Reverse lights.

It is something that needs to be done depending on the driving. Lower speeds in cities is different than higher speeds on Interstate highways. The latter requires a higher setting. Having the controller in easy reach makes this a simple task. Having the display in eyesight while driving means you won't have to take your eyes off the road to see your adjustments. I can do the buttons by touch, but I don't want to be looking down toward my feet to see if I hit the right ones.

A setting that is good for high speeds may be too aggressive for city driving. If you feel the trailer jerk when you brake, it is easy to adjust it for the current conditions.

I have been very pleased with the Hopkins unit. I don't have any experience with other ones to compare though. I kind of wish I could do a side-by-side comparison.

If I remember correctly, the Tekonsha P3 has a more informative display, but it is on the unit which is likely to be mounted where it can't be as easily seen or reached while driving. The Hopkins display is more basic (red dot so show the cable is connected and the unit is active and numbers to show braking level when brakes are applied. The harder the brakes are applied, the higher the number. When the settings are changed (sensitivity and/or braking force), the display will show that and then go back to the red dot until the brakes are applied or another button is pressed.

When the trailer is disconnected, the display is blank. The controller has a red LED that is on all the time (verifies power to the unit). eTrailer's info states that it draws only milliamps, so won't drain the battery unless the TV is left for months. In that case, other electronics in modern vehicles would also run the battery down, probably before the controller would.

These are my opinions based on my experience. I'll try to get some pictures of my installation tomorrow when it is light. It is too late tonight to go out and shoot some.

You have to re-adjust for different driving conditions?  Once the Prodigy is set it is good to go.

I could select a compromise setting and leave it there. I found it better to adjust a little to suit the conditions.

Edit:

When I am traveling at higher speeds, I want the brakes to be a bit more aggressive as I want the combination of TV and trailer to stop in not much more distance than the TV would if I were not towing. However, when set that high, I noticed that they would want to grab when I was traveling at in-town low speeds. That is why I decided to adjust back for in-town and adjust up for highway speeds. The controller, because of its inertial sensors does apply the brakes harder when I apply them harder.

It is still a learning curve for me to figure out if there is a setting which will work well for both city and highway driving. Since there are so many variables in TV and trailer combinations people will use, the manual's instructions are:

I need to do this again once I get the trailer back and when I have it loaded for travel. Adjusting before loading would have them set too light for when it is loaded, which is why I was adjusting while traveling. I should have done this when the trailer was loaded.

Additional edit:

I called Hopkins to clarify the settings. The reason I was experiencing the jerking at slow speeds is that the sensitivity (speed at which brakes are applied) was too high for my TV/trailer combination. The proper thing is what I discovered by playing with the settings was to lower the sensitivity until the brakes applied smoothly.

The second setting is the brake force adjustment. The technician recommended having that set high and let the proportional controller work. Again, that is what I was trying for with my adjusting. That is somewhat dependent on how much of a load is being carried. An unloaded, close to dry weight R-Pod will not require as much braking force to stop as one that is fully loaded. This would apply to any controller, not just the InSIGHT. If one is towing with an F350, it would be different than my towing with an Escape.

I also requested that information be added to the installation instructions and/or the product web site to explain the sensitivity settings better. The instructions only covered braking power, not sensitivity.

The additional information will definitely help. I have been very pleased with it. Knowing what I now know, I should like it even more.

Marwayne, can you explain what you mean by the Rpod being pre-wired for reverse lights? Where would I find the wires if I were to install some reverse lights?