OEM / Stock Trailer Brake Controller

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H1Chester

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Anyone know if the OEM trailer brake controller can purchased and installed at the dealer? My inbound Tahoe does not have Max Trailering Package. I honestly don't do any trailering, but if I do at least the trailer brake controller would be nice if needed.

 

wjburken

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Anyone know if the OEM trailer brake controller can purchased and installed at the dealer? My inbound Tahoe does not have Max Trailering Package. I honestly don't do any trailering, but if I do at least the trailer brake controller would be nice if needed.

I could be wrong, but from what I have seen, if it wasn’t installed at the factory, you will need to go aftermarket. There are wires tucked up under the dash for this purpose. Etrailer.com has some good videos that cover the installation process including the wires you need to hook up under the hood.
 

R32driver

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This setup that was posted in that other thread above looks pretty slick. I've never seen it before but it's probably the way I am going to go as our '21 did not come with the integrated brake controller either...

 

SSGUNNER

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Did your vehicle bring the harness that plugs in under the driver side dash? Asking because mine did and that is all you need aside from purchasing the actual brake controller. Personally not a fan of the Bluetooth one and wouldn’t want to use my phone for that. Instead I have seen many options available online from rotary knobs, to keypad style to somewhat similar to the OEM. Haven’t installed my harness but once I decide to tow something heavy like that I’d go with whatever uhaul has availble that looks good.
 

robgreg75

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My 21 has the brake controller my 2010 doesn't. I only ever pulled one heavy thing with my 2010 and it was a heavy car trailer with a 3800 pound car on it so probably about 5800 pounds total. I had no issues towing the car 4 hours away just pay attention and don't follow close, I maintained the 70-75 mph speed limit the whole trip. Why are you worried if not a person that trailers a lot?
 

Geotrash

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If you can get a rig with the factory controller, it's worth it. It's fully integrated with the stability control system of the truck to help you deal with trailer sway automatically if you experience it by applying the trailer brakes for you. It will also engage in helping your recover from a skid so it's a good safety feature. Aftermarket controllers don't have that integration.

To answer your question though, I agree with the others here that the trailer brake controller has always been a factory-only item, as far as I know.
 

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