I have a 2010 CC 4x4 1500 with the Hemi, 3.92 gears, 20"rims a Tuner and airbags in the rear. I am going to be towing a 26ft camper that weighs about 6500lbs loaded and I have the load leveling bars to help level it all out. My truck is fully equipt to tow minus the trailer brake. I called the dealership this morning and they want $238 for the unit and $96.50 to re-flash my computer. I only plan on towing this camper 4-5 times this summer with each trip ranging from 2-3 hours travel time, mostly interstate. After that I am giving the Camper back to my cousin and do not know when I will tow something that size again. So my question is should I get the trailer brake to be safe or will the truck handle the camper just fine? Please I will have my family so I don't want to hear about how you towed 8500 lbs through the Rockies and didn't have a brake controller! Instead I am looking for those of you who tow a lot and have used the trailer brake to give me some first hand knowledge of it and if it really made a difference. Thanks for your time and responses in advance.

 

You are legally required to run trailer brakes for a trailer that heavy in every state I am aware of. Towing 6500 lbs with no brakes would be really dumb - you would not have any chance of stopping it in an emergency - it weighs more than your whole truck does.

 

Okay, I didn't know that. I haven't really done any towing with a trailer this size with the exception in the Army and all of our equipment was already setup for what we needed. I kind of had feeling that I should but I guess I needed some reinforcement. Thanks

 

http://www.etrailer.com/bc-2010_Dodge_Ram+Pickup.htm

 

Excuse me for being ignorant but this will do the same thing and not require the computer to be re-flashed correct?

 

The difference between the OEM and the aftermarket is how they are installed and the user interface. Both do the same job but the aftermarket gets mounted under the dash (some folks don't like it there because they claim it interferes with their legs, I have the aftermarket and it doesn't bother me). The OEM gets mounted on the dash and has a real clean look. The flash is not needed as far as I know, the function of the flash to enable the OEM brake controller to communicate to the truck computer via a CAN Bus and provides information to the driver on the EVIC. So the short answer is either one will work for you.

 

Thanks

This is why I love this forum. People helping people! I just need to decide if I want the nice clean factory look for an extra $200 bucks. Seems pretty straight forward but I really like the clean look! Time to check the truck for loose change!

 

I bought my oem controller on line for less than $115 and it came with the dash bezel. Took 20 minutes to install.

 

this is what I did and it works great.

 

Where did you buy the OEM one with dash bezel for $115