DIY brake conrol fitment

I bought a Tekonsha Prodigy and fitted it several months ago. I believe the Prodigy is one of the better units around. It cost me $150 for the unit (on special) and a few dollars more for wire, connectors, and a circuit breaker. Wiring the unit was time consuming but straight forward. Mounting it was a bit trickier (under the dash on a Jackaroo). Some people remove their ash tray and mount them in that space - not sure whether you could do this in a 120 Prado. I wouldn't bother with units that mount on the trailer - mounting it 'in cab' allows you to adjust as necessary to suit conditions.
Rob.

tdv

$250 to fit a brake controller!!!!
What are they using, gold plated connectors?

Much better fitted inside vehicle within easy reach of driver.

I don't consider myself at all electrically mined and fitted my own peice of pish. They come with full instructions.

Cheers
Wal.

As far as I know, Tekonsha is inertia activated. Can be a problem if needing trailer brakes going backwards eg. slippery river bank.

Hayman Rees are simply vehicle brake system operated as far as I know.

Tekonsha can be a bit aggressive applying the trailer brakes

Mount in cab if you can.

Yes, wiring is time consuming but not difficult as all instructions included, in fact the Hayman Rees instructions are the clearest.

Mounted mine in the Patrol in about 3.5 hrs, but Im not as quick as I used to be.

Regards
Mike

I bought and fitted the Tekonsha prodigy to our 100 series for towing our jayco dove outback, it works perfectly. The Prodigy can be mounted at almost any angle, it has various boost settings (good if you tow different trailers of various weights) and the digital readout is easy to read. I found the hardest thing was finding a good place to run the wires.
Cheers,
Stu

I don't disagree with any of the above, however we mounted our controller on the draw bar because more than one vehicle is used for towing our trailer. If this isn't an issue, put it inside.

Electric trailer brakes WONT work in reverse. Magnet will be trying to go to centre of wheel not to outer circumferance of drum.
Cheers
Charlie

Fitted a Prodigy as it was recommended on the basis of it works in reverse-- I think it does based on applying only the manual lever when trying it in reverse and not applying the foot pedal.
Same discussion on another forum some time ago deduced that fitting on trailer MAY be not strictly legal. And anyway, how do you adjust on the run if it is on the trailer? And I know that we adjust ours depending upon the conditions, sometimes never, sometimes a couple of times during a particular phase of a trip. Or apply the emergency override if needed?
Rusty

Tekonsha prodigy works in reverse and applies proportional braking.
It is inertia activated but even so, can still be mounted at an angle of 70 degrees
Three way boost options which is not really needed until your trailer gets up around the same weight as your tow vehicle also brakes can be manually activated.

You can get them for $150 but have to really shop around Retail price is up around the $300 mark.

Fitting mine to a GQ took about 1 hr. I ran the wiring through the fire wall then through the chasis rails to the trailer plug. Quick and easy in a patrol but don't know about a Prado though.

Bought a Takonsha Prodigy on E-Bay for $175.

Well.....I have been convinced that the Prodigy is the way to go.Unfortunately they are hard to find around Cairns. I have been by a dealer that the same company makes them for Hayman reese and they are called a "Guardian".

Anyway I see them on ebay as suggested for $175 so will order one. Thanks everyone.

Tez

Prodigy is a way to go and yo can get them on ebay.
Mine was installed for about $200 including wiring for the battery in the CT
The best place for the brake controller is in ash tray.