Well, I just put down the deposit on a new trailer (2H BP slant with DR). It is 200 miles away and I need to get ready to go pick it up. I'm a complete beginner at this--first truck & trailer. I sure hope I made a good choice!

I've been reading old posts about brake controllers and still feel confused. I've seen the Tekonsha P3 and Tekonsha Prodigy both recommended. What are the differences between them? Which is better and why? Some have suggested this is a do-it-yourself project, and I'm usually fairly good with that sort of thing, but I am not confident because I will not know how to test it to see if it is working properly. Someone here posted a link to an article about brake controllers, and it described proportional and timed controllers--are the P3 and Prodigy proportional controllers? Is proportional what I want?

Is there any way I can check that the truck's trailer wiring is working properly without actually having the trailer? If I paid a trailer dealer to install the brake controller, maybe they could also check the wiring? I don't want to spend $$$ unnecessarily, but I also don't want to drive 200 miles just to find out that something is not working and that I can't get the trailer.

I bought a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 with the Hemi and the tow package. Besides the brake controller, what else do I need to have installed or checked before driving to get the trailer? I do know I need to get the part with the ball that slides into the hitch on the truck. (Sorry, not sure what that is called--when we say "hitch", aren't we referring to the part permanently attached to the truck?) Any advice there, other than making sure it's the right size for my new trailer?

Sorry for so many questions... All assistance is very much appreciated!!

Jennifer

The P3 is the one you want, yes it is proportional.  Here is one for $110 on Ebay,

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/P3-Trailer-Brake-Control-Tekonsha-prodigy-upgraded-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1210Q7c39Q3a1Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem320311190085QQitemZ320311190085

 The P3 has a more user friendly interface and the ability to display amps........well worth the price.  Be sure to get the plug and play adapter for your truck.  Should only take you a few minutes to install it yourself.  As for checking the P3, if it comes on there is a 99% chance you installed it right. 

For checking the whole system I have this tester, 

http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-3011-7-way-trailer-emulator.aspx

This little fellow is worth his weight in gold.  It will also 'check' the other lighting circuits.  In a pinch you could also find a trailer to hook the truck to check the electrical system.

The "part with the ball that slides into the hitch" is called a ballmount.  Your trailer probably has a 2 5/16" coupler, I would call the dealer and confirm.  I would recommend a solid ballmount from a trailer store, the lighter/cheaper ballmounts typically found at Wal-mart have 500# tongue/5000# trailer ratings..........not enough for the trailer (Titan?) youre looking at.  I would GUESS a 4" drop would be the one you want.  No way to actually know until you have the trailer loaded and ready to go, you want the trailer to tow/set level when loaded.

I was refering to the tester in the second link for checking the other lighting circuits.

Sorry, the "light's still not on" for me. Are you saying that little tester will tell me whether both the trailer lights and brakes will work, or just brakes? (I realize of course that if the wiring on the trailer itself has a problem, that won't be apparent when the truck is checked). I didn't quite grasp either the question or the clarification on the circuit tester.

Thanks for the info on the P3 and Prodigy. The local horse trailer dealer says they have the P3 in stock and it won't take long or cost that much to install--I may just let them do it. They looked in my truck and saw that the previous owner had a brake controller installed but took it out before selling the truck, and they said I'd need a new wiring harness for it also.

Yes, the tester will check all the lights and the brake controller will "think" a trailer is connected.

Basically there are little red LED lights on the tester that will come on/flash when the circuits are activated on the truck.   Plug in the tester and the LED marked 12v will come on and the LED marked brake will flash every few seconds as the P3 "looks" for the trailer.  Step on the brake pedal and the LED for brake, LT and RT will come on solid.  Turn on the left signal and the LT will flash...........and so on.

What does the dealer what $$$ for the P3?  Dealers around here are getting $150-$200 for just the P3.  Like Ive mentioned a P3 can be had on Ebay for ~$110 plus the harness.  If your truck already had a controller you probably wont even need to drill the holes for the bracket, making the install about a 5 minute job.

Here are some instructions applicable to your situation,

http://www.etrailer.com/faq_dbc.aspx

jtravis... so far as the slide-in portion of your hitch, they vary in how much bend they have - the "drop" and also in length.  One time I bought one with the correct height - but it ended up being too long and my chains wouldn't reach. The drop depends on the trailer and your truck.  I was going to haul someone's bumper pull trailer one time, but their trailer hitch was at least 4" lower than what my trailer's was - so I would have needed a STRAIGHT slide-in piece.

You can call the trailer dealer and ask them to level the trailer and measure to the bottom of the ball connector. You will want the trailer to be a LITTLE bit taller in front than the back when it is empty (like maybe 1 or 2") because once the horse(s) and stuff is in it, it will "sit" the back of the truck down. Then you need to know how far from the ground your hitch receiver is (where you slide the square part into).  You might need a 2, 3, 4, or 6 inch drop. (4x4 usually requires a larger drop)

If you are like me, I am more comfortable having a professional install electronic devices - that way if something isn't quite right, they can fix it. So don't be hesitant to have someone else do it. With ABS brakes, there are sometimes other factors involved when installing brake controllers. 

Here's the link to Titan's wiring for the plugs:http://www.titantrailer.com/info/wiring.htm

So now you need to compare THAT with what your truck has... Modify the trailer connector to match the truck if necessary.

Such as?  The only thing I've ever heard of (Ive been doing it a long time, but something may have slipped my mind) in reference to ABS is the old Kelsey Hayes controllers that connected to the master cylinder of the truck.  They can not be used with ABS, but they are no longer in production anyway.  All these new controllers just plug into the factory tow package harness.

Well, I ended up just paying a trailer dealer to put it in the P3. I wasn't quite confident enough to do it myself, and I just didn't have time to figure it out. I hope it works well! And I asked the trailer dealer to measure from the ground to the bottom of the coupler, so now I just need to measure my truck and figure out what ballmount to get. When I purchase the ballmount, will it have a sticker or stamp that tells me the weight rating?