Hooking up a Brake Controller

Hooking up a Brake Controller for your towed vehicle or trailer

This is one of the many helpful articles authored over the years by service specialists within the former Country Coach LLC’s Service Department. Although the company closed its doors in late 2009…the information provided over the years is still of good information to motorcoach owners…enjoy…

Question: How do I hook up a brake controller for my trailer or towed vehicle?

Answer: This “do it yourself” project will not require a lot of specialized tools. Depending on the weight of your trailer or tow car, an auxiliary braking system may be a legal requirement insome states. Many states have reciprocal agreements that may or may not exempt one from compliance. Legal issues aside, many coach owners say their coach actually brakes better with an auxiliary braked trailer than it does with no trailer attached. Cautionary note: Consider a break-away feature for your trailer or tow car as a safety factor.

Wires. There are some wires you’ll need to access in order to tie the auxiliary braking system into your coach.

You’ll need to supply +12V power to operate the controller and you’ll need some way to let the controller know that you have applied the service brake of the coach.    

#52 – this 16g yellow wire comes from the brake switch relay and goes to a number of components, including the tow board. You will find it under the dash as well as in the steering bay. It provides a +12V signal when the service brake is engaged.      

#34 – this 16g yellow wire is the ignition power wire. As you can imagine, it is connected to quite a few components both under the dash and in the steering bay. It provides a +12V source when the ignition is on.

Ground. You may connect to any of the ground studs available in the dash area or steering bay. Or create your own ground with a good mechanical connection to a clean metal surface.

Spare wires. There are spare wires that run from the steering bay to the back of your coach. Depending on which model coach you have, locate spare wires on a terminal strip located in either the engine compartment or the service bay. You will need one of these to connect the output signal from your brake controller to the trailer or tow car portion of the auxiliary system. Some auxiliary braking systems require a connection to the pneumatic system of your coach. Due to the complexity of this system, you may free to contact Premier RV Services for additional information if you are installing this style of controller.

Not a DIY type person? You can contact a trusted service center to make an appointment for qualified Service specialists to take care of this for you. I’d recommend Premier RV Services (www.PremierRVServices.com) or Oregon Motorcoach Center (www.oregonmotorcoachcenter.com)or Country Coach Corporation (www.CountryCoach.com) if you’re in the Northwest.In the Southwest there’s Premier Motorcoach Services or Lazydays RV at Tucson, or in the South Central there’s Platinum Coach & RV, Motorhomes of Texas, Indoor Coach Storage and Service and Foretravel of Texas. Out east there’s Fountain RV and Lazydays RV.

[Again, Thanks to the CC, LLC Service Team for authoring the original article]

Until Next Time, 
Sherry
* Check out a Country Coach Owners Club open to motorcoaches of all brands at www.countryoachfriendsincorporated.com