Recommended Brake Controller to Work with Backing Trailer Down Long Driveway

Question:

Hi, I am doing the conversion because I need to activate my trailer brakes when I backup the trailer I have a long down hill driveway and I can only back down. So I want to make sure the controller will work when the vehicle backup, with the normal installation direction/level. And I have a 2011 Chevy Tahoe with 7 pin trailer connector and trailer with drum brakes, I believe I will need HBA-10 and Prodigy P2 or P3 ? I appreciate your help

asked by: Roger Z

Expert Reply:

If you are wanting to activate the hydraulic drums brakes on your trailer with an electric brake controller on your 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe then the HydraStar # HBA-10 is exactly what you are needing.

When it comes to a brake controller it is really hard to beat the Prodigy P2 # 90885 and the P3 # 90195 as those are the tops selling brake controllers we have due to functionality. The main difference between these 2 is that the P3 has an LCD screen that keeps you from having to remember codes during operation. These are proportional controllers which mean that they will activate the brakes on your trailer at the same time and with the same intensity as the brake pedal on your Tahoe.

The only time that this isn't as effective is when you are on long hills or mountains where you are going slow and braking. These controllers have an inertia sensor inside that helps them sense how fast the tow setup is moving so that when you are coming to a stop it doesn't send a lot of power back to the brakes. If your main concern is getting down the hill then you would probably want a time-delayed controller like the PowerTrac # 39523 instead. This activates the brakes on your trailer at a delayed time and intensity that is determine prior to towing. It is great for long hills and mountains but not as smooth for towing on flat surfaces or rolling hills. The pigtail # 20127 is sold separately for this unit.

If you want the best of both worlds we have the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite # RED44FR. This can seamlessly switch from proportional to time-delayed while you are driving and has a small knob for controlling the unit which can be mounted almost anywhere.

To install any of these units on your 2011 Tahoe you will need to find the bundle of wires up under your driver side dash and attached the following wires from your Tahoe to the wires on any of these pigtails:

Dark Blue - Blue
Red - Black
Light Blue - Red
White - White

I have attached an installation video of the P2 on a 2011 Tahoe so that you can see how this process is done.