Recommended Trailer Brake Controller for F-53-Based Fleetwood RV Pulling Tow Dolly  

Question:

Expert Reply:

You are correct that there are many trailer brake controllers on the market and they can be tough to tell apart. But in general there are only two types, the time-delay type and the proportional type.
With very few exceptions the proportional type is preferred for most towing applications because this type of controller will slow the trailer (or in your case the tow dolly) at close to the same rate as the tow vehicle, your Fleetwood Bounder motorhome. This proportional braking force means less of that tug-of-war feeling between the RV and the dolly and makes for a nicer towing experience.

For more general information on brake controllers you can refer to the linked article.

Proportional controllers all work the same way, using an accelerometer-type motion detector to measure your rate of deceleration to then generate an equivalent (proportional) braking output. The differences among such controllers are mostly in their ease of set-up and included features. Some have nicer displays that are a lot easier to read when you're on the road.

Among the best options available is the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 # 90195. This controller offers excellent reliability, automatic leveling, storable braking power settings you can call up at will, a large clear display and less restrictive mounting requirements than some others. In all, the P3 is hard to beat. This is the unit I recommend because I know you will be happy with it.

In your Ford F-53-based Bounder you will need wiring adapter # 3035-P and 7-way # 37185 to complete your install.

If you do not feel you need all the advanced features of the P3 you can use instead the Prodigy P2 # 90885. This is essentially the same unit but without the storable settings feature and with a smaller display.

expert reply by: Adam R

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