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GlueGuy
Senior Member
Joined: 15 May 2017
Location: N. California
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Posts: 2629
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Topic: New to The Forum Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 10:51am |
Our F-150 has the factory brake controller, which modulates the output according to pedal pressure (and it also has an adjustment). If your tow vehicle has a factory brake controller option, I would recommend going with that.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Jsquared
Newbie
Joined: 03 Nov 2020
Location: West Linn, OR
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9
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Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 9:27am |
Y’all are great- thank you 😊
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2018 RPod 179
2015 4 Runner Trail Edition Premium
For Ultimate Fly Fishing Adventures
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
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Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 7:25am |
Yes, the rpods have electric brakes, they must be operating for you to be legally towing in most states. I use a Tekonsha P2. There are many choices.
Modern brake controllers all use a solid state accelerometer (like what's in your smartphone) to measure how fast your're trying to stop and send a voltage signal to your trailer brakes that is higher the faster you are slowing down. So, they are called proportional controllers.
There will be two adjustments you will make on the controller once it is installed. The first sets the max voltage output so that the trailer brakes are just short of locking up the trailer wheels when you stop using the trailer brakes only. That gives you the best stopping power in an emergency braking situation. Most of us find that when we do that setup we wind up at full 12V output from the controller and the trailer brakes still don't lock up. That's because rPod brakes are a bit on the wimpy side.
The second adjustment (Tekonsha calls it boost level) sets the voltage output relative to how fast you are slowing down. That effectively sets the balance between how much braking action you get from your tow vehicle brakes vs your trailer brakes. That is something you can adjust depending on road conditions, trailer weight relative to TV weight, and steepness of grade you are descending. With a relatively light tow vehicle you can set the "boost" higher so that the trailer brakes do more of the work, for example.
So, whichever controller you get be sure you know how to set it up and adjust it. That will also familiarize you with the manual control which you should use each time you hitch up to be sure that the trailer brakes are actually working. You can also use it if you ever start to get any trailer sway to bring the trailer back in line without touching your tow vehicle brakes which you don't ever want to do in that situation.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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mcarter
podders Helping podders - pHp
Joined: 07 Apr 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3419
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Posted: 05 Nov 2020 at 7:13am |
Yes it does. Tekonsha is a good brand, the P2 is adequate. Easy install, may need a interconnect cable to fuse box. etrailer.com has reasonable prices.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Jsquared
Newbie
Joined: 03 Nov 2020
Location: West Linn, OR
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9
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Posted: 04 Nov 2020 at 11:20pm |
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2018 RPod 179
2015 4 Runner Trail Edition Premium
For Ultimate Fly Fishing Adventures
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Colt
Senior Member
Joined: 16 Nov 2019
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Posts: 383
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Posted: 04 Nov 2020 at 10:10pm |
I like my Redarc proportional controller.
https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Brake-Controller/Redarc/331-EBRH-ACCV2.html
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John
'16 R-Pod 180
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Jsquared
Newbie
Joined: 03 Nov 2020
Location: West Linn, OR
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9
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Posted: 04 Nov 2020 at 8:24pm |
Does the 179 have brakes on it ? What is the best break controller I can install in my 4Runner?
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2018 RPod 179
2015 4 Runner Trail Edition Premium
For Ultimate Fly Fishing Adventures
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Jsquared
Newbie
Joined: 03 Nov 2020
Location: West Linn, OR
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9
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Posted: 04 Nov 2020 at 8:04pm |
Thanks for this info- I’ll check to be sure but I think we have the 15” inch tires now
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2018 RPod 179
2015 4 Runner Trail Edition Premium
For Ultimate Fly Fishing Adventures
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
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Posted: 04 Nov 2020 at 4:21pm |
Do you have 14 or 15 inch wheels? If you have 14's you might want to consider going to 15's with load range D tires, gives you a bit higher ride height and load capacity. If you do a search i also have an axle reinforcement mod, mine does not require any welding.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Jsquared
Newbie
Joined: 03 Nov 2020
Location: West Linn, OR
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9
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Posted: 04 Nov 2020 at 3:41pm |
Thank you all
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2018 RPod 179
2015 4 Runner Trail Edition Premium
For Ultimate Fly Fishing Adventures
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