Curt Venturer NEXT Trailer Brake Controller w/ Custom Harness - Up to 3 Axles - Time Delayed
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2000 Mazda 626
These items fit your vehicle
2000 Mazda 626
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Some brake controllers take up too much room under the dash, but this one is only 1" thick and mounts flush with the included bracket. There are no angle restrictions, so you can install it anywhere that’s easy to reach. The compact housing keeps your cab open and uncluttered while still giving you full control of your trailer brakes.
With this controller, you decide how your trailer brakes respond. The gain sets maximum braking power, while the load fine-tunes how quickly the brakes reach that level. It’s a simple way to match your trailer’s weight and road conditions. Whether you’re stopping smoothly on pavement or holding steady on a grade, the Venturer NEXT adjusts to how you like to tow.
Installation is quick thanks to the custom-fit plug-in harness. It connects directly to your vehicle’s brake control port, so there’s no need to cut or splice wires. Once installed, the unit is ready to go—just mount it where you want and plug it in. The connection supports electric and electric-over-hydraulic brakes for up to 3 axles (6 brake assemblies).
The large LED display shows settings as a spectrum of bars so you can check them at a glance. It automatically adjusts brightness for night driving and displays error messages if something needs attention. You can tweak brightness manually or enable auto-sleep to prevent battery drain when parked.
Self-diagnostics constantly monitor the trailer connection and check for shorts while you drive. Compatible with low-volt, PWM, ABS, and cruise control systems, it’s built for reliable use trip after trip. At just 4" long by 3-1/8" wide by 1" thick, this small box delivers consistent control for trailers with up to 3 axles—all backed by a limited lifetime warranty.
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi there. I'm Michael with etrailer.com. Today we're gonna take a quick look at this CURT Venturer NEXT Trailer Brake Controller. Now, if you're not familiar, if you have electric trailer brakes on your trailer, you are going to need a brake controller in order to activate those brakes. Otherwise, they're not really doing anything for you. There are several different kinds of brake controllers out there, different features and that sorta thing.
This is really gonna be your more basic option. So it's not gonna have some of the more advanced features that allow you to control the intensity of your braking in the moment, but this is going to be enough to get your brakes functioning. So if you are just looking for the base model that's gonna do the job for you without having to pay a whole lotta money, this is gonna be a great way to go. This will work for your trailers that have up to three axles, so six brake assemblies. Basically the way this works, every time you apply the brakes in your vehicle, a signal is sent via your brake switch to the Venturer.
The controller is then gonna send that power out to your trailer brakes to activate them with an intensity that's preset by you. It does also have the predetermined rate, which is also set by you, and we'll get into what those two terms mean, but this is going to be a time delay system. So unlike some other brake controllers that are proportional, this is going to apply the brakes at the same intensity whether you're tapping on the brakes or slamming on the brakes in an emergency sorta situation, that your trailer's brakes are gonna apply at the same rate either way. Both the amount of your braking power, called the gain, and the rate of the application, which is called the load, can be adjusted to suit your preferences, the road conditions, the type of trailer you have, and the weight of your load. We've got the switches here that are going to allow you to very easily access that and adjust.
So we've got 10 different gain settings. You select a higher setting for your harder braking and a lower setting for your more gradual braking. You do wanna go as high as you can without your trailer's brakes locking up. That's a good indicator that you've gone a little too far, so you wanna come back down a little bit. Typically your gain is only gonna be readjusted when you're experiencing changing road conditions or if the weight of your trailer changes.
So if you've taken off your load, you might wanna adjust it so that it's not engaging as hard with that lighter empty trailer. This also provides nine different load settings, and that's gonna control the aggressiveness of your trailer's braking, meaning how quickly the brakes reach their maximum braking level. So you've got all that adjustability to preset it, but then once you apply the brakes, it's going to apply that same power and as quickly each time. So again, whether you're tapping on the brakes or you're slamming on them, the trailer's brakes are gonna apply that same amount of pressure. So unlike your proportional systems which will apply the trailer's brakes in proportion to how intense you're applying the tow vehicle's brakes, this is not gonna have that feature. It does have a very simple LED display that's gonna show the amount of power output. So you can adjust that in one-digit increments so that you can know where you're at, you know how much intensity you've got. The brightness is also adjustable, so you can view it optimally either. No matter if you're driving during the day or at night, you can adjust that brightness level. We also have the pinch trigger that's going to give you that manual override capability, so very easy to reach if your trailer begins to sway or if you're stopping in an emergency situation. You can activate your trailer's brakes and the brake lights without having to apply the brakes on your tow vehicle just by pushing in on that switch or that trigger there. This is gonna be very quick and easy to get installed. There really are no mounting restrictions. So with a proportional system, you have to have it mounted in a certain orientation for the internal components to sense the inertia. This, you don't have to worry about that. They've got this mounting bracket here with the included hardware that you can get mounted flat on your dash, and then it just kinda slips in place there, so basically flush with your dash. Very simple to get installed, and you don't have to worry about getting a certain orientation. You can mount it basically whichever way is gonna work best for your setup. You can see our width there. We're looking at approximately 3 1/8 of an inch wide. Our length, we're sitting at approximately four inches, and then our thickness, call it about an inch. So keep that in mind when determining where you're gonna mount this. Now, to get it wired in, it's gonna depend on your setup. If your vehicle is already equipped with a plug-in brake controller wiring harness, all you have to do is just connect the unit to it, so very simple there. If you don't have a built-in system, there are some plug-in vehicle-specific brake control wiring adapters available that are gonna help to reduce your installation time, and of course, that is gonna depend on your vehicle. So I'd recommend using our vehicle fit guide here at etrailer.com. You'll select your year, make and model of your vehicle. We'll let you know which products will work for you. So specifically for those vehicle-specific kinda products, that's more important, but if you do have one of those available, I'd highly recommend going with that. Otherwise, if you are just going to wire it in place, you are gonna need either the 20-amp circuit breaker if you have a two, three or four-brake application, so with two or four-brake application, or you'll need the 30-amp for a six-brake application. So depending on your setup, you'll need either one of those, and again, if you don't already have a seven-way plug at the back of your vehicle, I highly recommend our ETBC7 seven and four-way brake controller installation kit that you can see on the screen there. So that's gonna give you that plug at the back of your vehicle so that you can plug in your trailer's wiring and make sure everything is connected properly. This does come with a limited lifetime warranty. So if you we're to have any issues with it, you're more than welcome to reach out to us here at etrailer.com, but like I said, this is a very basic model. I think it's gonna get the job done for you. It's not gonna have a whole lot of bells and whistles and that sort of thing, but it is gonna help to apply those brakes on your trailer, and that completes our look for today. Again, I'm Michael with etrailer.com. Thanks for watching.
Ratings & Reviews
Easy to use. Plug and play!
Plug and Play just as stated
Almost plug-n-go.The hardest part was where to put the controller !
Fits perfect can't ask for anything bet ter
Super fast shipping and great prices!
Slimmer than most of the others. Easy install with the additional pigtail.
Connected and does what it's supposed to to do. No problems after a year of use.
Aaron
7/22/2020
Still working as needed a year later.
Plugged it in and everything worked accordingly. Thanks etrailer.
Perfect pigtail!
Made the install a breeze.
Excellent service and delivery
This break controller was easy to install and
Works grat.
I haven't installed this yet but it appears to be exactly what I needed. I can always count on Etrailer for my accessories
My husband installed easily. Makes towing our camper much easier.
Worked as described, harness is a little on short side so your limited as to were you can mount brake controller
Installed but not used with a trailer yet, easy instruction and appreciate the extra hardware for the installation.
Compact and not intrusive. Decided to use the adhesive tape included and taped under the dashboard L of the steering wheel.
Made it easy to adapt to the vehicle ha rness.
David
3/14/2019
No issues with the product they are working great. Same as the day I installed them. Took a little time dialing the strength and how quick the brakes come on but overall very happy.
This controller came ready to use out of the box, Watched a YouTube video on the installation just to be sure and installed it myself in about 1/2 hour [I work slow} We used it this weekend and it worked flawlessly, seems like it set itself up and just worked great
I have a 2015 Traverse with V92 Factory tow package. All I had to do was plug this controller into the vehicle harness with the supplied plug and wala, everything worked perfect. Amy placed my order and she was very helpful in choosing what controller I wanted. Good Job Amy!
Right adaptor wiring for our brake cont roller!
Peggy
3/16/2019
Been working great after year!!
Easy Install with the Harness I bought for it. Works great.
2017 Buick Enclave with tow package, perfect fit and everything is as it should be. I installed it in Less than one hour.
This brake controller adapter harness fit exactly as described.
I am using this for a test fixture. I have found it to be easy to use and having a reliable ramp rate for EOH brake actuation.
I replaced my previous Curt venturer with the new one and it was easy. Just plug it in. Used it this weekend and did great with easily adjustable trailer brakes
Milt
It was easy to install. Just plug in and ot works. Fast shipping.
You guys were very helpful and I'm having the tow hitch and wiring installed with AP Automotive.
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Gary
6/21/2019
It work good for me but I only used it once but I hope its working well for the next guy because Ive gotten rid of that vehicle