Trailer Towing question

[Jeff396]

I am in the process of renting a 24 foot enclosed car hauler to move one of my cars. The rental places web site says I need at least a 3/4 ton truck, a 2 15/16 inch ball and a 7 prong round and electric brake controller. I have the first three but am unsure if my truck has the brake controller. The 7 prong plug that came with it lists one of the prongs as the brake controller. My truck is a '97 Ford F350 crew turbo diesel. Would my truck already have the brake controller or will I have to have one put on? All I seem to find in the owners manual is that trailer brakes are necessary over a certain weight.

Jeff

 

[njrqs]

Jeff

Knowing ZIP about yank trucks, I am probably not qualfied to answer.

BUT ...........

A brake controller fitted to a vehicle is normally an aftermarket job and I know of no vehicles where this comes as standard.

It tells the elctric brakes on the trailer when and how hard to apply, based on information it derives from a pendulum inside and the resulting stopping forces.

Most rental trailers have their own (basic) controller that turns the brakes on or off, with a manual intensity adjustment. This picks up the electical signal from your brake lights via the plug.

To require your vehicle to have a controller is a big ask as only people who regularly tow trailers with electric brakes would have one, thus limiting their rentals.

But I'll sit back and wait because I am sure we'll both learn somethign with the answers that will come !!

Any hey - 2 15/16" ball - I always heard you yanks have BIG BALLS /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Ours are only 2"

Cheers

 

[cowboydoc]

I agree with Neil. If you don't have a black box attached under the dash somewhere you don't have a brake controller and will have to have one installed.

 

[RobS]

Jeff, your truck is basically the same as mine (97 F250 crew). Neil and Richard are right, you'll need to add a brake controller. Good thing is since you have the 7 pin connector you should also find a handy harness plug in under the dash for the controller. You should also find, perhaps in the glove box or under the seat, a mating connector with several wire stubs sticking out. If not, the dealer will have it. The controller will wire into the stubbed out connector (complete instructions should come with the controller). Then it's a simple matter of plugging the connector into the one under the dash. I drilled a hole in the back of the cubby to the right of the steering column and mounted my controller in there. It looks nearly OEM. Good luck and hollar if you have any questions /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Jeff396]

Would this be an item best picked up at the dealer or at the trailer place?

Jeff

 

[Jeff396]

I'm not gonna complain about having to add this brake controller. I'm just extatic that I was able to find an enclosed car hauler for rent and just 20 miles away at that./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

As far as the ball goes /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif I ended up getting a Tim the Tool Man hitch. It's a Titan Class V, by Reese I think, capable of hauling close to 15,000 lbs and the huge ball came with it. You should have seen the looks they gave me when I told them I was getting it installed so I could tow an 8 foot enclosed uhaul cross country. You can never go too big!!!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Jeff

 

[RobertN]

A good trailer supply or repair place should have a variety of controllers. You mentioned you had a Class-5 hitch installed; I'm suprised they did not have a controller to sell you.

The dealer would have the pigtail connector if you don't have one with your truck. Trailer supply company should have them too.

It's nice to be able to wire these things up without running lots of new wires to the back of the truck My Dodge is 7-wire on the hitch. It had the similar pigtail. Hook up four wires, attach it to the dash, and you'r ready with trailer brakes.

If you are renting, be sure to test them while you are at the lot...

 

[Jeff396]

I bought the class V because I figured it matched the capability of the truck best for future possibilities. At the time all I needed it for was to tow that 8' Uhaul cross country when we moved from AZ to SC. I even bought an additional ball small enough for the Uhaul and had them put it on the receiver so they might have figured I wouldn't need the electronic brake controller. If I did everything right to determine the total trailer weight the truck can pull it comes out at 13,900 lbs with a gcwr of over 20,000 lbs. It would sure be nice if they would come out with the book Trailering for Dummies. It sure is a tough read in the operators manual!

I went digging in the basement and found the box with the plug/pigtail and the directions for where it gets plugged in under the dash. I knew I had seen it but at the time had no idea what it was.

Thanks for all the help!!!

Jeff

 

[ronjhall]

Jeff
I put a Tekonsha Prodigy electric brake controller on my Van. It works very well for me. Bought it from <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.brakecontroller.com/>Soutwest Wheel</A>. They had the best price when you consider they include shipping in the price. The instructions show how to hook it up to all the popular cars and trucks.

 

[kevincook]

I ordered the Tekonsha Sentinel from the same place about a year and a half ago. The Prodigy wasn't available yet and I couldn't wait any longer for it otherwise I probably would have purchased it. The Sentinel came highly recommended to me by several people and it does a great job. It is about half the cost of the Prodigy so it may be a better option if you don't plan to use it very often.

Is the trailer you are renting set up for a weight distributing hitch? It will tow much better if it is. Also, with that much weight in the trailer take a slow speed test drive to test the braking/handling before you get on the highway. A trailer that big can cause the "tail to wag the dog" if you know what I mean. If the trailer starts to sway at all push the button on the brake controller to manually apply the trailer brakes. This will bring the trailer right back into line...also gets your adrenalin going.

BTW, my van stops better with a fully loaded trailer than the van just by itself. It's like throwing out an anchor.