ALKO IQ7 Brake Actuator plus other brake advice needed

[Out-Station]

Hi all, i'm in the process of making my firts foray into electric hydraulic dick brakes, never had a trailer with them before but the new rig will be near enough to 3 tonne. I have a few questions and any advice would be much appreciated.

1. I've pretty much decided upon going with an Alko IQ7 system for its reported response time advantages given im going to be up on the vehicular combo mass limits so figure good braking response is a must. Now, when im up at fraser i normally deactivate my brakes all togther to save them as much as i can, i also normally de couple the traler plug and tape it in a plastic bag up onto the winch post, once again to save it from sand and salt water when the trailer is in the gutter on the extension bar. Can i do this with the IQ7 unit without haveing the brakes stuck on given the breakaway system work by decoupling from the power? As i understan i can through the manual dump valve but just checking?

2. Are trojal stainless callipers and pistons worth the extra cost over dacromet?

3. From my reading the main downfall of the IQ7's seems to be around the need for the connection to the car to be good and continuous, where there is a fault the brakes strat to come on, anyone experienced problems on this one?

Any other tips welcome.

Scott

[scottar]

1. Yes. I do it every time I launch with my older Alko brake unit. Disconnect, dump air and launch. If you are going into the surf, make sure the brake unit is mounted up nice and high and waterproofed - they do not like getting wet. Saw a bloke on the Point Cartwright ramp stuff his totally by taking too long to retrieve and with the incoming tide it went under. Expensive mistake.

2. I don't have them but everyone I know that has upgraded to stainless says yes.

3. Potentially it can happen as they don't use a separate breakaway switch. They rely on the connection to the car to be maintained as the mechanism for operating the breakaways. Personally I have never had an issue but I do keep the connections in good order - including periodically opening up the plugs for a bit of lanolin love.

[Out-Station]

Scottar, thanks for that, just the feedback i needed, i did see a few remarks about them not liking a drowning very much, have try and engineer that requirement in. Thanks.

[myusernam]

I have had mine for a year now with stainless discs and calipers. No complaints. I use the fat 7 pin plug and anderson for the power to the iq7 so its not going to be an interrupted connection. Also have the redarc premium braking system which is
Good. I have found i have to disconnect mine from the power if going out for several days as it flattens the battery. Must come on every now and then.

[Moonlighter]

I have Trojan stainless calipers on my trailer, 8 years and absolutely no issues. Stilll work smooth as. Well worth it IMO.

[Out-Station]

Thanks men, awsome!

[Spaniard_King]

Had Alko Sensabrakes for over 10 Years,m I would recommend the alko controler as if you go with the redarc on at least ensure the power supply is fed through a relay and not direct

The beautyt of the Alko is that when on the ramp and you turn the key off all wheel lock (best hand brake ever)

have 2 customers who run the red arc and have direct powered the unit through anderson plug... both of them had flat batteries in their cars from 23 day fishing trips.. they now have to disconnect the power to the unit when they park the cars

[myusernam]

Yes that is my experience but i didnt think it was from the redarc i just figured i was loosing air slowly. The reason why you wire the redarc tow pro elite to the battery permanently is it stores its calibration. If you remove power to the unit you have to go through over 20 breaking cycles before it will switch to variable brakeing. Actually as soon as i plug my alko into anderson it starts pumping which means the breaks are off. I would have thought at the ramp with no car on so no brake signal the brakes would be off. You need to disconnect the power or apply the brake with the vehicle on for the brakes to be applied

[Noelm]

Without sidetracking this thread, I am going to remove a Techkonsna??( not sure on spelling) from my car, as soon as I find out if it causes drama to remove it, if anyone wants it let me know, free of course.

[Marchy001]

I put tha ALKO iq7 on when I built my trailer 18 months ago. Love it so far.

I went with cheap arse China made calipers as I’d blown my budget by that stage, and have had to strip them once already. They have one chance left before I piss them off.

I unplug the Anderson plug at the ramp and bleed air so the brakes don’t do anything while underwater. Leave it unplugged until I strap down and head for home. Yes they draw some power and will cycle every few hours if left connected.

I had a tekonsha controller in my Triton and it was fine. Wanted a redarc in the new bus but ALKO suggested the Hayman Reese remote head controller. It’s as good as the tekonsha and so much less footprint in the cabin.

Apart from calipers I am very happy with my setup and it is a pleasure to drive with. Previously had override on the old trailer and I kept it adjusted properly and had no complaints but elec/hyd is chalk and cheese.

Don’t let it get wet!!!!

[gofishin]

Great thread Scott, I’ve learnt a few things about the iQ7, which I will soon have. The disconnect to stop a flat car battery is a good one - that would have been a bummer after my first overnight trip!

Do the Redarc or HR controllers have different settings for (PH) Powered Hydraulic/ (E) Electric/etc brake types on the trailer?

I have a Hayes Genesis controller (similar to Prodigy P2 or P3) and switched between these for boat or the rare caravan tow. Assume the iQ7 would also need PH setting.

I would also previously switch off the trailer brakes before hitting the water, and will be doing the same - maybe gingerly at first though as I will have 4t pulling me down a slippery ramp and not 3 [emoji16].


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[Cape Crusader]

G'day
Yes, very important to not dunk the IQ7. Ours got hit by a big swell at the ramp. Then issues started, so took it to the Alko approved repairer for a $450 new compressor fit. A few months later more issues, so I contacted Alko who told me that their policy is that once dunked, no point repairing as problems with the board happen as well as the compressor. Obviously their one approved repairer in my state didn't get the memo. I asked for some sort of assistance regarding price on a new one but nothing. This made me annoyed so I changed to Hydrastar which I'd had on a previous trailer. Anyway, keep dry
Cheers
Rod

[Out-Station]

mmmm, thhanks for all the feedback and info everybody, just thinking outloud, if i was to fabricate some type of splash proof box to house it in are they the type of thing that would get overley hot in there? Thinking it might be money well spent give we do the fraser thing.

Scott

[Dignity]

Great thread Scott, I’ve learnt a few things about the iQ7, which I will soon have. The disconnect to stop a flat car battery is a good one - that would have been a bummer after my first overnight trip!

Do the Redarc or HR controllers have different settings for (PH) Powered Hydraulic/ (E) Electric/etc brake types on the trailer?

I have a Hayes Genesis controller (similar to Prodigy P2 or P3) and switched between these for boat or the rare caravan tow. Assume the iQ7 would also need PH setting.

I would also previously switch off the trailer brakes before hitting the water, and will be doing the same - maybe gingerly at first though as I will have 4t pulling me down a slippery ramp and not 3 [emoji16].


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I have the Redarc system and it learns from a number of brakings once activated, it has worked for me when towing but as mentioned earlier in this thread once parked it isn't operative.
I have the Hydrastar unit on the trailer, my disappointment with this unit is the fact that when at rest there is no brake, I have to use mechanical means as I'm on a slight slope at home, is there a way of introducing a mannual brake system as i had in the override brakes. I'm also a bit disappointed that the redarc unit at the ramp does not lock the rig in place although my crew do not switch the motor off so I'm hoping there is some braking in effect.

Just realised didn't answerve your query, redacted learns by the first 2p brakes you apply, so it's worth doing some highway driving and applying hard, if you do a lot of city driving and do soft braking it can be a little disconcerting. In reverse redarc is like it hits a brick wall when the brakes are applied , maybe it's my unit, would like to hear from others.

[Marchy001]

Something like this?

Will be getting Trojan calipers when the time comes and the park brake attachment as well.

https://trojan.co.nz/Mechanical-Park-Brake--Bolt-on/6728-af303993-f5f5-49f8-a7e7-254fec34e110/

[myusernam]

Re. Trailer brakes when launching. I use a 4wd truck so in low range 1st its not going anywhere when launching (off in gear). I suggest a normal 4wd would be the same though.

[gofishin]

... if you do a lot of city driving and do soft braking it can be a little disconcerting. In reverse redarc is like it hits a brick wall when the brakes are applied , maybe it's my unit, would like to hear from others.
My mate has the same issue Sam, although it is better than the old-school Tekonsha pendulum controller he previously had [emoji23].

Although it was over 18 months ago now (so the memory is a bit vague [emoji6]), but when I spoke to some people/sellers about the Redarc, although it is an accelerometer controller, one thing that it seemed not to accommodate was calibration at both minimum braking input and maximum. Maximum calibration for braking at speed, minimum for low speed driving and manoeuvring etc - and all in between these ‘limits’ controlled as normal.

After the first few trips I had tweaked these settings to suit my 3t load, but haven’t touched them since. It was great at both low and high speed. As a result I stuck with my existing controller, but I’m sure will have to tweak it again with the different braking system (iQ7) and heavier load.
Cheers
Brendon


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[Dignity]

Something like this?

Will be getting Trojan calipers when the time comes and the park brake attachment as well.

https://trojan.co.nz/Mechanical-Park-Brake--Bolt-on/6728-af303993-f5f5-49f8-a7e7-254fec34e110/
Marchy, for some strange reason my tablet crashes the Internet when it try to access the site (it does that to a few specific sites, could be my security settings) however I briefly saw the item in question and will look it up on the PC next time I fire it up which is infrequent. I still have the manual override calipers but when I looked at whether I could add these as well I found the cables would foul on the new calipers I'd installed when I went hydraulic/electric.

[myusernam]

So the redarc i have is the towpro elite. I think its a new model. There is an older towpro.. Once calibrated it has proportional braking. I find the scale is accurate. When i tow the trailer without the boat i wind it right back otherwise the wheels lock up initially. With the boat i can turn it up to the point where it is helping pulling me up, but as im just around town i then take it back so it feels as though the load wasn't there/ with close to 4.5 ton on a tri axle trailer. That is i set it to four and no matter if i brake soft or hard it feels as though im just driving the truck. . I have driven it a few times without the proportional on (so just brakes off or in on a scale of 1 - 10) and its much less nice to drive. The tekonshas are cheaper but the redarc runs direct on 24v which made it my best option but i am quite happy with it. It also is very neat with just a small rotary dial visible and a flash colour code/ push button interface that is Intuitive.