Does tow package includes the trailer brake controller?

[lobbs611]

For what the tow package costs it should... unfortunately, it's separate.

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[Scooter Trash]

Thanks for all of the good info. I tow a couple of motorcycles every now and then and just prefer to have the extra braking. I also had to add the controller to my F150 that came with the towing package. Thanks for the schematic.

 

[lakesinai]

Does anybody know if the tow package includes the trailer brake controller or is it considered an accessory?

I bought the tow package so I can use my hitch mounted bike rack. And the occasional garden trailer/Uhaul. Towing with a short wheelbase vehicle is no fun, even my 1997 full-size Bronco was squirrelly with a 20' boat on a dual-axle trailer. Also, many occasional towers get the tow-bar height wrong and distribute weight in the trailer incorrectly, causing high speed instability which is amplified in a short wheelbase vehicle, with a soft suspension. We all use cars for occasional extra purposes, but the Bronco is not an ideal highway, long-distance tow vehicle if used on a regular basis.

By the way, GVWR and associated load computations usually require SUBTRACTING the weight of driver, passenger and vehicle contents from the trailer weight capacity, meaning that 3500 tow capacity is more like 2500-2900#.

 

[Lakelife36]

I bought the tow package so I can use my hitch mounted bike rack. And the occasional garden trailer/Uhaul. Towing with a short wheelbase vehicle is no fun, even my 1997 full-size Bronco was squirrelly with a 20' boat on a dual-axle trailer. Also, many occasional towers get the tow-bar height wrong and distribute weight in the trailer incorrectly, causing high speed instability which is amplified in a short wheelbase vehicle, with a soft suspension. We all use cars for occasional extra purposes, but the Bronco is not an ideal highway, long-distance tow vehicle if used on a regular basis.

By the way, GVWR and associated load computations usually require SUBTRACTING the weight of driver, passenger and vehicle contents from the trailer weight capacity, meaning that 3500 tow capacity is more like 2500-2900#.

You meant GCWR, not GVWR. GVWR only affects tow cap when you are hauling so much that you don't have enough left for the full tongue weight. For the lower trims like your OBX, GCWR is not even a problem since it is actually much higher than the typical TWR+300lbs. You have at least 600lbs of payload available before eating into your tow cap. See the table below.

 

[timhood]

...But being able to brake just the trailer as part of a stability control without having to rely on the driver to operate the override would be big plus in that regard. Imagine if an OEM integrated controller could be used in conjunction with roll stability control, and could affect corrections to the trailer that prevented a jackknife or roll over that were caused by an unbalanced trailer that would otherwise get away from the driver? That's worth something.

I remember seeing a video that discussed the F-150 (with certain equipment) being able to control trailer sway by applying the brakes selectively to different wheels and the trailer as needed. If this is the kind of integration you get with a factory hitch setup vs. after-market, that's worth it in my book. I'm not saying the Bronco has that, but it would make sense, given how the TBC is wired.

 

[Lakelife36]

I remember seeing a video that discussed the F-150 (with certain equipment) being able to control trailer sway by applying the brakes selectively to different wheels and the trailer as needed. If this is the kind of integration you get with a factory hitch setup vs. after-market, that's worth it in my book. I'm not saying the Bronco has that, but it would make sense, given how the TBC is wired.

To make things even more weird with this vehicle, trailer sway control is listed as standard on every Bronco, regardless of if you have the tow package or not.

 

[timhood]

To make things even more weird with this vehicle, trailer sway control is listed as standard on every Bronco, regardless of if you have the tow package or not.

Interesting. Also good that Ford sees the value in the safety factor.

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

I think part of is that in typical modern vehicles, lights are no longer simply operated by switches and relays. Instead, the switch sends a command to a body control module, and it decides what to do with it. A case in point, on my Fiesta, it didn't come with fog lights. The wire harness is there, and you can install the factory switch and lights, but they won't work unless you reflash the body module to activate the fogs. In the case of turn signals while trailering, the extra lights typically put extra draw on the signal circuit. It used to be that you'd have to install a heavy-duty blinker relay so that the extra load wouldn't slow down the flash rate. Now the body module or ECU deals out the current needed depending on the situation. When you plug in a trailer, it detects the trailer and then tells the ECU to send more current to the signals. At least that's my expectation.

Similarly with the trailer brakes - there is a lot more going on a car's braking system today then just pushing the pedal and moving fluid to a piston in the caliper. An OEM integrated trailer brake controller can potentially be tied into the ABS and stability control systems, and now, into the auto emergency braking as well. They could also embed a braking control strategy into the vehicle that changes key parameters when the trailer is detected, sort of like how GOAT modes change performance characteristics.

To be clear, I don't know how sophisticated the trailer control strategies are, but this opens up a lot of possibilities. But being able to brake just the trailer as part of a stability control without having to rely on the driver to operate the override would be big plus in that regard. Imagine if an OEM integrated controller could be used in conjunction with roll stability control, and could affect corrections to the trailer that prevented a jackknife or roll over that were caused by an unbalanced trailer that would otherwise get away from the driver? That's worth something.

The result, either way, is a much better, more seamless operation and integration of the braking functions. An aftermarket brake controller only know that you're hitting the brakes because its tapped into the brake light switch, which is 1/0 sort of input - on or off. The controller has its own built in accelerometer to try to figure out how quickly you're braking to give some proportionality to it. Even then, its dependent on how much you've turned up the gain. The OEM controller has direct access to any relevant data it needs from the vehicle's network and can be tied directly to the vehicle's electronic controls.

No matter how good an aftermarket controller is, its still not in the loop as far as controls go and is relegated to sort of guessing. Its definitely better than nothing (or better than trailer surge brakes), but given the choice, I'd always take the OEM controller. The added capability and direct integration make it worth the price premium to me. Others may feel differently.

If you gave me the option between my oem Ford brake controller in my ‘17 f150 or my redarc tow pro elite in the wife’s grand cherokee, I’d take the redarc all day every day. Having the 2 different braking options comes in handy when towing offroad. Looking forward to seeing how the Bronco will be setup.

 

[Rocketeer Rick]

I remember seeing a video that discussed the F-150 (with certain equipment) being able to control trailer sway by applying the brakes selectively to different wheels and the trailer as needed. If this is the kind of integration you get with a factory hitch setup vs. after-market, that's worth it in my book. I'm not saying the Bronco has that, but it would make sense, given how the TBC is wired.

That's what I'm saying. The level of function and integration possible from the OEM is huge. I'll be curious to see how far the accessory control for Bronco takes it, and how (if) it has for mounting provisions. The other great thing about OEM is that it isn't hanging off the dash where my knee hits it.

To make things even more weird with this vehicle, trailer sway control is listed as standard on every Bronco, regardless of if you have the tow package or not.

The vehicle can tell when it has a trailer plugged in, so there can be trailer sway map built into the stability control even if it can't act on the trailer brakes. Though that's contingent on having the trailer wiring in place so it knows when that happens. I wonder how they'd do that if the Bronco doesn't happen to have the trailer wiring harness in place from the factory?

If you gave me the option between my oem Ford brake controller in my ‘17 f150 or my redarc tow pro elite in the wife’s grand cherokee, I’d take the redarc all day every day. Having the 2 different braking options comes in handy when towing offroad. Looking forward to seeing how the Bronco will be setup.

If that's your priority, then that is a handy option. To me, I'm not sure if it would outweigh the benefits of an OEM control, at least as I see them. If Ford were really clever, they add different trailer brake control maps depending your GOAT mode choice. Provided they had a controller that was actually integrated...

 

[lakesinai]

Thanks for all of the good info. I tow a couple of motorcycles every now and then and just prefer to have the extra braking. I also had to add the controller to my F150 that came with the towing package. Thanks for the schematic.

You meant GCWR, not GVWR. GVWR only affects tow cap when you are hauling so much that you don't have enough left for the full tongue weight. For the lower trims like your OBX, GCWR is not even a problem since it is actually much higher than the typical TWR+300lbs. You have at least 600lbs of payload available before eating into your tow cap. See the table below.

Thanks for the weight specifications table. Did you notice that certain BD, BL, WT & FE models have their tow ratings REDUCED down to as much as 3220 lbs? These are all vehicles that come standard with full undercarriage trail armor - and perhaps the Sasquatch pkg adds a good bit of weight. Such Reductions could likely also apply if i were to add full steel skid plates and larger tires/wheels to my OBX. Which was my original point: there are lots of calculations with towing, and capacities are not always what the buyer expects.

Also, the weight spec page says that they are using the SAE Standard. This is usually the SAE J2807 trailer towing performance standard introduced in 2008, to take the bull.... out of MFGR tow claims. I was buying a tow vehicle in that era, and mysteriously several models in the next year lost a couple thousand pounds of capacity! The test includes an 11 mile trip up the Davis Dam in Nevada, on a 100° day! I doubt that the Bronco has been put through this test yet.

 

[DeltaBravo]

I didn’t get the tow package. Is this something I might be able to add later in some way?

 

[Lakelife36]

Thanks for the weight specifications table. Did you notice that certain BD, BL, WT & FE models have their tow ratings REDUCED down to as much as 3220 lbs? These are all vehicles that come standard with full undercarriage trail armor - and perhaps the Sasquatch pkg adds a good bit of weight. Such Reductions could likely also apply if i were to add full steel skid plates and larger tires/wheels to my OBX. Which was my original point: there are lots of calculations with towing, and capacities are not always what the buyer expects.

Also, the weight spec page says that they are using the SAE Standard. This is usually the SAE J2807 trailer towing performance standard introduced in 2008, to take the bull.... out of MFGR tow claims. I was buying a tow vehicle in that era, and mysteriously several models in the next year lost a couple thousand pounds of capacity! The test includes an 11 mile trip up the Davis Dam in Nevada, on a 100° day! I doubt that the Bronco has been put through this test yet.

Yes the higher level trims have lower tow caps partly due to their vastly increased curb weights, even with the same GCWR as the lower trims. You could add quite a few options to your OBX and still not eat into your tow cap though. I've attached my spreadsheet (on tab 1) for reference if you'd like.
Certainly I agree many buyers likely don't understand that the stated tow cap requires limited options and payload, but on modern full-size pickups those tow ratings are ridiculous anyways and it likely doesn't even matter most of the time. It certainly does on midsize pickups and SUVs though (spreadsheet tab 2).
As far as I recall Ford claims that the Bronco has been put through the full suite of SAE J2807 tests, and they've clearly stated that those ratings are not going to change on the production vehicle.

 

[lakesinai]

Yes the higher level trims have lower tow caps partly due to their vastly increased curb weights, even with the same GCWR as the lower trims. You could add quite a few options to your OBX and still not eat into your tow cap though. I've attached my spreadsheet (on tab 1) for reference if you'd like.
Certainly I agree many buyers likely don't understand that the stated tow cap requires limited options and payload, but on modern full-size pickups those tow ratings are ridiculous anyways and it likely doesn't even matter most of the time. It certainly does on midsize pickups and SUVs though (spreadsheet tab 2).
As far as I recall Ford claims that the Bronco has been put through the full suite of SAE J2807 tests, and they've clearly stated that those ratings are not going to change on the production vehicle.

Excellent research! That's great work! And you're correct I've no worries weight-wise in adding accessories to my OBX. I saw one yesterday for the first time, and am reminded that this is a small vehicle, and it would be tough to fit enough people and cargo in there to exceed capacity. Plenty of room in the front seat, however.

 

[Scott1911]

Here are a couple of drawings of the brake controller wiring. The brake signal does not come from the brake switch like in the old days it is coming from the Body Control Module. So BPP ( Brake Pedal Position ) signal may not be a off/on 12VDC signal. But Ford does include a pigtail.

Based on the drawing and this information, I purchased a Redarc Tow-Pro with the TPH-007 cable adapter. I just checked the pinout vs the brake controller. It appears that I purchased the correct "stuff".

 

[grtharris]

Scott1911, which control unit did you get?

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