brake controller
5 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: The Great Midwest, aka, Flyover Country
Prolly depends on state laws as to whether you're strictly legal. Most states have a rule that trailers over xxxx#--in the case of Ohio, it's 2000#--must be equipped with a braking system, hydraulic or electric. If your trailer has a hydraulic surge system, you don't need a controller. If the system is electric, I'd guess it weighs much more than 2000# (since it's a TA unit) and you should have a controller. I can highly recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy P1 or similar, which is a proportional controller and operates much like the OEM system from Ford. In any emergency braking situation with trailer of even modest weight attached, a brake system gives far more control to stop safely.
Last edited by icantdrive55; Aug 15, 2018 at 10:11 PM.
5 Year Member
Joined: Sep 2017
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From: Sammamish, WA
I know that here any trailer with tandem axles must use brakes, so you would need a controller. On the F150 mine was about $250 installed at the dealer, but if you can install yourself the Prodigy is good, at about $125.
5 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,328
Likes: 535
From: The Great Midwest, aka, Flyover Country
^^^ Agree. You can buy a plug-n-play harness for the Prodigy for the Ford F150. The OEM brake controller plug for the 7-pin trailer tow wiring is deadheaded into the back of the coin slot on the dash. Google removal of the dash panel--it's easy 'cause I did it without breaking anything--find the plug, mount the P1 unit on the lower dash valence with the bracket, plug it in and reinstall the panel and you're good to go!