Invest in Takensha P2 brake controller. You can get them on amazon. Having adjustable trailer brakes is great. Also, check your trailer brake shoes and lubricate springs.

 

Would this replace the oem brake controller?

 

Yes it would.

 

OEM brake controller may be adjustable too.

 

It allows me to add or subtract gain

 

The aftermarket controllers also have one more feature - boost level. The manual override is also nice.


Boost levels let you adjust initial braking power and aggressiveness.

 

OEM should also have manual override. For towing an open car trailer, an aftermarket is a waste of money imo.

 

My Tundra had no break controller but was wired for one. I added the P2 and it's was night and day Towing open trailer with a 3600lbs STI from Chicago to Colorado.

 

+1, if it's as good as the one in my 2011 2500HD was, there's no need to replace. I have a P3 in my Suburban right now, the gain is nice but not required unless you are pulling a big trailer. For a flatbed, the OEM controller is fine.

 

When they work it's really hard to beat the GM integrated controllers. Plenty of power and the best feature is it's integrated into the ABS. Not entirely sure what it does for the trailer braking during an ABS event just remember seeing it listed as a feature of the system. I do know the few times I had a ohh **** moment pulling a 17k lb 5th wheel the trailer stayed behind me which was nice.

I will say they are VERY sensitive to faulty trailer wiring or bad connections. You'll get the service trailer brake system warning pretty regularly with a shoddy trailer, even if its just the lights that are faulty the brake system gets shut off. Annoying.

 

I just bought a 2003 Sierra Denali Quadrasteer with 190k miles on it. I got it because it was cheap and I found out with a little research that Quadrasteer is pretty rare. The 6.0 was pretty powerful on the test drive and when the Quadrsteer was turned on, the turning circle is hilariously small for a truck.

I got it for 5k and the PO put new brake pads on all four corners. The transmission seems to slip some under hard acceleration and I broke the damn airbox lid when I was changing out the air filter, but it is otherwise in very solid condition for the age and miles. I have never towed before and I don't have a trailer, but it seems I might start down that path now.

 

190k miles. It's about time. Fresh 4l80 and it should be good to go.

 

Has anyone here tried the bluetooth brake controllers? My rig is 3500 lbs and I pull it with my work van but would like to pull it with wife's CX9 if ever the family decides to come along. Also, when we go to Nebraska we rent a truck.

It would seem a rather convenient solution instead of buying two brake controllers and not having brakes going to Nebraska.

Thoughts?

 

I have a Tekonsha P3 i'd let go for $100 shipped CONUS if anyone in here wants one. The control unit itself is brand new, wiring harness was installed in a vehicle once.

 

Given how craptastic bluetooth is at the relative simple task of relaying phone conversations between my phone and the hands-free system in my car, I really don't think I'd trust it with trailer brakes.

--Ian

 

You have an excellent point there, sir.

It's not very expensive, and my van doesn't need the trailer brakes to haul it, so I will likely invest in one for science. If it works flawlessly on the van, I'll try it on the CX9 *if* the family ever joins me on an outing.

 

I have a fever...and the only cure is more hydroxy--more mods!

Piggyback ECU: Check
Borla Exhaust: Check
E85: Check
Winch: Check
Two winches: Check

 

weird e85 is more than regular gas?

In IL e85 is .99/ gal 87 is 1.59.

 

Yeah tell me about it. My best guess is that petroleum is one of CO's biggest resources and other crops are worth more than corn here. Weld County Colorado is #1 in fracking, or at least it was. Since 85 octane (or 86 octane E15) is so cheap, my Lexus truck is cheaper for me to drive around than my Honda EP3 or Miata that are both tuned and need at minimum 91 octane or E85.

Running E85 has between 51% and 88% less carbon emissions than gasoline too. So that means running my 12 MPG truck on E85 is more environmentally friendly than a Prius on gasoline, right? Owned environmentalists. Just owned. https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/fle...emissions.html

 

Here you are making your rig fast and I'm obsessing over my avg mpg on my new to me tahoe...That and wrestling with evap issue, but i think I've narrowed it down to the charcoal canister.