7-Way RV Upgrade Kit for Trailer Brake Controller Installation - 12 Gauge Wires

I installed the ETBC7L 7 way adapter plug on my new 2022 Santa Cruz to be used with the Curt C51180 wireless brake controller. I was able to bend the 7way mounting bracket flange in vise from 90 degrees to about 45 degrees to match the Hyundai OEM hitch 7way mounting bracket. The wire to battery I encased all the way with protective flexible cover. I mounted the circuit breaker under hood by battery and capped breaker terminals with rubber cover that was cut off 4way plug, it worked perfectly. This is one neat little pickup with its 5000 lb tow rating with a brake controller. It was a fairly easy installation and the best way I think without cutting into vehicles wiring for a brake controller. I have enclosed some pics.1259383

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Jack

5/18/2023

Curt wireless Brake Controller still works flawlessly. Excellent product

This part was installed on a 2018 Subaru Outback. I did use a CURT 57204 bracket to help stiffen the mounting area since I'm using an Ecohitch Hidden Hitch. I also had to use a little more 12 gauge wire than was provided in the kit, as suggested in etrailer's installation video. Great product and very useful videos made this installation a breeze. Thanks etrailer!
PS - Use this product if you have already installed etrailer's 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector in your Subaru.1302016

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Glen M.

5/26/2023

This installation is working perfectly after a year. It looks and works great.

Nice kit to install, but the cover is lightly sprung and in my case at some point allowed snow inside, which caused corrosion to the point of one pin falling out (it also shorted enough to completely drain the battery, though not enough to trip the circuit breaker). Will need to replace, and have learned a lesson—check the cover often, and disconnect the power at the battery when it's not needed!1519597

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Katrina B.

2/22/2023

Ugh, that looks awful! Let us get you over to our customer service department for them to get you a new one.

I must have glossed over the part of the install video that described the extra bracket that would be needed in order to mount this anywhere other than onto or through the rear body panel of my Outback. Had to order an additional part from [online] to get the install done in a weekend. Also, I'm almost certain there wasn't enough black 12 ga wire. It said 20 feet but was barely longer than the car, which is just about 16 feet. I used some extra as well as some proper stainless hardware and heat-shrink connectors. Seems like an awful spot to save a few bucks. So my own bracket, my own hardware and additional wiring. However, the harness was spot on.1535212

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Nice kit simple to install great directions. (Purchase the additional bracket if installing on your Outback that allows you to secure 7 pin outlet to hitch cross tube) makes your installation easier. I also would like to see two rubber nipple included in the kit to cover the live studs of the 40 amp breaker - simple install did in the driveway in an hour and a half1707086

The harness installs easily and quickly. Only 2 things I didn’t like: the screws that hold the plastic 7 way to the metal bracket were orange with rust in under a week. Will be replacing these with stainless. Would have been nice if that was included to begin with. Secondly, the white ground wire was significantly too short to reach my frame and had to be extended. Would be nice if this wire was longer and unterminated with the ring included so it can be cut to fit. Other than that I love the wiring kit.1682769

This fit ALMOST perfectly on my 2007 Tacoma. I zip tied the four pin trailer connection to the tow vehicle harness. Besides the four pin, I only needed the black power wire because I am using a Curt Echo bluetooth brake controller. I ran the power wire along the frame, into the cab, through the firewall and to the battery via the included breaker. I zip tied the unused wires to the harness and wrapped the whole thing in electrical tape. The included bracket almost fit my OEM four pin mount perfectly. The holes were a bit too narrow but I just had to widen them with a drill bit pressing outward. The setup looks stock and I'm very pleased with it. 777861

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Thomas R.

4/13/2021

Like many other on here, my screws have rusted. I would gladly pay the extra $2 for stainless ones to come in the kit. Otherwise everything is still working good.

Purchased this for our 2016 Kia Sorento So we could tow a pop-up camper. Had to purchase the Tekonsha 4-way kit for factory tow package first, then added this ETBC7L to convert it from 4-way to 7-way electrical. Most challenging part was running the wire up to the battery. I did not like the bracket that came with it so bought a draw-tite bracket that looked cleaner. **The 30amp circuit breaker was missing from the ETBC7L kit that I purchased. It was inconvenient that it was missing but customer service and getting the replacement was easy and expedient.** THIS IS NOT A MANUFACTURED KIT FROM TEKONSHA...ETRAILER BUILDS THIS AS A KIT WITH ALL THE PARTS NEEDED TO SET UP**1308034

Thickershoe

6/4/2023

Still working great. No issues.

by: Alan 01/07/2024

Installed on a 2013 Subaru Outback with no problem. Used the Curt plug-in controller, C51180.1708355

Does the basic job. The lid for the round plug home is supposed to lock the plug in place. On mine the locking is difficult to engage, and the plug comes unlocked and can fall out. Not sure if this is due to the brake controller or the round plug. I tied a loop of line to the plug that holds the lid locked. Screws rusted over soon and don't look pretty, and I plan to replace with stainless.1630797

Great product and looks sleek. I installed on my 2020 Subaru Outback Touring XT and attached to my factory installed hitch. With a vice and hammer, I had to bend the supplied bracket straight for the correct mount orientation; it turned out great though! I gave 4 ??'s because of several factors: 1) After taking a bit of time routing the 12 awg wire to the battery, I could have used a foot or two more wire; my car isn't even that long, and I took a pretty direct route. I even measured and preplanned, thinking I'd be fine. Had to use some spare 12 awg wire I had on hand. 2) As another reviewer stated, I was having problems with the 4-pin sliding out of the bracket. But, I fixed the problem by tying one of the supplied zip-ties around the rubber 4-pin edge and two of the bracket screws, which now holds it in place. 3) It would have been nice to have a set of screws and nuts to attach the bracket to the hitch; I just utilized the existing ones from my 4-pin factory installed bracket.
All in all, I'm really happy with this product!866081

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The videos and help were invaluable in connecting all of the wires for the power and brake control. The video was even on the exact model that I was putting the connector on.

There are three difficult procedures in the installation.
1) Getting a connection to the brake light under the dash is very difficult as there is very little room. I would have liked to see how the tech was able to determine which wire was the correct one to use and extend it in order to make a splice. I removed the brake switch from the bracket which allowed me to pull it down enough to test each wire and find the one that went live with the brake pedal being used.
2) Making a hole in the firewall to pass power, ground and the brake control wire. Here the video was spot on. The difficulty is that the firewall is about 12" behind the ducting on the engine side and there is not much room inside to work. I used a 24" 1/4 drill from the engine side to start a hole in a good place. Using a drill from the inside the hole was than enlarged to what was needed.
3) Routing the wire from the engine to the back. Here the video did not go into detail as to how the fish the wire through and over the various components. Having a high lift would definitely help here.

The remaining connection and wiring was straight forward. I used expandable braided shielding on all of the wires to bundle them together and add additional abrasion resistance.

As an added safety measure, inexpensive rubber boots were used to cover the exposed connections on the breakers. Without the boot, the studs would be exposed even with the engine covers in place.647400

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Today I installed:
- Draw-Tite Max-Frame Trailer Hitch Receiver (Item #76156)
- Curt T-Connector Vehicle Wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector (Item #C56217)
- 7-Way RV Upgrade Kit for Trailer Brake Controller Installation - 12 Gauge Wires (Item #ETBC7L)

It took about 4 hrs at an amateur pace with manual tools.

This is the second time I put a trailer hitch receiver on a Toyota Highlander. My first installation was a Curt on a 2010 Highlander. This time I got the Draw-Tite for my 2018 Highlander.

Few observations:
- The fact that the car comes pre-wired and with welded nuts for the hitch makes the installation smooth and easy. Nicely done by Toyota.
- The Draw-Tite hitch receiver is NOT designed for use with weight distributing hitch, which may be an issue for some users.
- I like the that the hitch is nicely hidden under the rear bumper and comes with the bracket for trailer electric connector. Keeps things nice and tidy.
- The installation can be done by one person (with the aid of a couple of plastic buckets), but I STRONGLY recommend to have a helper. The hitch receiver is heavy and if you drop it can cause some serious damage to your body.
- There is no need to remove the passenger side plastic mud cover behind the rear wheel.
- There is a good reason why they don't show you the cutting and installation of the driver side mud cover in the etrailer videos. It's the proverbial PITA. :-)
- The receiver ends-up about 16" from the ground (with the car unloaded), so you will need a 2-3" rise ball mount to end around 17-18" once the trailer is hooked up.
- The cables can be routed nicely through an existing hole under the driver side plastic storage bin. It comes with a rubber plug which can be cut just enough to lush the connector through. This is the cable routing for OEM Toyota trailer cables. And because is it hidden under the plastic mud cover, you don't have to worry water getting in when driving on a rainy day.
- Make sure to protect the cables with a plastic hose or by wrapping them with plenty of insulating tape to prevent chaffing in the places where the cables cross hitch members. Some edges can be sharp and sooner or later will cut through the insulation.
- Trailer wiring and the T-connector are power all the time, regardless of if the key is in the ignition or not. So make sure to unplug your trailer when parked for extended period of time to prevent running down the battery. The T-connector itself draws only about 1 mA when idle, so you don't have to worry as long as the trailer is not connected.
- The fact that you can see the hitch with the rear view camera makes hooking up the trailer a breeze by just person.

Overall, I'm happy with the product.

And etrailer customer services and prompt shipping was, as always, 5-stars. (I am a returning customer)903111

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Wire kit came with everything needed to install on my 2020 Subaru Outback. Took some time to make sure the 12v power was ran safely from the battery to the plug but easy to find a good path. I threw away the bracket that came with the kit as my curt hidden receiver didn’t have a mounting place. I used the curt easy wording bracket that goes over the collar of the hitch and supports the 4 way and 7 pin adapter. I also used the curt plug and play wire adapter for the 4 pin harness and cut a hole in the drain plug for it to run out the spare tire area and into the wire harness. 779792

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Pros; pretty much everything you'll need for the upgrade is provided except the electrical tape. Lol. If you are going to be using a bluetooth brake controller and no reverse lights on the trailer, after plugging into your vehicles existing 4 pin you'll need to attach the ground wire and run the hot wire to the breaker and then to the vehicle's battery. Pretty simple. Cons; very poorly designed mounting bracket feature for 4 pin (this is an understatement). I was able to overcome that by mounting the OEM supplied 4 pin bracket onto the one that comes with this kit.1094502

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I installed this 7-way adapter on my 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 a couple of months ago. The install itself was pretty straightforward and all required equipment (screws, zip ties, etc) were included. I have used both the 4-pin and 7-pin plugs since install and both work great.1616483

The kit itself is very nice. I wired it on a Rav4 Prime SE. The 4-pin does not really secure very well to the mounting bracket, there is just a slot and rubber ribs that slide in. Mine has not fallen out yet, but it just seems kind of insecure. I would have preferred it be permanently mounted and I did not notice it before I ordered. Also, the four mounting screws that secure the connector to the mounting plate are coated with black oxide that will rust within a week or two. I plan to replace the mounting screws with ones that are coated with a more automotive grade coating.1026705

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Had to modify for my 2017 Wrangler JKU.
Muffler is too close to bumper frame, so had to mount the bracket to the edge so wires would clear heat of muffler.
Bumper bottom is not flush with frame. Could not open 7-pin connector cover all the way, had to mount it sideways. So I had to drill new holes in mounting bracket.
There is not enough wire to properly route. Had to add 4 feet.

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I used this kit to convert an OEM 4-way flat connector to a 7-way on a 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser. Easy, straightforward install. Only issue I ran into was that I had to elongate the kit mounting bracket holes to use the existing bracket holes. etrailer provides excellent written and video installation instructions.1187615

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Used on 2015 Wrangler JKUL. Based on recommendation from Erik (etrailer) the product was received. Installed without any issues. Only note is this kit has single black wire for 12v not the 12v/brake cable. So make certain you do not need to attach to the brake circuit.1162917

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Dealer installation using etrailer kit on 2021 Hyundai Palisade. The hitch sits low @ 13”. I’ll be using a Curt Echo and am excited to tow popups and ultralights.908623

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by: Les 12/07/2022

Nice clean package, easy install, works great.1479832

Les

12/7/2023

Sold the camper, new owner seems to be happy with the product.

by: Tim 02/21/2024

Easy install and is still working no co mplaints.1735983

All the parts were in one place to add a 7-way connection for my 2020 Highlander, but sadly the very visible screws which hold the 7-pin plug outlet rusted within two days of the installation. I used care when putting them in and am disappointed to see that I'll need to back them out and paint.896113

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by: John03/25/2023

The kit was easy to install. I decided on a 45 degree upward tilt. The screws are not stainless so they rust. However, the trailer lights and brakes are working fine after a year of use. I do always use a zip tie to hold the connector in place while driving.1543315