brulaz

I had a P2 and much prefer the Ford.

Especially as it adjusts the brake force depending upon your speed. With my P2 I always had to lower it manually when slowing down for for gas, or the trailer would get really jerky. Others have been able to adjust the P2 so that doesn't happen, but I never could.

And then there's the integration with the ABS and sway control. The dash panel tells you when you're connected (and when not) ... it's just really a good system.

Your truck's tow capacity assumes the trailer can stop itself using its own brakes. You want to make sure those brakes are working at their best with the best available controller. That would be Fords.

sargetom203

I have used the Teknosha Prodigy, when driving a Dodge 3/4 ton and it did a great job....I felt it was the best available and was very easy to install. Then I bought the F150 with the trlr tow pkg and it came with the OEM unit. All the test drive reports I read, stated pretty clearly that the OEM unit is superior, but not sure in what way it was superior. I like it and it does work well. However, I towed alot of miles using the Prodigy and NEVER had any problem...and it was just as easy to set up initially.
I don't know anything about the sway control being used, only if there is an OEM unit in the truck........Ford would need to answer that one. Good luck with it either way and let us know what you do and how it works out for you.

tcp2

the prodigy is activated by you touching your brakes and activating your taillights. the proportionality comes from an accelerometer in the prodigy that detects how hard you are braking and adjusts accordingly. there is no pressure transducer in the master cylinder providing feedback to the ford oem unit.

sway control is functional with any aftermarket controller and can actually be turned off on the dash display in the setup menu. it will turn itself on again every time you restart the truck. it's all in the owners manual and uses the yaw sensor that is built into the steering system to detect sway. it is NOT dependant on the controller itself. All this info is available in your manual.

A properly set up p2 will be just as functional as the ford controller, just not as integrated into the display.

brulaz

yes.

dunno. So how about this: The ford unit uses a direct electronic signal from the truck's braking system that indicates braking intensity. It does not use an indirect method like an accelerometer. It is also aware of ABS activity in the braking system and adjusts the trailer brakes accordingly.

sway control refers to the application of the trailer brakes when the truck's yaw sensor detects trailer sway (or similar behaviour). Other actions happen as well, but only Ford's brake controller will apply the trailer brakes when the yaw sensor tells it to.

No, for the reasons given above. And because the Ford controller adjusts trailer braking intensity depending upon speed.

marrs1721

Good discussions. I'm becoming very informed. Thanks!

tcp2

After some searching, you are correct in that it has a speed input, but can't find any information about how it reads braking intensity. An accellerometer will read read braking intensity as well as any direct pressure transducer in the line (any proportional controller works this way. The tekonsha units all brake harder the harder you step on the brakes). Can you provide info that the ford unit doesn't have an accelerometer to do this. I have searched and can't find anything.

It looks like the trailer's brakes will be triggered by the activation of the sway control in the integrated unit, but not by the aftermarket one, but the trucks sway control will still work, on the truck's wheels, to control the sway. From the manual:

Trailer Sway Control
Your vehicle may be equipped with trailer sway control. When properly
equipped, trailer sway control will use the vehicle’s AdvanceTrac with
RSC system to detect and help reduce trailer sway by applying brake
force at individual wheels and, if necessary, by reducing engine power.
WARNING: Trailer sway control does not prevent a trailer from
swaying, it mitigates the sway from increasing once it has
occurred. If you are experiencing trailer sway it is likely that the trailer
is improperly loaded for the correct tongue weight or the speed of the
vehicle and trailer is too high. Pull the vehicle-trailer over to a safe
location to check the trailer weight distribution and tongue load and
reduce speed to a safe level while towing. If trailer sway is
experienced, SLOW DOWN.
During Trailer Sway Control events the skidding car icon in the
instrument cluster will flash momentarily. The message center will also
display TRAILER SWAY REDUCE SPEED. In some cases when trailer
sway is detected, the vehicle speed is too high and may be above a
speed at which trailer sway will not grow continuously. This may cause
the system to activate multiple times, causing a gradual reduction in
speed.

The integrated controller definitely provides some extra features and looks great built in. If I didn't already own a prodigy and the dealer wanting $400 to install and program the ford IBC, it would be the path I would have taken. That being said, the tekonsha has done everything I needed it to, smoothly and without fuss.

Gotta be the OP's decision whether to use what he's got or spend the couple of hundred on the ford unit.

brulaz

Sorry no, can't provide a Ford source for that. Think I read it somewhere back when I was researching my 2011 truck purchase. There is a video here http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/features/Feature6/#page=Feature6 that says it "... uses your speed and your braking input to ...". Pretty vague, I know.

But it makes sense to me, that the controller has direct electronic access to braking intensity. That information has to be available to the truck's computer for ABS, stability control, and so on. Accessing that already available info directly would make for a much simpler, cheaper and more effective brake controller.

tcp2

it's pretty clear the ford controller is nicely integrated and great value if you can get it for a good price.