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mandolindave · 05-23-2010, 09:06 AM

Do people use the power knob or the boost level control to change between city and highway driving?

Pahaska · 05-23-2010, 09:12 AM

I never touch the settings on mine, but I have disc brakes. My Prodigy was set up at Weatherford when the discs were installed. I adjusted it about 50 miles later and haven't changed it since.

When I had electric brakes, I had to ease it off when I picked up the trailer after sitting for a while and the drums were rusty. After I got out on the highway, I would return the wheel to the previous setting. I never changed the setting from town to country.

**moosetags** · 05-23-2010, 09:24 AM

We have two tow vehicles for Lucy. One has a Prodigy and the other has a P3. I do not make any changes between city and highway driving on either.

Long time towing experience has shown me that as the brake pads wear, I must in crease the power setting on the controller to get a good solid stop.

I use the manual brake lever on the controller often when slowing and stopping. This allows me to get a good feel as to how Lucy's brakes are doing.

Brian

HowieE · 05-23-2010, 09:48 AM

If the controller was set up correctly there is no reason to ever touch it. Any adjustment you do on the fly will clearly violate the correct setting and result in over or under braking conditions.

**Kevin245** · 05-23-2010, 09:55 AM

We don't adjust ours either. We use the manual lever for the first few stops to scrub any build up from the braking surfaces that may have occurred during extended periods of non use. I also use the manual lever to check trailer brake response prior to any major descent's.

Kevin

Bob Thompson · 05-23-2010, 11:20 AM

For low speeds, I soften up the Prodigy using the dial. For high speeds, I dial in a little more braking. The Prodigy is one of the smoothest operating and most "real world" usable units I've ever owned.

mandolindave · 05-23-2010, 11:36 AM

Please bare with my confusion. If I left my old POS controller on one setting, the brakes would lock up in city traffic or not be enough for
highway driving. I am thinking that my new Prodigy contoller has no way of knowing
how fast I am going and therefor knowing how to adjust. It must be
the whole inertia thing.

dufferin · 05-23-2010, 11:48 AM

never change the set up myself...

Bob Thompson · 05-23-2010, 01:27 PM

I'm not sure if Dave's question was for me, nonetheless, in slower city traffic I rotate the dial to reduce the intensity of the braking reaction, giving it less herky jerky. The intense reaction is un-noticable at highway speeds so, I increase the braking reaction with the dial.

Gene · 05-23-2010, 02:06 PM

Since it's mounted at the bottom of the dash to the right of the steering wheel, it does not lend itself to adjusting. I set it when I got it and never have changed it. A little grabby in city traffic sometimes, but leaving a lot of space in front of me and stopping slowly solves all things except that little car that likes to pull right in front of me. That's when I use the molecular disrupter and the car and driver disappear into another dimension.

Gene

OB Bambi · 05-23-2010, 06:23 PM

Kevin245 uses his just like I use mine. First to get the rust off the brake drums, then on a downhill.

Randy

Ag&Au · 05-23-2010, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Thompson

I'm not sure if Dave's question was for me, nonetheless, in slower city traffic I rotate the dial to reduce the intensity of the braking reaction, giving it less herky jerky. The intense reaction is un-noticable at highway speeds so, I increase the braking reaction with the dial.

I handle mine the same way Bob does. In addition, I use the reverse over ride or whatever they call it, when backing. I also use the boost feature on steep down hills.

Regards,

Ken

jm2 · 05-23-2010, 08:19 PM

we're a really strong believer in the practice of

"when all else fails (and hopefully not your brakes !! ) read the instructions !!!"

presuming that you have correctly made the initial tests and adjustments, brake controllers may not need to be adjusted every time you climb behind the wheel, but they certainly should be tested almost any time you going to use it.

and there's no good substitute for mechanically adjusting a set of (drum) brakes, either.

please, put these items on your "pre-flight" checklist??

and travel safely.....

best,

ROBERTSUNRUS · 05-23-2010, 09:06 PM

Hi, if your brakes are locking up in town, they either got too hot or your controller is set too high. Warm up your brakes and slowly increase the setting until you can manually lock up your brakes at 25 MPH. Then turn it down, just enough to not lock up at 25 MPH when manually activated. This is where they should be set.

I turned my down, once, while driving on ice; I felt the trailer skid before my tow vehicle skidded. [actually, my co-pilot turned it down for me while I was driving] Other than that I leave mine as set after the skid test.

JFScheck · 05-24-2010, 02:19 AM

I have disc brakes - find boast ONE setting is great and just got done driving over 2,000 miles through rain, mountains (currently in the Rockies in Steamboat Springs) - the P3 is just Great!

big_john · 05-24-2010, 05:41 AM

I operate mine as follows:

1. Under "normal" highway conditions I use NO boost.

2. Under "normal" city conditions I use NO boost, but will adjust the bias on the wheel to avoid brake lockup.

3. I have found that mountain driving, particularly descent, requires b1 or b2 for me to feel comfy.

Enjoy!!

howco · 06-11-2010, 01:03 PM

I change the settings from light in town to heavier on the freeway, I like to feel the trailer pull me a bit under braking, that way I know it is working.....

Jim & Susan · 08-31-2013, 07:34 PM

Question for you all. A buddy has one of these for sale and I'm ready to upgrade from my "no name" controller mostly because I can't seem to adjust the dern thing. It either grabs too much or produces no braking at all. There doesn't seem to be a sweet-spot. Bottom line is it's time to get a "real" controller.

Question is this. Do you leave the controller plugged into the pigtail under the dash of the tow vehicle all the time, even when not towing? I'm just wondering if that reduces the life of the controller if it's "always on"?

The follow up question for those of you that remove the pigtail when not towing, do you have to set up the controller once it's energized for the next tow? I'm assuming here that the mechanical wheel on the side of the controller keeps the settings between trips, even when not energized.

As always, thanks for your experience and opinions.

Jim

war eagle · 08-31-2013, 07:54 PM

I use a Prodigy P2 and leave the pigtail plugged in all the time, 6 years so far. When the trailer is not connected the controller goes in a low current draw mode. As soon as the trailer umbilical is connected, the controller wakes up displaying the "c" to show it is connected and ready to provide current for the trailer brakes. Hope this helps.

Steve

ROBERTSUNRUS · 08-31-2013, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim & Susan

Question is this. Do you leave the controller plugged into the pigtail under the dash of the tow vehicle all the time, even when not towing? I'm just wondering if that reduces the life of the controller if it's "always on"?

As always, thanks for your experience and opinions.

Jim

Hi, I upgraded from a Tekonsha Voyager to the Tekonsha P-3 several years ago. I Have mine permanently mounted in my center consul and never remove or disconnect it.