I've never put in a brake controller before and I bought this truck used. I have a flat bed trailer that I just bought with electric brakes. I'm using this to tow my offroad Jeep Wrangler toy.

I'm a total newbie to this so I need to ask a few questions.

1) What brand of brake controller should I buy?

2) Do I need to get a harness from Ford to plug it in or do I already have a harness and where would that be?

3) What else is involved?

I will add that this truck came with the airbag suspension in the rear with 7 way plug RV that works, and is set up for a truck camper which I will get eventually.

 

More than likely there is not a quick connect plug for your truck. You can buy whatever brake controller you want. Any mid grade and up brake controller will work well. Expect to pay $65 to $160 for one. What you'll need to do is run a wire directly to the battery, one to your 7 round plug, one for a ground, and one to the cold side of your brake light switch. That's all I can remember of the top of my head.

 

I would highly suggest a Tekonsha brake controller, The prodigy is the easiest to use and no leveling required, plus a lifetime guarantee. As far as the low end of Tekonsha I would get a Voyager, The cheapest would be the Envoy but I think they are really cheapy feeling. If your truck has a plug and play for the brake controller it would be about directly under the ashtray it's a squarish plug for a 6 pin connector, you can get the connector from any trailer/towing shop. If you have to wire it old school there is instructions in with the Tekonsha brake controllers. Odds are if was set up for a camper it already has had a controller in it.

 

Yeah there is a plug right under the center of the dash as you described. I'll have to get a closer look maybe get a picture and post it here.

 

I run Reeses POD I paid $44 through PPLmotorhomes.com in Houston on-line & $7 shipping. There are three different types of controllers, (timed/ proportional/ inertia. Go online and research which is best for your use. There are differences. Then order from there. Any of the companies make less expensive to high end expensive controllers. The big difference is like everything else "FEATURES", the more features the more money. We have lived FULL-TIME in an RVs for over 10 years, I have towed for 30 years. I use a Reeses POD which is a timed controller. I saw a Dexter inertia controller online for $59. Dexter builds many of the brake units on trailer axles.
As for hook up they ALL come with instructions that are easy to follow, If you have a test light & a few basic tools, & some 12 ga wire, preferably 10 ga for Brake wire your pretty much in business.

 

Same truck (but gas) a "PowerStop" controller has worked 13 years now. It had a plug that didn't fit the Ford harness under the dash by the ashtray, but spliced it right into the secondary leads provided off of the plug. It too is adjustable, and has a hand-control on it to apply the trailer brakes only, real useful when hauling heavy loads downhill. Now at $130 it's kind of pricey.

Tekonsha is durable too, I put their battery backup setup on the flatbed.

 

I'd say to buy a very good controller..the Prodigy and be done with it. You just plug everything in and it's done. BTW, the pigtails are also available from WalMart.

 

Where's a good place to get the Prodigy??

 

If you have the $$$ I recommend the Tekonsha P3. Its super easy to use and can monitor different voltages and currents. The thing I like most about the P3 over the Prodigy is you can adjust the brake output while braking and see the value on the screen. The LCD screen is pretty slick.

www.brakecontroller.com

 

Just bought the prodigy last week and a direct fit harness from RVwholesalers.com...the cheapest you'll find it ,,, (total with ship for me was 116.00 ),the range that people sell it is between $94- $229 ! The plug for the brake controller is just below the ash tray area,,, I have a 95 f250 7.3 diesel Too......Works really great with my horse trailer.......
Dave

 

Here's what I found in the area under the dash at the ash tray:

Two plugs next to each other attached to some plate:



Each plug individually:




And 4 wires tied together that were cut next to those:




Not sure what is going on here...

 

In those small pics can't really see how many of what there is. My '95 has 5 wires in a conduit with a tag labelled "To Trailer Brake Wiring". The blue and red wires are 10ga; the green, brown and white wires are smaller gauge.

If there is redundant or confusing wiring under the dash, get a 15' long wire lead plugged into your volt-ohm meter and check for continuity between the wiring under the dash and the trailerbrake wires by the rear bumper.

 

Looks like sombody didn't want to go for a plug and go harness and snipped off the plug and spliced in the controller....you'll only use the 4 wires that appear to be cut.... i could have pic when I figure out to upload here....so do not buy a plug in harness....... you'll use the harness that comes with the controller.....
dave

 

Here are some pics of the wiring in my 95 F-250 for the brake controller



This is what the plug should look like look



These are what wires you should have.

Blue: Brake that runs to the back, most controllers use blue for their brake wire too

Red: Power wire most brake controllers use the black wire as the power wire

White: Ground most controllers use white too

Green: Don't hold me to it but I'm pretty sure that it's the brake switch wire, you might want to check on that with a test light. That would be the red wire on a brake controller.