Curt Venturer NEXT Trailer Brake Controller w/ Custom Harness - Up to 3 Axles - Time Delayed
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1997 Ford Aspire
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1997 Ford Aspire
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Big brake boxes can get in the way, but this one stays out of your knees and dash space. At only 1" thick and just 4" long by 3-1/8" wide, the CURT Venturer NEXT can mount anywhere at any angle. The low-profile bracket holds it flush against the dash, and because it’s a time-delayed unit, orientation doesn’t matter. You get a clean, tucked-in setup that still keeps controls right where you can reach them.
Every trailer tows differently, so being able to tune braking power matters. The Venturer NEXT uses separate rocker switches for gain and load adjustments. Gain sets the maximum brake power, while load fine-tunes how quickly that power builds. Dial in more load if you need sharper stops or back it down for smoother deceleration. It’s a simple way to match stopping feel to trailer weight and road conditions.
The large LED display makes checks quick and clear. It shows brake settings as a spectrum of bars and flashes error codes if there’s a short or connection issue. Brightness adjusts automatically or can be dimmed for night driving so there’s no glare on the dash. You’ll always know what your brakes are doing without taking your eyes off the road for long.
Wiring a controller doesn’t have to be a chore. The custom-fit harness plugs straight into the factory port under the dash—no splicing required. Once connected, mount the controller with the included bracket and hardware, and you’re done. The system supports both electric and electric-over-hydraulic brakes on up to 3 axles (6 brake assemblies). Auto-sleep mode prevents battery drain when parked, so it’s always ready when you are.
Consistent trailer braking is what this controller does best. The time-delayed system applies power at a preset intensity and ramp rate every time you hit the pedal, giving steady results trip after trip. It works with low-volt, PWM, ABS, and cruise control systems for dependable performance across different setups—smooth, predictable braking you can count on when hauling heavier loads.
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.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
93% were satisfied with this product
7% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
Worked perfectly. I had my brake controller installed in minutes.
Made brake controller installation a breeze. 5 minutes and done. completely plug and play on wiring.
My husband installed easily. Makes towing our camper much easier.
Great product, easy install with with the wiring adapter. etrailer is the best, fast shipping and helpfull information
I got kit witch should of had a square end but they sent a flat hook-up wouldn't fit so I had to re-order right one$2.89 shipping ,plus had to wait to hook -up would buy from again but would talk to some body before I order great fit work when plugged in
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.
worked great. the web sight my daughter bought her controller from did not show that she needed this adapter harness but etrailer web sight did. bought the harness separate and installed in seconds. that's why I tell her I like etrailer.
brake ontrol works great and better then the one I had before. The plug I got for the truck just pluged right in and I was all set to go. very happy with its performancw.
It was EXACTLY want I needed - didn't have to cut wires or anything. Simply plug and play. Great offer by etrailer to provide this adapter. Great product, great service, great price rate, fast delivery - what else can you ask for?
I have not had the opportunity to install my latest purchase but I am extremely satisfied with all my purchases from etrailer as to the correct part being sent and full instructions for installation. Please keep up the good work and I am so glad for the free shipping of my purchases.
Thanks, Al H
Well built wiring adapter for brake controller plugged into fuse box two screws for new brake controller , done in ten minutes and tested on the road with trailer ..Whole install and op's check took 30 minutes..
Ordered this due to wrong harness coming with brake controller. Haven't installed yet but looking at the harness looks like it will work as intended. Plugs directly into the Curt Discovery controller I received. Thanks
This made installing my Trailer Brake Controller a breeze. I had a harness already that came with my truck, but would have to get the connector and pins to put on it to mate it up to the controller. This was already done and ready to go. 2 minutes time to installt he brake controller and have it ready to go.
I bought the brake controller and wore harness it came fast and was super easy to install and used it the next day to tow my at and trailer and it worked perfect I would deffinitly recommend this brake controller to anyone it's a great but for the low price
A good product for the price. etrailer has always been great to order from, product ratings, instructions, fast delivery, and variety.
Paul
12/3/2018
Great product for the price, works great.
Easy Install with the Harness I bought for it. Works great.
I purchased a Curt brake controller from the Chevy dealership and when it arrived it was a controller and a hand full of wires to splice into my system. I got a hold of etrailers and the staff was pleasant and sold me what I actually wanted from the dealership. Now I know to call these guys for all my trailer wiring needs.
Easy install with factory 7way plug didn't need any extra not included in kit. 02 Chevrolet 2500HD and pull an aluminum 3 horse gooseneck trailer, this brake system works great so far loaded and unloaded. Mounted nicely out of way to the dash under shifter.
Mandy
4/27/2018
Im still very happy with the product i purchased. Works great!! I pull a 3 horse gooseneck aluminum trailer behind my 02 Chevy 2500 4x4 and have no problems stopping even fully loaded down.. thank you for checking in with me..
Plugged into fuse panel no problem and allowed an easy hookup to brake controller. I had to add a 12V wire from the engine bay fuse panel to the 7 way bumper connector.
Trailer brake controller was very easy to install and works great with my trailer.
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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Marvin
5/31/2017
works great no problems