Ford How-To: Integrated Trailer Brake Controller

Your Ford F-150 truck may be equipped with an integrated Trailer Brake Controller that assists with slowing down a tow trailer smoothly. The Trailer Brake Controller automatically applies the trailer brakes when the towing vehicle's brakes are applied. The controls are located here. There's a manual control lever that sends power to the trailer's brakes, and plus and minus buttons that adjusts the amount of power sent, which is called the gain setting. In a traffic free environment at approximately 20 to 25 miles per hour, tow the trailer on a dry level surface and squeeze the manual control lever. A gain setting of 6.0 is a good starting point for heavier loads.

If the trailer wheels lock up indicated by squealing tires reduce the gain setting. If the trailer wheels turn freely, increase the gain setting to adjust Trailer Brake Controller specifically for your trailer, set the type of brakes your trailer uses. Go to features, towing, select an active trailer, then trailer brake type. Choose the default, electric surge none or electric over hydraulic. Next, select the trailer brake effort. Press the back arrow, then select trailer brake effort and choose low, medium, or high. Low is the default setting, which is recommended for most trailers. One last thing. If you press the back arrow, you'll note that you can see what your trailer brake gain is set to right here.

Any questions? Go to Ford.com/Support.