Recomendations for a Brake Controller on a 1998 Tradewinds Motorhome

Question:

I have a 1998 Tradewinds on freightliner chassis diesel pusher it has air brakes how do I wire and which style is best for me

asked by: Skip

Expert Reply:

The style that will perform the best for you depends on what you are towing. For something small and light, like an ATV, a time delayed controller will work fine, like Tekonsha part # 39523. If you are towing a car on a flat bed trailer or tow dolly, you would probably want a proportional controller, like Tekonsha Prodigy part # 90885. Most of the time a proportional is preferred for all situations but is not necessary.

To install an electric brake controller, you will first need a 7-Way at the rear of the motorhome. You can use 7-Way Kit, part # ETBC7, to get the motorhome setup with a 7-Way. I have also linked a page on installing a brake controller from scratch that should be pretty helpful to you.

Basically you will connect to the tail light wiring like you would with a 4-Pole. Then you will run a wire up to the brake controller output wire. The brake controller has 3 other wires, ground, power and stop light. The ground is grounded under the dash, the power is wired to the battery with a circuit breaker, and the stop light goes to the stop light switch on the brake pedal.

If you are flat towing a car behind the motor home using a tow bar, you would not use a brake controller. Instead you would use a brake system that utilizes the car brakes like part # RM-9160 or part # RM-9400.

If you write back with some more information on what you will be doing, I can provide some more tailored information to help you out more specifically.