Electronic Brake Controller

[Tonba]

Hey all,

I am picking up my new ST NP300 this week. As I do a lot of towing I am looking at getting an electronic brake controller.

After doing a lot of searching it seems the Tenoshika P3 Prodigy seems to get the best rating? I am after the best, not one of the best, so if you have another opinion, I'm keen to hear it!

There seems to be limited places to install the controller in the D23.. any opinions/thoughts on this?

 

[Cessa]

Hey all,

I am picking up my new ST NP300 this week. As I do a lot of towing I am looking at getting an electronic brake controller.

After doing a lot of searching it seems the Tenoshika P3 Prodigy seems to get the best rating? I am after the best, not one of the best, so if you have another opinion, I'm keen to hear it!

There seems to be limited places to install the controller in the D23.. any opinions/thoughts on this?

Gday Tonba, i have bought the redarc tow pro as it is in my judgement the best unit around especially for fitting in tight places. Please read up about it see what you think.

I placed the main unit behind the drivers right side kick panel, passed the leads through the firewall and mounted the little controller on the blank switch cover near my right knee. This wasnt too hard to fit and only had to slightly modify the blank to fit the controller. All in all, pretty straight forward job, tidy and effective.
The power leads went straight to the battery and the other 2 wires, joined them directy to the wires before the plug at the rear.
Cost of the unit on ebay was arund the $260 mark.

I had used this on my previous car, Jeep Grand Cherokee and believe me, there is even less spots to mount stuff in that car.

 

[Tonba]

I just had a look at that Redarc Tow Pro online. Seems to also get really good reviews.

Wouldn't mind hearing from a few more users...

 

[Hatchy]

I fitted a redarc unit in one of the switch blanks near the cup holder. Hth.

 

[Tonba]

I fitted a redarc unit in one of the switch blanks near the cup holder. Hth.

How do you find the RedArc unit? You get the 'Pro Tow'?

 

[lookbothways]

I have a Tenoshika P3 Prodigy fitted to a D40 Silverline, works well, I tow a 9'X5' tandem trailer with hydraulic tipper with no problems.

 

[Panuara]

P3 works really well, easy to fit, no dramas with operation.

 

[MrTurbo]

Tekonsha P3 Fitted mine above rear view mirror screwed to roof bar support that runs across under head lining. Didn't want it in front of knees in case of accident. Cables run up A pillar on my D40.

 

[Gibboss]

Red Arc Tow Pro for me. Had the older Red Arc unit in the last few cars and very easy to use and does not take up a lot of space.

 

[Old.Tony]

We tow 2.5T of caravan using a Tekonsha Prodigy P3. Had the Voyager before that and while it was proportional, it had to be re-setup all the time. Prior to that I had a Redarc and quite frankly it was crap. You dialled up how much braking you wanted and it braked that amount all the time - so if you were just braking gently and set it for that, great, but it wouldn't help when you had to stop in a hurry. Likewise, if you set it so that it COULD help with heavier breaking, it would slam the brakes on hard when you didn't need it (loose surfaces, slow traffic etc).

Before that - inertia brakes - never going back there again!

 

[Gibboss]

The Redarc Tow Pro adds Automatic mode over the previous model (Inertia sensing) for highway conditions, trailer brakes are applied at a proportional level to the vehicle braking level. I have also had the P3 in my old Prado 120 and was happy with its performance the Redarc just suits me better due to its small size and mounting options.

 

[Cessa]

Red Arc Tow Pro for me. Had the older Red Arc unit in the last few cars and very easy to use and does not take up a lot of space.

That's the same place I installed mine and works well. Did you install the main unit behind the door side kick panel?

 

[Gibboss]

not sure as the dealer did it for me will have a look around when I install the UHF shortly.

 

[Tonba]

Im really thinking the Redarc ProTow could be a good unit for me. Nice and stealth.

 

[Robbo9]

What type of brake units are you guys running?
I tow a 2.8 tonne boat and it has a hydrastar HBA12 hydraulic unit on it.
I went to Martin's trailer spares today to get a red ark tow pro, but the guy said although it is listed as "compatible" it doesn't always work very well with the hydrastar, therefore he wouldn't recomend it.

That left me with only the bulkier one piece units to choose from.

I really liked the way that the redark is remotely mounted, and I can't really find a good spot for another controller.

On my d22 I just screwed it under the bottom of the dash panel near my knee, but the NP300 has drivers knee airbags, right?

 

[big zetor]

tow pro is best and a neat fit, had it in mine now for 12 months no probs and easy to use.

 

[Tonba]

Do you guys know anything about the Tow-Pro 'Elite'?

https://www.redarc.com.au/products/product/tow-pro/

I'm looking at investing in a brake controller very shortly. (This week?)

 

[Old.Tony]

Do you guys know anything about the Tow-Pro 'Elite'?

https://www.redarc.com.au/products/product/tow-pro/

I'm looking at investing in a brake controller very shortly. (This week?)

I had a "proportional" unit from Redarc that had the minimal presence etc etc and it was crap. However, the new Tow-Pro is getting lots of good feedback from owners so if I was shopping for a brake controller it'd be one I'd consider. I currently use (and am happy with) a Tekonsha Prodigy P3.

 

[Tonba]

I had a "proportional" unit from Redarc that had the minimal presence etc etc and it was crap. However, the new Tow-Pro is getting lots of good feedback from owners so if I was shopping for a brake controller it'd be one I'd consider. I currently use (and am happy with) a Tekonsha Prodigy P3.

Thanks for the feedback Old.Tony

Apparently they now have an 'Elite' version. All the Tow-Pro's are inertia sensing now.

I really like the packaging of the unit, and am seriously considering it.

 

[Cessa]

From what I can gather, the difference between the standard tow pro and the 'elite' version is you no longer need to calibrate the unit, it calibrates itself. This is only a minor benefit but a benefit non the less. I bought mine (old tow pro) only a couple of months ago and it really is a great unit.
Would I upgrade to the elite, no! but if your in the market now, why not buy the slightly improved model.