Determining if Trailer Brakes are Needed for 2006 Aliner Being Pulled by Jeep Renegade

Question:

I own a 2017 Jeep renegade. And I am looking into buying a 2016 Aliner trailer fold up. The Jeep has a hitch put on by the dealer with a 2000 pound tow weight. The Aliner is 1730 dry weight with a Gross weight of 3000. I’m a lite packer and most goes into the Jeep, I’m being told my car should have a Trailer Brake Controller yet I’m told that the Renegade doesn’t have that by my dealer. Two Questions please, in this situation do I need a trailer break? And am I safe to pull the trailer with this car without one? Thank you

asked by: Cheryl S

Expert Reply:

Generally speaking, trailer brakes and a brake controller are recommended when the gross trailer weight (loaded and ready for a trip) is greater than 1/2 of the tow vehicle's weight, or over 2,500 pounds. You mentioned that the Aliner Camper has a gross weight of 3,000 pounds, but you are going to be limited by the 2,000 pound capacity of your trailer hitch.

As long as you are sure that the camper's loaded weight will not exceed your hitch's and Jeep's 2,000 pound limit, a brake controller is technically not needed. This isn't to say that trailer brakes and a brake controller wouldn't still be beneficial, as relying on the Jeep to stop both itself and the trailer will likely take a toll on the vehicle over time. I also recommend making certain that the camper does not exceed the hitch's capacity by weighing the trailer before each trip. Since the dry weight of 1,730 pounds is already creeping up towards the Jeep's limit, you don't have too much room to work with.

In order to pull the camper without brakes, you will still need a trailer wiring harness to power its basic signal lights. For this I recommend the Tekonsha T-One Wiring Harness # 118651. This custom 4-Way harness will install by plugging into factory ports inside the rear cargo area behind the tail lights. Once the connections are made, you will just need to run the hot lead up to the Jeep's battery to power the converter.

I have attached an installation video on the 2016 Renegade that you can use for reference.

If you ever decide to add brakes to the camper and install a brake controller on your Jeep, you will first need to upgrade the 4-Way to a fully functional 7-Way with the Universal Wiring Kit # ETBC7. This kit includes everything needed to do this along with the necessary wiring and circuit breakers for installing a brake controller. For the brake controller itself I highly recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 # 90195.