# Trailer brake controllers - Proportional VS (Dangerous) Timer based models.



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

I have a proportional. The effect is pretty much instantaneous. In my old truck I had a timer based, and I can attest to the fact that it's like night and day when you switch over to a proportional. No more trailer pushing the truck when I need to brake fast, and both units of the rig slow down evenly. 

Sure, proportionals are more expensive, but they're worth every single penny.


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## STT GUY (Apr 23, 2014)

Holy generalization and over simplification batman....

When I had the timed unit I without fail adjusted my trailer brakes for highway use (or whatever speed) as needed. It's as simple as click, click. Like many things, following the directions and attention to detail are your friend.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

Are you suggesting that a timer based model can work as effectively as a proportional model based on changing settings alone?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## STT GUY (Apr 23, 2014)

PrivatePilot said:


> Are you suggesting that a timer based model can work as effectively as a proportional model based on changing settings alone?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I am stating that both will effectively apply the trailer brakes. The caveat is the timed controller must be properly adjusted for the speed/conditions and load which some (most???) folks fail to do. 

Blanket "they're dangerous" statements are simply untrue.

FWIW, our RV and truck have progressive units. I feel they are better all-around units based on features explained by you in the OP.

I've been towing for 36 years...everything from a small car and dirt bike trailer when I was 16 to a 45 foot Renegade/Freightliner Columbia twinscrew with a double stacker trailer which came in at 69'-10" OAL and 68,000 CGVWR loaded, they all work just fine if your drive them correctly and pay attention to the details.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

Sorry, took me a while to get back to this, life has been busy.

First off, without getting into a chest-thumping match, I'm a commercial driver. Have been for about 20 years now. My life revolves around having a trailer (or trailer*s*) behind me. Yesterdays last haul was 145,000 LBS gross. When I'm not hauling commercially, I'm hauling recreationally - horses, and up until we sold it last year, our RV..which we hauled coast to coast a few times.

So I've got plenty of insight and experience on braking, both air, and more importantly here in the case of this post, electric. I've also experienced a lot of different brake controllers over the years.

So, that said, I respectfully and *strongly disagree* that a timer based brake controller can perform as good as a quality proportional model.

Can they provide the same stopping effort as a proportional controller? Sure, if they are set aggressive. The problem there is that most people do NOT set them this way because when they are setup like that they provide an absolutely terrible braking experience - to get heavy braking action on a timer controller the settings need to be adjusted so that even a tap on the brakes in light traffic hauls the trailer brakes on so aggressively that your 4-legged friends in the back are not going to be very appreciative. "Herky-Jerky" brakes is what you end up with, and people hate it when the trailer brakes snap on and off agressively.

There's simply NO way to have soft supple braking action from the trailer, yet still get aggressive HARD braking action in the case of an emergency (which is what I'm talking about in my first post) situation. You cannot have both, and considering 99.9% of the time (hopefully) you're in the "normal" non-emergency situation, most people with timer controllers tend to adjust the controller for that accordingly.

Timer based controllers also can't feather the braking action (towards the end of a stop) like you do with your foot, so if you have the controller set agressively (as you suggest) it will haul down at maximum effort even in the last few feet of what should have been a gentle stop - the results end up with that "herky jerky" braking situation again where the trailer drags you to a rough stop all while you've feathered the brake pedal in the tow vehicle to almost nothing. That's one thing with an RV or whatever behind you, but it's whole DIFFERENT thing with animals.

A proportional controller feathers the trailer brakes equally with the tow vehicle. Smooth stops are what result.

And this lack of any ability for the controller to see and interpret how you're stopping is the root of the problem. When that emergency stopping situation suddenly rears it's head, you could be seriously screwed.

Suggesting that one simply adjusts a timer based controller is a compromise at best - cranking it up when on the highway helps, sure, but you STILL get the jerky braking action. As soon as you get off the highway it gets worse so you have to crank it back down. Up, down, up down, THIS is where people loose interest and simply wind down the controller so it isn't doing a whole lot from the onset, because the alternative turns out to be a pain in the butt, especially when a lot of people towing horse trailers recreationally are already stressed or anxious about the whole thing. The last thing on their mind is reaching down and cranking dials and spinning knobs on their brake controllers to try to constantly find that "fine line" between adequate and safe braking, and not knocking their horses off their feet everytime they tap the brake pedal.

A good proportional controller only needs to be adjusted to compensate for a full trailer, or an empty trailer, and higher end proportional controllers have boost settings that make even that as easy as a simple one button press - you do it before you ever roll away (or at worst, in the first few hundred feet of a haul), and you forget about it...you never need to adjust anything going down the road.

So sorry, no amount of debate or argument will change the facts - suggesting that a "dumb" controller that doesn't know the difference between coasting gently towards a stop sign versus careening violently towards a wreck on the interstate is going to perform anywhere near as safely as a proportional controller that actually sees the big picture as it's happening based on an inertial sensor.


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## STT GUY (Apr 23, 2014)

I take it you are a pilot, then you know, or should know this truism; ”Truly superior pilots are those who use their superior judgment to avoid those situations where they might have to use their superior skills.” Much the same can be said for drivers. 

I agree with portions of your post and also agree the average person will not keep the brake controller adjusted as situations change concerning traction, load and speed. Hence my comment on why I use the proportional unit myself for convenience. As you mention, even proportional units need to be adjusted which many people fail to do. Equipment is only as good as the person using it, make stuff foolproof and along comes “better” fools. 

Rather than proffer that one style of equipment is the key to safety I would offer the user is the key. Many (I’d say a majority) of drivers tow (and drive in general) with oblivion to even the most basic safety and accident avoidance techniques and little if any situational awareness. Sorry if this sounds harsh but that's a fact and equipment selection isn't going to change this behavior or the results which accompany it. The laws of physics (the minimum distance it takes to stop a given vehicle) are fixed based on conditions. If you violate those parameters the type of controller under you dash isn’t going to save you. 

In your OP what if the scenario went like this?..... Because you were driving at the appropriate speed for the conditions, allowing adequate distance between your vehicle and the vehicles in front and were vigilant (engaging in active situational awareness) and had an exit strategy you were able to see the situation unfold early enough to avoid the situation safely and not end up in the middle of it? THAT’S better than any brake controller money can buy. 

Let’s focus on the real challenge and solution to safe towing rather than use scare tactics about two equipment styles. Telling folks that their current set up is inherently "dangerous" or an “accident waiting to happen” and insinuating the other is a virtual panacea of accident avoidance is a disservice to those seeking advice here. 

I've never had an accident towing...that's 36 years and as best I can tell about 450k miles That's a lot by some standards, not so much by others. While I will admit some of that's good fortune, the majority if it goes back to the statement at the top of this post. The best emergencies are the ones avoided. Having a plan and avoiding potentially sketchy situations works wonders. Whats the old adage.....an ounce of prevention......


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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

I'm pretty sure I drove from the day I was born. 

I took a job driving a 30 ton trash truck at 14. :\ 

Controllers do vary, I love mine. And it's proportional, but I have used the "Johnny bar" in a few cases. 

I've had timer based controllers, same thing. Johnny bar in emergency, other then that, life is fine. 

Bigger problem I've seen is people that don't know how to drive. 

I carry a class A cdl, and have for half my life. But anyone with a truck can pull a 40' trailer?


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

Guys, I agree on most of the above fronts. There's a lot of inexperienced, bad, marginal, or clueless drivers on the roads. I'd like to think that most people that own horses are not amongst those, but honestly, having been to more than a few shows in my life (and watched/seen what some people do), I'm unfortunately dismayed sometimes.

Regardless, my point is this: Most occasional towers (someone who owns a trailer but may only use it 2-5 times a year) is highly unlikely to have a *detailed and thorough understanding* of their brake controller. Many people just go to their local RV dealer and tell them they want a brake controller installed, or pay someone at a shop to do it for them. Quite often they don't even choose their own controller but are at the mercy of whomever picks it off the shelf for them because they just said "install a brake controller for me". If the salesperson was thorough enough to hopefully explain the options I'd like to think that people would opt for quality vs price, but we all know how that goes for a lot of people...so without doubt a lot of the time the response is "Whatevers cheapest"..which almost always results in a timer based controller.

After that, they're often not entirely clear on how it may even work, although hopefully most people read the manual. But then I come full circle to my part above about how timer based controllers provide uncomfortable jerky braking action when set agressively, or inadequate braking action when set softly.

THESE are the people for whom a timer based controller is honestly...dangerous. They get tired of the uncomfortable herky-jerky braking, they turn the dial down so that it goes away, and they're left with not a whole lot of trailer braking action in the case of an emergency.

Many probably don't even realize what they've done...all they know is that when they turned that little dial down things seemed smoother and their horse wasn't being jostled around in the trailer anymore. 

Problem solved, right?

Nope. Problem just created. The issue is...they don't know what they've done until it's too late now.

With a proportional controller there's MUCH less chance of any of these irritants happening, so people hopefully get the controller setup so that the trailer brakes adequately, and then they *leave* it that way because it provides a satisfying experience in the end without the need to constantly adjust the controller anymore.


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