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OEM brake controller, where have you been all my life?

trailernovice
Explorer
Explorer
New truck has my first oem brake controller.. previous trucks had aftermarket units.. this thing is great.. easy to get adjusted, smooth, effective.. with no lurching and grabbing
Glenn and Toni
2019 Jayco JayFlight SLX8 264 BH
2019 Ram 1500 5.7 3.21 gears
Reese round bar w/d with sway control
7 REPLIES 7

TurnThePage
Explorer
Explorer
I absolutely love the OEM controller on my '15 Ram 1500. My trailer with Prodigy worked but it was eternally jerky. This thing is smoooooth.
2015 Ram 1500
2022 Grand Design Imagine XLS 22RBE

mnaquaman
Explorer
Explorer
I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado with the factory installed brake controller. The controller is proportional not time activated. I have used a Prodigy controller on 4 different vehicles prior to this vehicle. I can tell you that this controller is as good as any Prodigy that I ever installed. Lynmor - I agree that there were good controllers around 20 years ago if you were willing to invest in them.
I skimp on something else but not my controller!

Easy to adjust, can apply just the trailer brakes if you need to!
The truck also tells you that there is a trailer connected to it!

It was one of the options that I was specifically looking for when I was shopping for this truck, that and all of the other towing related options!

The first controller I ever pulled a trailer with was connected to the vehicle master cylinder when I was 16! I have been pulling trailers now for 42 years - I love my factory installed controller!

Happy Camping & Save travels!
Randy & Sharon Engelland
Farmington, MN
2017 Jayco 23bhm
2015 Chevy Silverado LTZ

aftermath
Explorer II
Explorer II
Yes, OEM controllers are great. They sure simplify things and that is a fact. But, my Toyota came with a piece of.......well, a not so good one. Bought an '08 Tundra and had to add a Prodigy proportional controller. It worked very well.
Got a new '17 Tundra with built in controller and found out it was a timed controller! They called it a "solid state" controller. It was terrible. Wouldn't help in a panic stop and would lock up at slow speeds. They said I needed to adjust it. I told them that every other manufacturer were installing proportional units and that they should get on board. They didn't want to listen.
I do love my Toyota, that issue aside. It runs and runs and runs and is a good truck for my situation. The brake controller is their weak spot. Hopefully the newer ones have been corrected.
My solution was to find an adapter so that I could mount my Prodigy in the dash. Things are good once again for me.
If you need a "new" Toyota controller, I have one in a box in my basement.
2017 Toyota Tundra, Double Cab, 5.7L V8
2006 Airstream 25 FB SE
Equalizer Hitch

richclover
Explorer
Explorer
trailernovice wrote:
New truck has my first oem brake controller.. previous trucks had aftermarket units.. this thing is great.. easy to get adjusted, smooth, effective.. with no lurching and grabbing


I like the one in our 2019 Ram 1500 Hemi, too. I found, however, that even though the 1500โ€™s had tow packages, very few on the dealer lot had brake controllers installed. Mine was dealer installed, factory OEM unit, and programmed for display. No provision for an aftermarket unit is offered. Think $$$.

My 2018 Ram 2500HD Cummins is a Tradesman model. Tow package rated to 17,000#. It was delivered with a pigtail for an aftermarket controller which I bought at the local NAPA. Installed it easily myself and it works very nicely. Not as โ€œslickโ€ as the factory unit but a few hundred dollars cheaper.

Bottom line: If you need trailer brakes, get โ€˜em.
Rich
2019 RAM 1500 Classic 4X4 Hemi
2021 CanAm Maverick DS Turbo
Southern NV

Lynnmor
Explorer
Explorer
"OEM brake controller, where have you been all my life?"

Controllers that were every bit as good as the current OEMs were produced more than 20 years ago, but people wouldn't buy anything but cheap.

stevemorris
Explorer
Explorer
ditto, love the controller in our ram!
2017 Ram 1500 4door, 4x4, 5.7 l hemi, 8 speed
2008 KZ Spree 260

Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Explorer
It' all fun and games until the OEM unit gives you problems on vacation.
~ Too many freaks & not enough circuses ~


"Life is not tried ~ it is merely survived ~ if you're standing
outside the fire"

"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly."- Abraham Lincoln