- 1). Inspect your motorhome and locate the tow connection hitch, which is a round outlet about two inches across with a sprung cap and seven terminals inside. If you have a pre-attached tow bar you should find the hitch close by; if not, the motorhome manufacturer will have left a "dead tail," a seven-conductor wire with no outlet, zip-tied beneath the rear of the vehicle.
- 2). Test the functionality of the pre-installed hitch by plugging in a trailer and having an assistant report the behavior of the various lights as you run through the side-marker, tail, braking, signaling and reversing systems with the vehicle running but stationary.
- 3). Buy a seven-pin connector if one is not pre-installed; the fitting is universally sized. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to attach the seven color-coded wires of your dead tail to the seven connections in the terminal hub.
- 4). Install the brake controller in its "C"-shaped bracket where you will have easy access when driving, within 30 degrees of horizontal, and in line with the front/back axis of the motorhome.
- 5). Locate the cab end of the dead tail wire or the wire from the pre-installed seven-pin hitch, if necessary contacting the customer support personnel of your motorhome manufacturer to find out where in the dashboard they usually tie off the wire. Four of the seven wires will be in the dash, typically color-coded blue to the electric brakes, black to the battery hot terminal via an inline fuse, red to the microswitch above the brake pedal and white to ground.
- 6). Connect the wires from the brake controller to the color-matched wires from the hitch wire. Solder the connections and insulate the joins using a shrink-wrap kit. Use plastic zip ties to secure any wires that might create a trip hazard, or contact hot surfaces and moving parts.
- 7). Calibrate the hooked-up brake controller by following the instructions on its packaging.
SHARE
