Brakes are important. That minivan that just cut you off on the highway is about to come to a screeching halt. And if you don’t have great control of your trailer’s stopping ability, that 15,000-pound house-on-wheels behind you is going to push you right on through that precious minivan.
We’ve all been there before. It’s a scary situation that leaves us with high blood pressure and a few choice words for the captain of said minivan. Having a good set of brakes on the truck, a quality brake controller, and properly maintained trailer brakes are a must for safety and peace of mind.
At the moment our tow rig’s brakes are in good working order and are more than sufficient. The trailer is brand new, but we’ll check its brakes anyways. What we needed was good brake controller. Curt Manufacturing has always stood for quality in our minds, and when we saw its new Triflex digital brake controller, we just had to check it out.
01. This is a very simple...
01. This is a very simple install that just about anyone with a thumb can get done. A set of wire stripers, a Philips screw driver, electrical tape, a light tester and a few electrical connectors is all we needed for the Triflex install.
02. If you have a late model...
02. If you have a late model truck or RV the dealer should have given you a wire harness like this one from Ford. If not Curt has these harness’s in stock and ready to ship. This harness allows you to plug into the factory installed brake controller wiring. In most full-size vehicles and RVs, it’s found under the center of the dash next to the accelerator pedal.
03. Most brake controllers...
03. Most brake controllers use a four wire system. From left to right: White wire is ground. Black is the 12-volt positive power supply. Blue connects to the trailers brakes and the red wire is for the stoplight signal that activates when the brake pedal is applied. Factory harnesses are sometimes coded with different colors so be sure to check the manual when hooking up a brake controller.
04. After all the connections...
04. After all the connections were made we cleaned up the harness with a little electrical tape and headed out to the truck.
05. The Triflex must be mounted...
05. The Triflex must be mounted as straight as possible and to a solid surface. Also in case of emergency the controller should be within easy reach of the driver. We found a good flat spot under the “cell phone tray” that was well within our reach.
06. When testing the finished...
06. When testing the finished project it’s important to know just what that seven way trailer light plug does. The seven prongs have their own special job. Top left: Running lights. Center left: Left turn and brake. Bottom left: Ground. Top right: 12-volt positive. Center right: Right turn and brake. Bottom right: Trailer brake. Center: Reverse
Post Install Test
Once installed we took the truck and trailer on a 600-mile test drive, up and down numerous steep grades and through infamous L.A. traffic on the way to one of our favorite destinations in the Southern California desert. The Triflex performed flawlessly. Once we found the best power setting for our Carson trailer the Triflex did the rest. Towing uphill the controller lessened its output to compensate and did the exact opposite when moving down those healthy mountain passes. Panic stops are something we always try to avoid, but we did get cut off by the aforementioned minivan. The Triflex’s accelerometer sensed we were braking harder and kicked up the power, bringing all 20,000 pounds to a smooth, safe stop. We’re impressed.