What options do you have when you need to tow a heavy trailer, but your truck or SUV does not have an integrated trailer brake controller. The wireless brake controller is one of the newer solutions, and we just had to try it out to see how difficult it is to install and use.
In this demo, we are using a 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser. This big SUV is rated to tow a maximum of 8,500 lbs, but it does not have an integrated brake controller. Colorado regulations state, that any trailer that weighs over 3,000 lbs must have functional trailer brakes when towing. If the trailer I equipped with electrically actuated brakes, then the truck needs some way to control the brakes.
The trailer we are using is a 14-foot CM Stoker that is loaded to just over 5,000 lbs of total weight.
We purchased the Tekonsha Prodigy RF wireless brake controller on Amazon. This is NOT a sponsored video.
Mr. Truck and I installed the control unit on the tongue of the trailer. We had to drill into the trailer frame and used the provided screws. It took us a bit longer than anticipated because of the thicker steel we needed to drill through. Once the controller was mounted on the trailer, the remote hand-held unit was paired within a couple of minutes.
FYI. This system requires constant 12-volt power in order to work. Some trucks, such as some Ford and Dodge SUVs do not provide constant 12-volt power within the trailer wiring system. This brake controller would not work in those cases.
Please take a look at the video for all of the details.
