Brake Controller Recommendation to Replace Hopkins Time Delay Based Controller

Question:

Hey guys. Just finished rebuilding electric brakes on my twin-axle flat bed. Trailer is pulled behind dump truck to haul bull dozer or excavator. I need a new brake controller. Old one was a Hopkins time based. Trailer is used weekly and, as I live on a mountain, equipment is pulled up and down mountain and foot hills. What do you recommend? Ive never used a proportional. Seems a lot of sites recommend a P3, but Im seeing quite a few people who have bought the P3 and say the buttons stick on them or the digital screen gives trouble. Truck and trailer is my income. Cant afford lots of downtime, let alone controller trouble going down a mountain while loaded! Some owners say the up or down button stuck, turning brake voltage up or, even worse, down! Im wondering if the P2 may be better, or is there a more reliable brand. Or just stay with a time based controller. Thanks for you time.

asked by: Tim

Helpful Expert Reply:

Proportional controllers are by far superior to time-based controllers so you are on the right track. Especially for frequent use with heavy trailers you really need the much more effective proportional style of controllers. The P3 # 90195 and the P2 part # 90885 share the same internal inertia sensors and will perform the same but the P3 basically has a nicer display and a few extra bells and whistles. We've never heard of the issue you described with the P3 so I wouldn't say you'd be likely to encounter sticking buttons.

One really great feature the P3 has over the P2 is the ability to save trailer presets. So if you tow several trailers or varying weights you can find what works the best and then save it as a preset so that when you come back to that trailer you don't have to reset anything.

expert reply by: Jameson C