so ive been doing searches everywhere and i must not be looking for the right thing....i want to know if there is an electric over hydraulic brakecontroller that is hand operated only, no decelerometer, no cables or leveling, just a hand operated unit for controlling the trailer? used to slow the truck down with the trailer or hold the truck on a hill, also woundering if there is a system that operates like air brakes so if the trailer isnt plugged in the wheels are locked?

 

Since the liability issues related to such a device could be substantial, can you say a little about why you want one?

Such a device would require you to operate the trailer brakes and drive at the same time. It is easy enough to make, at least I think it would be. I am not sure how heat build up over time in the brake wires would play out, but as long as there was a battery on the trailer and you ran heavier wires from the break-away switch, just pulling the break-away pin would set the brakes and they would hold as long as the battery was not discharged.

On first glance, I would be hesitant to move in this direction.

My thoughts,

Steve

 

X2 on what Steve says, at least for on-road driving. If you need trailer brakes, you don't want to have to be trying to remember to manually activate them in a panic situation when both hands should be on the wheel.

The Tekonsha P3 supports both electric brakes and electric/hydraulic and has a manual override that will work independent of applying the tow vehicle brake pedal.

If you activate the break-a-way switch on the trailer it will lock the brakes when the electrical plug is not plugged in. But be careful, connecting them with the breakaway switch activated can damage some controllers, so I've read.

 

I also like to use the trailer brakes to hold the rig on a hill, especially when starting out, but that's a feature of the brake controller I currently own (Tek Progidgy P2), so I assumed they all had this. No idea why you would want a 100% manual one. would make panic stops from speed very sketchy.

 

just one question ...Why ?

 

you can always do what my wife's uncle does.

get one that requires manual leveling and set the level adjustment all the way to the rear so that no matter how hard you stop the decelerometer will not do anything. (think tekonsha voyager).

not that i recommend it, but it will do what you are asking.

I am curious as to why, as well, though.

 

Why does your wife's uncle do it? I don't get it.

Steve

 

i don't get it either ...

he made mention once that the controller he bought "had all of these settings so that it would work automatically, but I don't know how to set them -- not that I would anyway, so long as it has the manual slide, that's all i ever use anyway" So he figured out how to set the Gain all the way up, and the level all the way rearward, so he can get full power to the brakes with the manual slide.

He's a 65 year old farmer, so it's hard to tell, but i think for him it's partly "new technology" and partly frustration having to "monkey with the thing" every time he hooks to something different.

i suppose after a few decades, you just get used to leaning over while you stop so you can reach the brake controller?

i don't get it either.

To the OP: are you finding it particularly troublesome getting your Electric Over Hydraulic to work with your brake controler? Curious...

 

mainly, i dont use the brake that often, i normally downshift and only use the brakes when im stopped, there for the only time it would be useful would be in panic situations and the manual control would be attached directly to the stick so its gonna be at my finger tips 100 percent of the time as opposed to having to reach down under the dash which puts me in less control of the vehicle if the trailer brakes arent braking hard enough, as for the brakes if the battery for some reason dies on the trailer and its not hitched up while loading it very well could go over the wheel chocks and create an extremely dangerous scenerio. i just feel a fully manual is better suited, but the tek prodigy p2 sounds like what im lookin for, mayb modify the manual control to be more remote so that its in easy reach. i hope this helped with why.

 

and no i dont have a brake controller yet, thats why im posting i wanted to see if what i was originally lookin for was available, and in fact i actually didnt get the truck or trailer yet, i was originally looking at a 79 f350 wrecker but my daily threw a rod and the money for the tow truck went towards a 95 ranger so i can get to work lol

 

a friend of ours drove like that, that is with the foot brake on the truck and downshifting, because she didn't have a brake controller. she always felt in control and drove very conservative and never had a problem.

i put a brake controller in her truck for her last year, after she bought her gooseneck. it was a Tekonsha Primus IQ - self leveling with a boost function.

since putting in the brake controller in and showing her how to set it, and how it should feel when it is properly adjusted, she no longer downshifts to stop and just lets the trailer stop its own weight with the trailer brakes. Once adjusted it makes driving a TON easier and safer.

I understand your desire to to operate them manually in an emergency, but to be quite honest, in a true emergency you are so busy steering that you don't have time to worry about what the trailer brakes are doing. if you have the gain too high, you lock the trailer wheels, if you have the gain too low, then you can't stop.

your best bet in an emergency is a properly adjusted brake controller.

just to ask the question, how do you plan to steer the truck, modulate the truck brakes, modulate the trailer brakes, and downshift all at the same time? that's a recipie for disaster even for the very best of drivers.

to wit: shortly after putting the brake controller in our friend's truck a deer jumped out in front of her on a gravel road. i'm sure she was doing 40-45 (which is usually reasonable on our gravel roads). She made the comment to me that she was very gratefull to have the brake controller and that it was adjusted the way i suggested. she was able to make a brisk stop, with two hands on the wheel and no drama. In her words: "had i not had that brake controler i would have totaled the truck"

the p2 is an awesome unit. but i don't think it will give you the manual control you are asking for.

that being said, it is a good enough unit that it might change your mind on how to use trailer brakes.

also, trailer brakes are cheaper to replace than truck brakes and transmissions. there's no reason not to use them on every stop. and a properly adjusted high quality control unit like the p2 will do it smoothly and safely every time. there really is no down side to using them every time you stop.

not a lecture, just an opinion based on my experiences.

take care!

 

I rather like the factory one on my SD, the automatic works as it should and you still have a manual overide for applying the brakes. The last electronic one I had was a piece of junk, could never get it set right so I replaced it with an older Kelsy Hayes that hooked into the hydrolics and had a manual override also.

Question I have if you are just using gears to slow down with , how do you activate the brake lights? Sounds like good way to field modify the rear of the unit.