Electric Brake Control Question

[Mr.Goat]

Do any of you folks know if an electric brake control unit is built right into our trucks when you have the trailer tow package.



Mine is a 03 2500 reg cab HO, 6spd, Laramie with all the bells and whisltes including the trailer tow pkge.



I'am building a trailer with dual axles. By law I have to have at least one axle with brakes. So we are putting electric brakes on it.



It was mentioned the other day to me that perhaps the Dodge has the controler built right in.



So the question is, does it?, and if so where is it,? and what do I do to connect up to it?



The owners manual is not terribly forth coming with any info I can find on this subject.



Thanks Pete

 

[wcjp]

Never heard of the 03-07 trucks with built in brake controller. I'm running the Prodigy P3. Works great. Bought it on Ebay with pigtail. No splicing.

 

[Carlacee]

I think the 3rd gens have a factory plug in location for brake controllers although I'm still looking in to this feature..... I could be wrong.



Cee

 

[jelag]

Should be stock on all 2010 models if the TDR is right.....

Suggest you look at Max Brake, which uses a transducer in the brake like for true proportional braking... . or Brake Smart is the other brand available...

We tow a lot, and heavy and found that the proportional units work the best for us... .

Hope this helps. .

 

[CKelley1]

max brake and brake smart are the best on the market the others are for people who move a trailer once a year

 

[icman95]

I know in the 2gens, and I assume in the 3gens (although I could be wrong) there is a hook up point built in to the trucks. It is under the dash above the parking brake pedal in my truck. Mine came with a connector that you splice into the brake controller-really easy- and then plug into the dash connector. Maybe yours has this too? If at least you have the hook up point in the dash, you can probably check with a dealer and order the pigtail.

 

[Mr.Goat]

Thanks for all the info. It is greatly appreciated as this my first venture into the world of trailer brakes.

 

[Mishkaya]

If you can afford it, you should definitely get a Maxbrake or a Brakesmart as they are heads and shoulders above the rest. I currently use Brakesmart as Maxbrake was not around when I acquired the product, but I can assure you that the performance is day and night compared to my previous brake controller.

 

[Mark31]

MG, I am under the impression that regulations have been or will be changed so every axle has to have brakes. Maybe someone who knows will chime in. I have brakes on both axles of my 14 ft mower trailer that I pull with my GMC S15. Our 14 ft Baptist Disaster Relief cargo trailer is "much less stressful" to pull now that we have brakes on both axles. Put enough brakes on your new trailer for a worst case scenario is my two cents worth! Mark

 

[TMRoper1669]

Laws in most states require at least one axle to have brakes depending on the weight of the trailer. Dodges do not have a built in brake controller yet as of 2009 although 1999 and newer have prewired outlets under the dash. Reese Digital are good brake controllers Reese has been around for a long time, there are a lot of good brake controllers out there.

 

[brods]

If you're putting brakes only on one axle and you will be using a traditional leaf spring/center equalizer setup make sure the rear axle has the brakes. During braking axle wrap will want to unload the front axle and put more load on the rear axle.

 

[Crash&Burn]

I need a new controller and am shopping around... .

How would the MaxBrake work with a exhaust brake? A lot of times it's the only brake I use.

tia

 

[HBarlow]

I need a new controller and am shopping around... .
How would the MaxBrake work with a exhaust brake? A lot of times it's the only brake I use.
tia

Either the MaxBrake or BrakeSmart will work great with an exhaust brake (or without). With either of those brake controllers your truck and trailer brakes will respond accoring to the foot pressure you apply to the brake pedal. True proportional braking!