I am glad that Kurt has had good experiences with the controller SO FAR. I have so many ways I want to answer this..... Hmmm, ok lets try this one; As for reviews, I do not put much stock in ANY reviews because you do not know what ax (as in money) the reviewer had to grind be it for or against. I put WAY more stock in what is said on boards like this after many comments beacause you will eventually get the whole story. As for people thinking that someone who does not jump on the first edition of something or accept that the company says it's great right out of the box is archaic or something need I remind you of the '03 6.0 debacle or the '99 chevy P/U disaster or many other first time errors? All great wiz bang ideas from Detroit. Look, it's fine if you want to be an early adopter but after being in the computer buisness and being burned by companies telling me how great things are right out of the box, and, after owning one of those Chevy disasters I will wait a bit before I trust my life to a reviewer and a car company. My prodigy has worked, and I am sure will continue to work fine while we wait and see just how good an idea this controller is. As always, just my opinion.....

 

I keep seeing this repeated so for the record "THE CONTROLLER IS HOOKED INTO THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM OF THE TRUCK". Ok I feel better now, sorry about the screaming, but a fella can only take so much. It does work with the anti-lock system but it must work off of the wheel sensors on the truck since trailers don't have them yet.

I guess that when the truck tires are locking the modulation that occurs to stop the lock-up also modulates the trailer brakes. The system must assume if the truck is sliding and the trailer brakes are set properly then the trailer will be sliding also. This last portion is only guessing on my part, but the brake controller is hydraulic input.

 

I think the new brake controller works great. It has a digital gain read out and is easier to adjust going from trailer to different trailer. One of the things you notice is when you release the brakes from a stop the trailer seems to not grab and let go. I went to the Ford test drive they sponsored and the trucks had both oem and after market controllers in the same truck that they would switch on and off. The oem seemed to have more control on hard braking. I believe Ford also had to think hard about the liabilty factor when they added this option.

 

Not to change directions but I am wondering, if the system unit fails can it be replaced? If any part of the system can be replaced if it breaks then why can't it be added to the truck after it is built? It seems to me that other than internal drivetrain parts everything else should be able to be placed on the truck later.... I hope this makes sense!

 

A quote from the Ford web site:
<TABLE height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=font>The available integrated Trailer Brake Controller (TBC) is hardwired to the vehicle’s electronics for smooth and predictable performance. The integration also allows the TBC to know when the truck’s anti-lock braking system is active and adjusts the voltage to the trailer brakes to help maximize control. Plus, it’s factory-installed, so there are no extra holes in the dash, no clumsy boxes at your knees and no aftermarket worries. An industry first.



http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/superduty/index.asp?redir=true&bhcp=1&&br=IE&ver=6&pfrm=WinX P

Please read before you bitch.

</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

Man, this guy TJ just doesn't get it. Maybe his diesel tech is the smarter of the two. You are not buying a new truck or an engine, you are buying a brake controller. I have the new brake controller on my 05. I regularly pull a 10,000 lb trailer. I have 15 years of towing horse trailers and have towed with just about every type of after market controller. The Ford one works better than anything I have towed with. It has the smoothest stopping and I don't get any trailer push.

Chuck

2005 F-350 PSD with 5k on the clock and running great!

 

Chuck, 1st, I never called anyones intelligence into question, just your quick opinions. 2nd, wow you have used this thing for a portion of a whole 5000 miles! If we want to get into comparing experience, how about I have towed 48 to 53 foot trailers from coast to coast for over 15 years and I can tell you that having your brakes act up or fail is no fun at all. 3rd, yes, you are buying a new truck. New suspension, new tweeks to the motor AND an added brake controller that oh by the way is WIRED INTO YOUR ONLY BRAKE SYSTEM. I would like to keep mine dent free and stay alive as long as possible so I am not hell bent to accept what ford says about the controller. What you are not getting is that ALL I am saying is I will reserve my acceptance until it has been out a while with no issues. There may well be no problems with the controller, but that does not mean that all trailers will be happy with it does it? Just read some of the towing forums and you will see that not all controllers work the same for every application or situation. Geeze, is there no room for caution anymore?

 

[QUOTE=crash687]A quote from the Ford web site:
<TABLE height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=font>The available integrated Trailer Brake Controller (TBC) is hardwired to the vehicle’s electronics for smooth and predictable performance. The integration also allows the TBC to know when the truck’s anti-lock braking system is active and adjusts the voltage to the trailer brakes to help maximize control. Plus, it’s factory-installed, so there are no extra holes in the dash, no clumsy boxes at your knees and no aftermarket worries. An industry first.



http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/superduty/index.asp?redir=true&bhcp=1&&br=IE&ver=6&pfrm=WinX P

Please read before you bitch. [end quote]




I'm not sure how this is different from what I said, yes it is hooked into the electronics with the ABS.

If you are implying that it is not hooked into the hydraulic system also, then I would like to know how you think it works. And I will tell you that I have one and there is no timer settings so its not just a brake pedal switch. It's quite simple to put a pressure sending unit in the brake system why do people keep fighting this notion?

 

For those who don't want the brake controller - don't buy it! For those who are about to make the decision - you now have several positive reports and no negative ones from owners of trucks with the unit (which does have a full warranty from Ford). Unless you trade every year you may go a long time without something you might wish you should have ordered!

 

Well, after reading all of these wonderfull (sic) replies to my opinion I started thinking, hmmm, what if they are right. This could affect trade in later being that if this is as good as sliced bread people won't want the trucks that don't have it. So I went to the dealer and asked if it was possible to add the controller later. The service manager said I was not the only person asking this so he has and is looking into it. So far he has figured out that if it is possible it would be upwards of $2300.00 to do but he has not gotten the final word from Detroit. Something about replacing the DCU and more programming as well as other items.
So what I did just as a CYA is I took my new truck back to the dealer and he was nice enough to roll the deal back. He had just gotten a F250 CC SB PSD FX4 Lariat in with the camper and tow packages in (including the controller) and all I had to do was pay the difference between the two. I hope y'all are right about this controller!

 

You must have a heck of a dealer, I have never heard of one doing that. Once it's sold they usually do everything in the world to keep from taking a car back.

 

You have a good point there. Something seems very fishy with ol TJ. He came in set on blasting Ford's new brake controller and talking about his diesel tech's opinion on programmers for the 05 (which don't exist yet). He posted arguements every time we shared our good experience with the brake controller. Now he wants us to believe that moments after blasting us he saw the light? Not a chance. He also wants us to believe that his dealer took back a titled truck which they now have to sell as used and gave him a new one with the brake controller all for the $250 option cost of the controller. Once again, not really believable to me. I guess if they never titled it and sold it for sticker, they may have done the swap for TJ but.........

HEY TJ, GO BACK TO YOUR DURAMAX SITE!

Chuck

 

Just FYI you are right that the programmers did not exist when this thread started, but I think it was announced yesterday that Diablo now has theirs out for the 2005.

 

Sure seems the way to go

 

Ok Chuck,
Since we want to play this game,
I resent the hell out of being attacked for having a different opinion than the obviously all knowing people who have posted in this thread. You people sure are full of yourselfs to think that YOU are the only authorities on any given subject. Let me clear a few things up for you.

1. Yes, I do have a good dealer, if the deal was not submitted for funding the car is not sold. The deal NEVER left the finance office. I saw an opportunity to get the controller along with other upgrades that were not available when I "tripped" my new truck. Just so there's no confusion I will make it simple, they did not have many in stock when I got the first one so when a loaded one came in I had a quick decision (about 10 mins) to make and decided to err on the side of protecting my value.

2. As for the Diablo, is it POSSIBLE that the tech at the dealer knows somebody you don't? Could he have gotten advanced knowledge that one was about to be released?

You see, the problem we have here is a failure to communicate, y'all see things your way and do not seem to want to give any room for differing opinions. I don't believe that I ever "blasted" the controller or YOUR opinions. In fact, all I did was state that I think it wise to use caution on a first year upgrade to a system that is critical to remaining alive and unhurt. I now have the controller that is true, no, I did not suddenly see the light I still will be very cautious when and if I use this controller. I (unlike some of you) read the other opinions and took what was said and processed it for a couple of days and figured "what if they are right" and went and talked to the service mgr at the dealer about adding one later. When I found out what the potential cost would be I thought "did I make an error"? Well, long story short it was suggested (by the service mgr) that I talk with the fleet mgr again and see if it is too late to roll the deal back. It wasn't and I did.