I realize that it is advised to use an electric brake controller if you are towing over a certain weight. I have an 07' F150 Supercab FX2 2wd with the 4.6v8 and the 3.55 axle. I will be towing a small pop-up rv that will weigh roughly 2,200lbs loaded with all of the necessities for a weekend trip. Is the truck capable of hauling this thing to a stop without major problems or is the electric brakes a must? I usually don't drive over 60-65mph with any kind of load anyway. I am looking into the Tekonsha Prodigy or P3 when I do add the brake capability to the truck.Thanks!

 

Personally, I say save the cash, you ll be fine without it. 2200 lbs is nothing for those guys actually I know you ll be fine. Just hitch it up and take off. Id say once you get closer to like 3500 then its an issue.

Im not brain surgeon on this stuff but 2200 lbs is basically nothing for our trucks.

Altho I see you have an FX2 something I dont know alot about but still I dont think it ll be an issue at all.

 

I towed my car on a heavy trailer once, actually drove nice and did not have a brake controller or a 7 pin harness either for that matter. Now, I'm hooked up properly, so really for the expense, it's not much to put one on.

 

I'd say this...hook up the load, leave your house, then the absolute very first time you get to your "60-65 mph"...perform a full on 'panic stop' with no one in front of you and judge your comfort level while imagining a car locked up in front of you...then decide if you need to pull a trailer that heavy with no brakes on it. Best of luck to you if you do happen into an accident with no brakes...all for the sake of a $100 brake controller.

Keep in mind it's not soo much the 2,200 lbs your pulling in weight alone...the momentum of that load theoretically makes it weigh more than that when you go to stop it.

 

Your pop up may not even have brakes. You don't need one for towing that trailer. If you do decide to get a controller get the prodigy. I have one its great. I am also towing a 7,400# travel trailer. Happy Camping My inlaw pulls a pop up with a minivan no controller and he is fine. But try an all out emergency stop and see what happens. BUT be careful not to let the trailer pass u up.

 

Thanks for the replys! I have towed a pair of sea-doos and a small jet boat and none of those trailers even had electric brakes. The camper does weigh a little more, so I thought I would see what other opinions are out there on this issue. I guess I am going to try it next weekend without the electric brakes. BTW< the camper does have them, but it was an option and not standard on the unit. I will let ya know how it works out. Thanks again

 

If the camper has electric brakes, get a controller and use it even though you are below the legal threshold. Now is as good a time as any to have the capability.

 

I agree, you may not need it, but it wont hurt to get one. If you get one it may leed to a more enjoyable camping trip. and thatway you will have one if you get something bigger. Get the prodigy check out rvwholesalers.com. I found the best deal there, you can get the pigtail there to match to your truck for $12 I believe, it makes it a snap to hook up. happy camping

 

Added too, if you get a controller, then you're hooked up when and if you need to pull something larger. I figure a car on a car trailer, 4k car and what, 2-2500 for the trailer? so I got one, 79 bucks for the prodigy and under 20 for the Ford harness pigtail. Now, I can pull anything my truck is able to.

 

Yea, it's worth the money to get one.... i'm not familiar with the newer models, but i know some trucks only have disc in the front and drum in the back. On my 02 f250, i have all disc, and i have a brake controller, but i don't use it alot, since i have so much brake on the truck alone. I mean i have an opened race car trailer which weighs about 2,000 lbs, plus the car, (too much math for me) and well it still stops nice. But anyways, it's worth the controller just to be safe, since i had to pull a bobcat one day, and that was heeeaavvvyyyyyyy......

 

Check with your state regulations.

In my state you can tow up to 3,000 pounds without a braking system on the trailer.

 

I literally just walked in the dorr after my trip. I installed a prodigy this past week. It took about 20 minutes and costs abotu $100 shipped. Best money I ever spent! I pulled a 3800lbs trailer 500 miles this weekend. It worked great.

 

Thanks again for all of the advice! I went ahead and ordered a Prodigy with
the Ford harness from brakecontoller.com(Southwest Wheel Co) this morning.
It was 116.95 total with 2 day Fedex shipping included. The risks are not worth
waiting another few weeks. I understand that it is required to have brakes in our
state if the trailer is over 3,000lbs. I feel like I will be around 2,500lbs loaded with all the food, bikes,camping equipment etc. Also towing through some steep
grades in the mountains. Thanks for all of the advice.
I also had to go to Ford and purchase the #5 relay to supply power to the trailer. I installed the factory Ford hitch kit with the 7-pin harness, but it did
not come with the relay or the brake controller jumper harness. I don't know
why it was not included as it is required to use the full features of the 7 way
plug. Thanks again

 

I'm sure every state is different, but I just discovered today that any trailer over 1,500 lbs in CA by law has to have brakes. Now..if you wanted to make the argument that yea, the trailer has brakes (wether they're hooked up or not) then that's up to your interpretation

 

x2 on panic stop dry run.
panic stops for me at 65 with an empty trailer (1400# roughly) is barely acceptable