Installing Brake Controller on Farm Tractor For Moving Trailer Around

Question:

I want to add a 7-pin RV receptacle on my new 2020 Kioti CK2610 tractor to match the Pollack on my 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 so I can move my goose neck trailer without an adapter. I will need the brake controller as well. What do you recommend? Thank you so much.

asked by: Dave T

Helpful Expert Reply:

I'd be happy to help you with that. Since it's a tractor, there's likely a few differences from what would be seen on a standard passenger vehicle. You very likely won't need to contend with turn signals and taillilghts, and you won't be traveling at highway speeds or speeds typically seen on-road, so the installation will be somewhat simplified.

For a brake controller, a simple and inexpensive time delayed controller like the Tekonsha Power Trac, part # 39523 would work well. The controller is inexpensive, small, and because it's time delayed it can be mounted anywhere within the operator's reach at any angle. It won't need necessarily need to be mounted at any particular angle or in a specific orientation. You'll also need a # 7894 pigtail.

You'll also need a # 38630 circuit breaker and a length of # 10-2-1 duplex cable. You'll need enough wire for one run from the controller to where you'll mount the trailer connector, and for 2 runs from the controller to the tractor battery. You'll also need a # 37185 adapter.

Here's a quick breakdown of the connections. The controller will need a connection to the positive and negative battery terminal (black wire to battery positive, white to battery negative), and will need a wire ran back to the blue wire on the trailer connector to carry the brake controller output voltage. The power feed to the battery would have the # 38630 breaker installed inline.

The tricky part will be the red stop lamp switch wire on the brake controller. If your tractor doesn't have brake lamps, we'll need to do a little wrangling to make that happen, as this is the connection that triggers the brake controller. The easiest solution would be to use a Universal Stop Light Switch Kit, like part # RM-751000. The switch will need 3 connections. One for a constant 12V power source, one to ground and one would attach to the red wire on the controller. This is kinda of a pricey item, but it'll avoid a few headaches because it'll work without needing to fabricate brackets for a regular switch.

The # 37185 would provide the 7-way connector at the rear of the tractor. The only 2 connections you'll really need here is the blue and the white wire. The white wire would ground to the tractor, the blue wire would connect to the output wire ran rearward from the brake controller. The rest of the wires can be tucked out of the way.