Brake Controllers For Towing Your RV
By Lois Powell

If your boat trailer, utility trailer, box trailer or RV weighs over 2000 pounds, it probably contains brakes. Unless your trailer has surge brakes, it is the law in most states, and always a good idea, to equip your tow vehicle with a brake controller.

An electric trailer brake controller supplies power from a tow vehicle to a trailer's electric brakes. The two main types of controllers available are time delay and inertia controllers. Both are activated by the tow vehicle driver pressing the brake pedal. Both can be adjusted by the user, and both have a pressure switch which allow the driver to apply the trailer brakes independently of the tow vehicle.

A time delay activated brake controller is solid state, and works through a time delay circuit, sending a gradual voltage to the trailer's brakes. This is the most common controller because of the inexpensive cost, ease of installation and low profile. There have been issues of the brakes pulsing with this type of brake controller when the hazard flashers are in use.

The other main type of brake controller is the inertia, or pendulum style. The pendulum circuit applies proportional voltage to the brakes when the brake petal is applied. This allows the towed vehicle to slow down at the same speed as the towing vehicle. The advantage to this is smooth braking notion, and less wear on the trailer's brakes. The disadvantages are the higher cost of the controller, and installation is trickier because the controller needs to be completely level and adjusted properly, and the controller is bulkier.

Installing a brake controller is simple for a tow vehicle equipped with a factory tow package. Installation consists of mounting the controller under the dash of the tow vehicle, and hooking up the wires! Check where you buy your controller for a brake control wire harness specific to your vehicle.

For vehicles not pre wired, and if you are uneasy with bundles of wires, you might leave installation of your brake controller to a trained professional. But, if you know what you are doing, and can follow the instructions included with the controller, installation shouldn't be a problem for you.

For more information about the Brake Controllers noted above, please check out RVPartsDealer.com where you will find a huge variety of the newest brake controls.

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