Brake Controller to Fit the Ford E450 Chassis of a 2017 Thor Axis Motorhome

Question

Question:

I see you list that the Prodigy P3 #90195 and the adapter #3034P for another customers 2016 Thor Axis as a direct plug and play. I have a 2017 Thor Axis with the E450 chassis and everything I have read on this subject contradicts that here is a plug and play for this application as its not completely wired for it. Could you shed some light on this and confirm one way or another?

asked by: Dave M

0

Expert Reply:

The Prodigy P3 Brake Controller, # 90195, can be installed on your 2017 Thor Axis with Ford E-450 chassis. However, on the this particular motorhome, there is no plug and play wiring harness available. You will have to hardwire the brake controller into the cab of your Thor's coach and a 7-way connector at the rear.

Although your Thor motorhome is built on the Ford E-450 chassis, Thor removed the dash and all the Ford installed electrical connections that would have allowed the brake controller's plug-in harness to connect to your coach. Now all connections will have to be hardwired-in using the wiring kits listed.

First, you will need to install a 4-pole flat wiring harness to your coach. The vehicle wiring harness kit # C59496 will allow you to tap into your coach's lighting wiring to install the 4-pole trailer connector. The kit will include a small tester to help find the correct wires for each lighting function.

Next you will need to install the Universal Trailer Brake Controller Kit # ETBC7. This kit will allow you to run all the necessary wiring from the 7-way and include all the electrical components needed to install the brake controller.

You will need to use the wiring plug that is included in the Prodigy P3 to complete the connection. The 4-wire plug will wire as followed: black wire to 12-volt power, white to ground, blue to the brake controller wire that is run from the 7-way connector, and red wire to the cold side of the stop light switch.

However, if you feel that all the wiring along your coach's frame may be too labor intensive, then a better option would be to use the Prodigy RF Brake Controller, # TK94FR, instead of the hardwired P3 controller.

The Prodigy RF controller is a system that uses Bluetooth from the cab wireless controller to activate the power module on the trailer. This controller was designed to make installation of a brake controller easier on vehicles with atypical wiring. The hand held controller runs off of 12--volt power that can be accessed from 12-volt accessory outlet in your coach's cab.

When installing, you will still need to install both the 4-pole harness and the # ETBC7 kit, but on the 7-way you will only need to wire one wire. Using the duplex wire and 40 amp circuit breaker included in the # ETBC7 kit, connect to the positive battery post and run wire back to 7-way and connect to the center pin of the connector. This wire will power the Prodigy RF's module that will be install your trailer's tongue.

I have included a couple of articles on trailer wiring and installing a brake controller from scratch for you to review.