Posted 2007-04-25 2:22 PM (#59940) Subject: Accuater or Brake Controller
Veteran
Posts: 243 Location: Maine
My new trailer is on the way, yee-haw! I ordered with it an Activator II brake contoller box. When I called the local RV center to find out about installation, he said what I have is a "Brake accentuator." My trailer salesperson says it's a brake controller. I Googled it, found the exact model, which is described as: DRAW-TITE # 5500 Universal Fit Timed Actuated Output Brake controller. I will be hauling a BP 2 horse trailer with an empty weight of approx #3560, two horses (#2100) and gear (#500 at most). The tow vehicle is an 2007 1/2 ton Silverado with factory installed tow package rated to tow #7700. Is this brake box sufficient? What's an "accentuator" and does it perform differently from regular brake boxes? Thanks for any light you may shed on this subject!
Posted 2007-04-25 2:41 PM (#59943 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by barstow on 2007-04-25 2:22 PM
My new trailer is on the way, yee-haw! I ordered with it an Activator II brake contoller box. When I called the local RV center to find out about installation, he said what I have is a "Brake accentuator." My trailer salesperson says it's a brake controller. I Googled it, found the exact model, which is described as: DRAW-TITE # 5500 Universal Fit Timed Actuated Output Brake controller. I will be hauling a BP 2 horse trailer with an empty weight of approx #3560, two horses (#2100) and gear (#500 at most). The tow vehicle is an 2007 1/2 ton Silverado with factory installed tow package rated to tow #7700. Is this brake box sufficient? What's an "accentuator" and does it perform differently from regular brake boxes? Thanks for any light you may shed on this subject!
I'd guess an accentuator is someone/something that adds accent(s).
Consider the source, methinks there might be a vocabulary problem.
Local RV center eh ?
Go with the Drawtite description, it may be salesblither, but at least it is manufacturer's sales blither (-:
It sounds like a regular timed brake controller to me.
Posted 2007-04-25 3:08 PM (#59947 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Veteran
Posts: 243 Location: Maine
We are in a rural area, so my "local" RV center is 2.5 hours away, the same town where I will meet the driver with my new trailer.
When I asked around here, my horsie-buddies suggested that particular RV center for anything that has to do with towing, etc. So I figured they would know what they were talking about.
So I should just tell him to just install the dang thing?
Posted 2007-04-25 4:13 PM (#59953 - in reply to #59947) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by barstow on 2007-04-25 3:08 PM
We are in a rural area, so my "local" RV center is 2.5 hours away, the same town where I will meet the driver with my new trailer.
When I asked around here, my horsie-buddies suggested that particular RV center for anything that has to do with towing, etc. So I figured they would know what they were talking about.
So I should just tell him to just install the dang thing?
So you will be waiting in the middle of a small town somewhere in Maine, with your truck that has a newly installed brake controller that you MIGHT have read the set-up instructions for.
Your trailer will arrive and between you and the delivery driver it will get hooked to your truck and... ..."You're on your own" ?
I'd make sure the delivery address is VERY close to that RV center, say their parking lot. I would probably have a multi-meter, tools and wire with me as well.
Posted 2007-04-25 4:55 PM (#59957 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Veteran
Posts: 243 Location: Maine
Geez, Reg. I post here looking for help, and I get sarcasm. I don't know too much about this stuff, that's why I am posting here!
The trailer dealer said that anyone can install the thing. I did download instructions. I will have the brake controller shipped to me prior to trailer delivery. I will have the box installed first and then meet the delivery driver.
What's wrong with that scenario? Please, I am looking for advice, not mean-spirited, non-helpful comments.
You would not believe how many people in this area don't even bother with trailer brakes. It's scary. I am trying to do this right.
Posted 2007-04-25 5:31 PM (#59958 - in reply to #59957) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by barstow on 2007-04-25 4:55 PM
Geez, Reg. I post here looking for help, and I get sarcasm. I don't know too much about this stuff, that's why I am posting here!
The trailer dealer said that anyone can install the thing. I did download instructions. I will have the brake controller shipped to me prior to trailer delivery. I will have the box installed first and then meet the delivery driver.
What's wrong with that scenario? Please, I am looking for advice, not mean-spirited, non-helpful comments.
You would not believe how many people in this area don't even bother with trailer brakes. It's scary. I am trying to do this right.
Sorry, didn't mean to offend.
I'm genuinely WORRIED that you're going to get stuck in the middle of a long way from anywhere. Some possibilities are;
The trailer might be wired "RV" with your truck & brake controller wired "agricultural" (horse trailer).
The back-up lights vs electric brakes wire switchover is common.
The Ford vs GM truck 7 pin, depends on the age of your truck.
CONSTRUCTIVE suggestions;
Search for old threads on truck/trailer wiring issues for your truck.
There are threads describing such things as the brakes coming on when the truck is put in reverse. DO tell the folk shipping your trailer the make, model and year of your truck. Tell them to equip the delivery driver to be able to do whatever needs to be done to make that trailer compatible with your truck. Don't let that delivery driver leave until you have checked such things as "trailer brakes come on when the truck is put in reverse gear".
Have fuses with you. If there is a wiring futz-up the brakes could be drawing 12 amps from a 10 amp fuse.
I didn't change my truck or trailer. I have a home made plug and socket with about 1 foot of wires between them that I had half made up when I went to get the Goosie. I made the final connections when I got there and discovered how the trailer was wired. I had another set ready when I went to get the Jamco, oddly enough it was already wired exactly the same as my truck (-:
What else ?
I guess it is still POSSIBLE that they'll send it with a 6-pole connector, you should check that with them.
Posted 2007-04-25 5:33 PM (#59959 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534 Location: Zionsville, Indiana
The Drawtite description is correct. The 5500 is an actuator as opposed to a proportional controller. The Tekonsha models are proportional controllers.
An actuator applies (actuates) the trailer brakes at the level you have set, regardless of how hard you apply the vehicle brakes.
A proportional controller applies the trailer brakes with the same intensity that you apply the vehicle brakes.
We sell both types, but we can easily persuade a customer to choose the controller by asking if when in an emergency stop, while choosing which ditch to go into, they will have the ability and co-ordination to take one hand off the wheel and dial up the brake actuator for more braking power on the trailer.
The cost and installation are quite similar. The Tekonsha Prodigy is the controller that comes in the Ford trucks now, although Ford doesn't tell you that.
Installation isn't difficult IF you have a vehicle with a tow package, which means it is pre-wired for the actuator or controller. When the vehicle was new, you would have had a box or bag with a wiring harness, usually found tucked away in the door or glove box. You wire the controller or actuator to that harness, and it plugs into the pre-wiring. If you don't have a pre-wired vehicle, you better plan on getting some help.
Posted 2007-04-25 6:17 PM (#59961 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Veteran
Posts: 243 Location: Maine
Thanks Reg - I was having a bad day at work and got kind of defensive!
Who'd have thought this would all be so confusing and complicated. I will follow your advice and make sure everything is doing what it's supposed to do before I let that driver go. I will first call my trailer dealer and ask him how the trailer is wired. I am going to expect that my truck is RV wired, as it came pre-wired from the dealership. But I will call them too. Boy they make it sound so simple. Like "plug 'er in and let 'er roll!"
Kay, thanks so much for the explanation and for quietly correcting my mis-pronounciation! I guess this is the same kind of box I had in my old truck, because you did have to reach over and increase the braking power if you felt it was necessary. So, will a true controller grip and feel differently? It's the only kind this dealer sells, perhaps I should just get the right kind from another source? You make this other kind of box sound kind of scary!
Posted 2007-04-25 10:06 PM (#59973 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Expert
Posts: 2689
I didn't notice your mention of the '07 GM tow vehicle earlier.
That almost certainly means that your truck will be wired "RV" at the 7-pin connector. The other thing with GMs is that the dummy fuse thing has to be replaced by a real one. I think the real fuse is shipped in the truck's glove box - or used to be.
Here is an excerpt from my truck's wiring manual;
"The C/K trucks are shipped from the assembly plant with the trailer Battery Hot lead disconnected. To provide power to the trailer hot
lead, the 40 Amp Maxi-Fuse must be connected at the Stud #1 location in the Underhood BEC."
Disclaimer; This is on the '03 but as far as I know the schematics havn't been updated and re-published since.
BEC is their acronym for Bussed Electrical Center.
It would HELP to have a GM savvy tech read this before installing your brake controller and wondering why it doesn't have power - and then trying to steal power from some other convenient point.
I'll be on the road for a couple of days, I'll check tomorrow night, if you want the whole wiring schematics (for '03 and beyond) I can send it as an e-mail attachment, .pdf file.
Just send me a private message on here and include your e-mail address.
Posted 2007-04-26 7:24 AM (#59979 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534 Location: Zionsville, Indiana
There is no right or wrong type of brake actuator/controller, just two different styles. LIke so many other things (ramps, no ramps) it is a matter of personal preference.
Knowing how the one that you select performs may be helpful somewhere down the road.
Posted 2007-04-26 8:49 AM (#59990 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accuator or Brake Controller
Veteran
Posts: 243 Location: Maine
Reg - if I can't find a wiring diagram on the net myself, I would be grateful for your pdf file. I will let you know. But I don't know how to PM on this forum.
Kay - I have recovered from my garage my old Tekonsha Voyager brake box. I bought it probably 4 years ago. I am guessing on the model number using pictures on the internet, because I don't have the paperwork. It looks very much like the model 9030 - but I don't think is a proportional controller. Would there be any advantage to purchasing a new unit? I can download the owners manual and the wiring instructions for the one I have.
Incidentally, my husband is an industrial electrician, but not a horse-person and doesn't like to get involved with my horse-related activities. However, when I mentioned to him that I was going to have someone else "mess around" with HIS new truck and that fact that there were concerns here on the forum, he sat up and took notice. He is willing to do the installation himself. He feels confident that the Voyager we have in hand is essentially the same thing as the Activator II I am about to purchase.
I did have that Voyager in a 1996 F150 and it performed well, I guess. I never got into any emergency situations to really know. I have also hauled without trailer brakes. While that trailer was at least 1000# lighter than my new trailer, I know it was not a wise decision. Coming down to a stop at the bottom of even a slight hill, took effort. I have no intention of hauling my new trailer with no brakes.
Posted 2007-04-26 9:18 AM (#59992 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534 Location: Zionsville, Indiana
The Voyager 9030 is a proportional controller. You should be able to install it in your new vehicle without any trouble. I pull a 43' horse trailer with electric hydraulic brakes and quite a few assorted trailers with standard electric brakes, and use a 9030. The only difference between the 9030 Voyager and the newer Tekonsha models (Primus, Prodigy, P3) is that the Voyager doesn't have any digital readouts, just the light showing you continuity and intensity. The digital readouts are popular with the guys, but I don't want to worry about interpreting numbers and symbols. I think it is a gender thing. The new P3 units actually use words and sentences in the readout, so maybe some day I will try one of those. The cost, however, escalates along with the sophistication.
Posted 2007-04-26 10:59 AM (#60001 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Member
Posts: 6
Location: Georgia
My husband's truck has the Activator II in it. I have the Voyager in mine. Just a personal opinion, but I can't stand the Activator. I've gotten where I will not haul the horses with it. We mainly use that truck to haul the hay trailer now. You have used the Voyager with good results. I've had the same experience. I really prefer it. I keep meaning to get the Prodigy but just never have. I would avoid the Activator though.
Posted 2007-04-26 8:43 PM (#60039 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accentuator or Brake Controller
Expert
Posts: 2689
To send a private message click on the "User Profile"
under a user's username, Location and all that other stuff.
Click on "send this user a private message" when the next screen comes up.
I think I'm in York, PA right now.
I'll check my messages again in the morning.
Click on the underlined word "inbox" at the end of your login Welcome greeting to read the message that I just sent you.
Just bang REPLY (-:
Posted 2007-04-27 11:07 AM (#60066 - in reply to #59940) Subject: RE: Accuater or Brake Controller
Veteran
Posts: 243 Location: Maine
Ok, my husband installed the Voyager brake controller. Hopefully we are all set. I am going to borrow a friend's trailer tonight and see how everything works with it. Hopefully when I hook up to my new trailer, I will be ready to roll.
Accuater or Brake Controller
