4 Pin to 7 Pin Conversion for trailer brakes?

[muzicman0]

When I bought my 2019 Ranger XLT, I had no interest in hauling a trailer. Fast forward 5 years, and now I am buying a small Hiker Trailer (5x9) with brakes. But I have the 4 pin connector. I know I can adapt to 7 pin, but that won't control the brakes. Is there anything I can do?

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[Tom_C]

There is a curt unit, I think called the echo, that controls brakes with momentum detection and bluetooth control. It may still need a 7 pin adapter but not need brake control from the truck. I don't know how it works, so don't take my word for it.

For such a small trailer you may not need a full blown brake controller. When I was looking into controllers for occasional light towing I had sort of decided that is what I would get, but I've never needed one yet.

 

[muzicman0]

Thanks, I'll look into that. In California, trailers with a gross weight of 1,500 lbs or more must have brakes on at least two wheels. I think the trailer is getting close to that much weight.

 

[Tom_C]

Here's some more info: https://www.etrailer.com/question-433138.html

And a video about converting 4 to 7pin, which may be all you need for the echo... or you may need to add reverse light and/or 12V charge.

 

[cfhgarza]

You can just buy the 7pin harness from Ford and cut the hole in the plastic. The wires for a brake controller are already in the foot well behind the carpet.

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/trailer-wiring-and-connector.2903/

 

[JustinR]

Does this trailer have controlled brakes, or surge brakes?
If they are surge brakes, then you don't need a brake controller, and you'll do fine with the 4-pin connector, until you need to back up. With surge brakes, there is usually a solenoid activated by the reverse light signal to disengage the surge brakes; otherwise, when you back up, you're pushing against the actuator and engaging the brakes.
My boat and trailer are around 5500 pounds or so, with tandem axle and surge brakes on the front axle. The trailer wiring is 5-pin, so I got an adapter to go from the 7-pin on the truck to the 5-pin, to send the reverse light signal to disengage the brakes.
There are 4-to-5 pin adapters out there, where the 5th pin goes to a wire to tap into your reverse light signal. Maybe that might be all you need?

 

[muzicman0]

All I can tell you for sure is that they are 'electric brakes' and they require a brake controller.

 

[Buckbull]

Its a pretty easy job. Just disconnect the 4 pun wire harness and plug in 7 pin. There is no splicing of wires on the harness. I went with a redarc for my truck.

 

[mtbikernate]

You can just buy the 7pin harness from Ford and cut the hole in the plastic. The wires for a brake controller are already in the foot well behind the carpet.

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/trailer-wiring-and-connector.2903/

Its a pretty easy job. Just disconnect the 4 pun wire harness and plug in 7 pin. There is no splicing of wires on the harness. I went with a redarc for my truck.

These. Buy a legit 7 pin harness made for the Ranger.

I've read decidedly mixed reviews on those Bluetooth controllers. Some have had pretty bad experiences with them. Mostly general flakiness of bluetooth connections and such.

I installed a Tekonsha P2 controller in my Ranger because it's the controller I already had. Wasn't expensive. Installed easily. Does the job. AEB does not work on the trailer, so I have that to keep in mind, but the Ford-approved Redarc can handle that. If I was dropping all the coin and didn't have a controller already, I'd just get that one and call it done.

I have owned a Hiker since 2017. Pulled it behind a Subaru at first and the trailer brakes/controller were definitely necessary. Now that I pull it behind the Ranger, I don't strictly need brakes (mine falls just below CA's requirement for brakes, and my state's minimum is much higher). That said, in many states, if your trailer has brakes, they MUST be operational. Which means you have to have a controller of some kind to operate them. Nobody will pull you over for it, but if there's a collision, an investigator might well figure that out and you could be SOL on insurance, might add a citation to your troubles, and have other financial troubles with other damages you become responsible for.

There is also a trailer-mounted proportional brake controller. I forget who makes it. It still needs a 7 pin, but the controller is mounted to the trailer instead. So it's a little easier to deal with if you tow with more than one vehicle.

Also, Hikers do not come with reverse lights. I never wired that in on the 7pin I installed on the old Subaru. However, I did eventually add a reverse light to mine (along with a CHMSL) after I started towing with the Ranger, so I ended up running the reverse light wire from the control box to the rear of the trailer. That was decidedly un-fun. Not hard. Just crappy trying to jam that wire into existing holes and wire bundles to keep it tidy.

 

[cfhgarza]

If you get the OEM Ford harness and decided to cut the blank out of the bumper use a heat and it'll cut really easy

 

[Jedadiah]

This wiring will work plug and play for the 7 pin, but don't use the connector. This type fits in the bumper. The wiring takes about 5 minutes to install. The hardest part of the whole thing is cutting out the cutout for the connector in the bumper. It's not hard, but you have to be careful.

As stated above, there is prewiring in the footwell for your XLT for a TBC. It will work, but not with AEB since the brake signal there comes form the pedal.. If that's a deal killer for you, you'll need the ford TBC. It gets its signal from the CHMSL, which is activated with AEB.

I had a Redarc Liberty installed on mine and it worked great. I have it for sale in the classified section here, since my 6G came with a TBC. Here's an install video. for a (non OEM) Redarc.

I personally wasn't worried about the AEB not activating my trailer brakes before I hit the pedal but I also never towed anything really big, which might have changed my calculus a bit. Many here have had a differing opinion on that, so search a bit and do what you feel comfortable with.

 

[Tom_C]

For what it's worth, the Echo docs say that once you set it up, then if it looses bluetooth the unit will still work with the last settings. The phone app manual controller part is only needed to do manual braking from the cab. Once configured, the unit itself will do momentum braking control without input from the phone app.

I see you can also now get a remote button for dash mount so you don't have to fumble with the phone if you want to do manual braking. The button is also bluetooth, so you still need to the phone to use the button.

 

[NeilP]

When I bought my 2019 Ranger XLT, I had no interest in hauling a trailer. Fast forward 5 years, and now I am buying a small Hiker Trailer (5x9) with brakes. But I have the 4 pin connector. I know I can adapt to 7 pin, but that won't control the brakes. Is there anything I can do?

I added the 4pin/7pin plug to my Jeep and I use the Curt Echo brake controller. It seems to work well. It will still work if you lose the bluetooth connection. You can also get a separate "bluetooth" button for the dash if you want to manually activate the brakes instead of using the button on the phone.

To get the Curt Echo controller to work, you obviously need to connect the turn tail light and ground wires to the 7 pin, and you need to run continuous 12v fused power to the accessory pin.

Here is my question to and response from etrailer regarding the Echo controller and the wiring.

Here is the link for the bluetooth manual control button.

 

[muzicman0]

anything wrong with the Curt 56431? It says that it will just plug directly into the existing wire harness.

https://www.amazon.com/CURT-56431-Vehicle-Side-Trailer-Harness/dp/B0812GH6QN

Then I would do the RedArc Tow Pro:

https://www.amazon.com/Redarc-Tow-Pro-Liberty...

[EDIT] I see that someone linked the Curt 56431 above. So it sounds like that may be good for sure. I'm still really confused on the Controller, but I am just looking into it. Worst case, I will use the Echo as that seems like a decent option.

 

[Big Blue]

anything wrong with the Curt 56431? It says that it will just plug directly into the existing wire harness.

https://www.amazon.com/CURT-56431-Vehicle-Side-Trailer-Harness/dp/B0812GH6QN

Then I would do the RedArc Tow Pro:

https://www.amazon.com/Redarc-Tow-Pro-Liberty...

[EDIT] I see that someone linked the Curt 56431 above. So it sounds like that may be good for sure. I'm still really confused on the Controller, but I am just looking into it. Worst case, I will use the Echo as that seems like a decent

I have no knowledge of the Curt harness but would be leary of it if it ties into the tailight harness, especially if you have LED tailights. The problem is our trucks control and power the tailights through the BCM. They control and power the trailer lights through a separate TRM or with separate relays in the fuse box under the hood. The tailight control curcuits are not designed for the extra load of the trailer lights. Also the TRM module, if you have one, lets the truck know when a trailer is plugged in.

As far as the Curt Echo is concerned, it is fine for infrequent towing or using different tow vehicles. For serious regular towing, get a real brake controller.

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