I've never had a controller that works as good as the Prodigy. It's not like the Ultima, in the respect that you directly hook a connection to your brake pedal, but it does seem to modulate itself quite well.

And just a bit of information for ya... capital letters are frowned upon in all forums and newsgroups. It constitutes shouting, so it's best to use proper case. And some punctuation might make your posts a little easier to read too.

f7_ditch_jumper · August 4, 2004

Tekonasha Prodigy all the way! Best brake controller ive ever used. I like it because it doesn't require you to level it. If you buy more than one wiring harness and cradle you can "plug and play" and use it in more than one vehicle. Another good feture of it, it will hold the breaks on when you are stopped. It also brakes proportionally in reverse. Unlike most inertia controllers, you can control the intial "surge" of power to the brakes. This gives you a more naturual stop when towing heavier loads. Make sure you get the GM wiring harness. This harness doesn't require any cutting or splicing of wires, just plug it into the fuse box.