Is Brake Controller Needed When Towing with Subaru Forester and Which is Easiest to Install
Question:
Im a bit new to towing, and am renting a camping trailer for the first time. Ive been working on the well documented 1500lbs limit of my forester for a while, so with the trailer being 1200lbs I was assuming Id be fine. getting close the trip now, I had to borrow an adapter to convert from the CURT 56040 4pin to a 7pin connect the trailer will apparently come with and the extra wires on the adapter got me curious. Doing some more research led me to a lesser publicized limitation of 1000lbs for a trailer without brakes. while the cost seems like it can be kept fairly low to buy the parts required for a controller, the install info I could find seems like this would be a fairly challenging install given you have to run a wire to the front of the vehicle, then into the car through the firewall after wiring to the battery. Ive done stuff like the curt wiring harness and drawtite hitch install myself, so I consider myself fairly handy, but this seems a bit challenging, especially since the camping date is only days away now. most of the folks Ive spoken with that have experience towing said its not needed and were surprised a trailer that light would even have brakes. This includes one person that recently rented/towed the same vehicle without a controller, although with a different vehicle. Ive found many forester related forums arguing the same thing, one of which the the user had gone a few rounds with Subaru/U-haul and finally, with them, came to the consensus that the guidance in the manual was based on the one smaller, less capable, OEM hitch subaru offers. Ive also found the same vehicle in other countries has higher limits, our state law only requires brakes on trailers over 3000 lbs and another co-worker with a forester owns his own 1200 lbs trailer that he will be towing with a forester and his trailer doesnt even have brakes on it. it also seems a bit odd that subaru would put the guidance in their manual for the brakes over 1000lbs, prewire the car for the trailer lights, but then not put anything in to allow the car to work with a brake controller. so given all this, what are your thoughts on whether this is really worth the last minute effort/cost, especially given this could be the only time I do this. the hitch I originally installed just to use for a bike rack, and this is just something Im trying out. I feel like if i were to plan on doing this more often, or going as far as buying one of these light camper trailers, Id invest in the brake controller maybe just for bit of added safety, but in this instance its feeling like overkill.
asked by: RomS
Expert Reply:
Our recommendation is to always go by what the vehicle manufacturer states as this is the safest route we can recommend that also won't void the warranty of the vehicle or endanger you or other motorists. That said, if you have confirmed with Subaru that the brake controller weight capacity difference you found was connected to a factory hitch option that you don't have you'd be fine.
If you decide to go the brake controller route and need something super easy to install the Curt Echo Mobile part # C51180 is the easiest. You'd have to run the black wire of your 7-way adapter up to the vehicle battery which would be the only wiring you'd have to do. Aside from that it would be just plugging the controller into the 7-way and syncing it to your smart phone/device and you'd be set.
I attached a review video for this as well.
Products Referenced in This Question
Curt Echo Wireless Brake Controller - 7-Way Plug Mount w/ Bluetooth App - 1 to 2 Axle - Proportional
- Trailer Brake Controller
- Proportional Controller
- Hidden
- Up to 2 Axles
- Smartphone Display
- CURT
more information >
Product Page this Question was Asked From
Adapter 4-Pole to 7-Pole and 4-Pole
- Trailer Wiring
- Wiring Adapters
- Multi-Function Adapter
- 4 Flat
- Plug and Lead
- 4 Flat
- 7 Round - Blade
- Hopkins
more information >
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