Trailer Brake Controller Installation and Types

There are times when life springs strange surprises so it is always advisable to be prepared for them. I wanted to share this line with you because it came to my mind when I thought of writing this article about installing brake controllers!

Trailer Brake Controller – What is it?

Basically a trailer brake controller is a device that is used to supply power from the tow vehicle to the trailer’s electric brake. Today there are many styles of trailer brake controllers available in the market. These brakes differ in the way they look and the number of brakes they power.

Types of Trailer Brake Controllers

A Proportional Trailer Brake Controller

A motion-sensing device that is present in a proportional brake controller can tell how fast the tow vehicle is stopping. When it senses this, it applies power to the trailer brakes equally as the towing vehicle. This action allows the trailer to stop at the same rate as the tow vehicle. This brake is essential in extreme situations because when the vehicle brakes are slammed on, a proportional controller will send the maximum preset power to the trailer brakes immediately.

The proportional brake controller is useful because it provides the quickest and smoothest breaking while also providing the least amount of wear on both the trailer’s brakes and vehicle. These controllers run on a brake pedal switch and a pendulum circuit. This circuit senses the stopping motion of the vehicle and then applies proportional voltage to the trailer’s brakes.

A Time Delayed Trailer Brake Controller

Using this type of brake controller causes a delay when the brake pedal is pushed to when the unit reaches the user set, maximum power output. Luckily this delay can be lengthened or shortened with a switch which is known as the sync switch. The vehicle will do most of the initial braking and put extra strain on the vehicle’s brakes if the sync switch is set too low, whereas the trailer will brake harder if the sync switch is set too high.

The time delayed brake controller is very user friendly and can be easily installed. Most of these types of brake controllers have the digital display flashing on along with the hazard flashers. In this case pulsing might occur if the brake controller is set to aggressively. This is when a pulse preventer comes to the rescue. This preventer isolates the brake controller from the flashers and eliminates the pulsing and flashing of the controller. It is certainly not necessary to install a pulse preventer in vehicles that have a different bulb for the stop and turn signals.

Trailer Brake Controller Installation

• To install a brake controller first install the auto reset circuit breaker in the positive wire from the battery to the brake controller.
• Next, connect the red wire to the side of the brake pedal stop switch.
  Then connect the black wire to the 12VDV positive and the white wire to the battery negative.
• Once that is done, connect the blue-brake controller output to the brakes of the electric trailer.
• At the end of it, please ensure that you have followed all the steps.

Trailer Parts and Accessories

Some of the parts a trailer is made up of are:

• Suspensions
• Wheels
• Hardware
• Towing and Hitch Equipment
• Axle Components
• Electrical and Lights
• Body Components
• Winches, Jacks and Couplers
• Brake Assemblies and Actuating Systems

Apart from the parts mentioned above there are trailer accessories to choose from too!