Would you pay $1,000 more for a trailer that stops as well as your truck?

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PopPop51

PopPop51

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Mar 30, 2010
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Interesting technology, but would the cost-conscious RV industry adopt it, or something like it?

https://www.motortrend.com/news/gm-eboost-trailer-brake-controller/?wc_mid=4035:18332&wc_rid=4035:1205878&_wcsid=F9B3CE56C4B03280126522EAB2C8C7A9ABA26697937F8A88
 
Consumers buy bling and manufacturers sell that, brakes are something you can't readily see.  There is a small percentage that upgrade the poor brakes so there is a very small demand.  Better brake controllers were made for years but they didn't sell and the companies went out of business.
 
Actually, my trailer did stop pretty much as well as the truck.  On my way to pick up my truck, I would drive about 45 mph and apply my brakes and get a feel for how it stopped or slowed.  After hooking up my TT, I would adjust the Prodigy brake controller so that when I applied my brakes, the truck trailer combinations stopped  or slowed in the same manner.  No big deal!
 
Most people are not only satisfied, but give glowing reports to inertial controllers that have no connection to the tow vehicle's braking system, relying on how it senses the vehicle is decelerating to guess how hard it should apply the trailer brakes.

Sometimes it takes experience using a better system to realize how awful tbe current state of the art really is.
 
I think the GM proposal is somewhat overkill, but I applaud the attempt to get improved trailer brakes.  I don't think it takes an extra $1000 to get a fairly dramatic improvement.  Just install disc brakes of a larger size , better brake wiring and decent tires.  Many trailers come with axles sized to the very minimum for the rated weight (GVWR) and trailer axle makers are equally skimpy on the brakes, all in the name of squeezing a few more dollars out of the cost.  Larger hub are needed to accommodate larger brakes and bigger tires, driving up the total cost of the axle/brake/wheel/tire assembly, but probably more like an extra $200 than an extra $1000 in cost.
I'm one of those people Lou described - I think modern inertial controllers do a fine job of applying the trailer brakes. Inertial control technology has come a long way in the last decade or so, at least in the better products (e.g. the Tekonsha Prodigy series).
 
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