Curt TriFlex NEXT Trailer Brake Controller w/ Custom Harness - 1 to 4 Axles - Proportional
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2017 Toyota RAV4
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2017 Toyota RAV4
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Bulky boxes under the dash are a pain, but this controller sits nearly flush and is only 1" thick. The clean fit keeps your cab uncluttered while giving quick access to the rocker switches and pinch-trigger manual override. Automatic leveling means it can mount at any angle, so you can place it wherever it’s easiest to reach without giving up legroom.
Jolts and tugging disappear thanks to proportional braking that mirrors your tow vehicle’s motion. A built-in 3-axis accelerometer measures deceleration to send the same amount of braking power to your trailer. That keeps both rigs slowing together for smooth, even stops and less wear on tires and pads. The TriFlex NEXT works with trailers up to 4 axles (8 brakes) and supports both electric and electric-over-hydraulic systems.
No splicing or hardwiring needed here. The included plug-in harness connects directly to the factory brake control port behind your dash, making installation quick and tidy. Once connected, just secure the small bracket and you’re ready to tow—no extra parts required when your vehicle already has the 7-way socket in place.
The large, bright LED display shows everything clearly—including gain settings from 0.5 to 9.9 and load control from 1 to 9. You can dim it or use night mode for low-glare driving, and the screen also provides clear error codes for troubleshooting on the go. Power automatically increases on downhill grades and decreases uphill, keeping braking balanced wherever you drive.
Continuous self-checks help guard against shorts or reversed polarity, protecting your wiring and trailer system. When parked, the controller automatically enters sleep mode after 5 minutes to minimize battery draw, then wakes instantly when you press the brake pedal. It’s peace of mind built right into every tow.
If you don't already have a 7-way plug at the back of your vehicle, take a look at our exclusive 7- and 4-way brake control installation kit (ETBC7 - sold separately).
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 Triflex Next Trailer Brake Controller. So if you have electric brakes or electric over hydraulic brakes, you're probably already aware that without a brake controller your trailer's brakes won't activate. So they're really not doing you any good. So you are gonna need to have a brake controller. Basically what a brake controller does is when you apply the brakes in your tow vehicle it's gonna send a signal through your brake switch to your brake controller.
The brake controller is then going to send an electrical signal out to your trailer's brakes so that they apply and help to slow down your trailer. There are several different kinds of brake controllers. There's different basic technologies and that sort of thing. Really your two main categories are you have a time delayed set up or you have a proportional setup. So with your time delay, essentially you set how much power you want applied to your brakes and then no matter if you're just tapping your brakes or really slamming on them in an emergency sort of situation, it's going to apply that same preset power each time.
So there are some downsides to that. It doesn't give you as much control. It can be a little aggressive sometimes when you don't need it to be. But then with your proportional setup it is going to apply your trailer's brakes with the same intensity as your tow vehicle's brakes. So if you're just lightly tapping on the brakes it's just going to lightly apply your trailer's brakes.
So proportional systems like this one are definitely my preference. I think they're a little bit more, give a little bit more finesse to your performance. There are some downsides to these. Typically, they are gonna be a little bit more expensive then your time delayed systems just because they do have more components to them. They've got an accelerometer in there that's going to sense the inertia of your movement so that it can apply the brakes proportionally for you.
And then another downside is typically because it does have that inertia sensor in there, or an accelerometer, it's going to have to be mounted in certain configurations to follow your direction of travel. And that's one benefit to this particular model is that it doesn't have to be mounted in any particular configuration. So you can basically mount it wherever you want. So definitely a benefit to this one over even other proportional systems. So for this model specifically, it does have the LED display that's going to show the amount of power output. You can adjust that with your rocker switches here. So very easy to access those. That's going to allow you to adjust between 10 different gain settings. So you can adjust the amount of braking power to suit your performance, the road conditions, the type of trailer you're towing, and the weight of your load. If you select a higher setting for a harder braking and a lower setting for more gradual braking, you do wanna make sure when you're getting that set up a good rule of thumb is to go just shy of where your trailer's brakes lock up. So test it out a few times. As you're going down the road you don't want your trailer's brakes to lock up. So get to that point and then come down just a little bit to get that fine tune where you need it to be. And then typically your gain is only gonna have to be readjusted when you're experiencing changing road conditions or if the weight of your trailer changes. So if you drop off your trailer load and you're needing to you probably need to adjust that gain there. It also gives you nine different load settings so that you can adjust how quickly the brakes will reach their maximum braking level. So if your vehicle takes too long to come to a stop, good idea to increase your setting by pressing the upper rocker switch. And then if it's stopping too abruptly you can decrease the settings as well. So you kind of fine tune it to your preference. We also have the pinch trigger manual override here. So that's within very easy reach, very simple to operate. What that's gonna do is allow you to apply your trailer's brakes without having to apply the brakes in your tow vehicle. So say for instance, if your trailer starts swaying you don't really need to slow down your whole setup you just need to apply the brakes in your trailer to kind of bring that back in line. So you can just push in on that trigger switch there and that will apply your brakes in your trailer without having to apply the brakes in your tow vehicle. This does have several different integrated safeguards to help protect your vehicle, the trailer, and the controller itself. It's going to run continuous diagnostic checks to alert you to any potential problems. It will help to minimize drain on your car battery by entering sleep mode. After about five minutes of inactivity it's gonna help keep your trailer's brakes from overheating by reducing power output when you're sitting for prolonged periods or prolonged stops. So if you're in traffic or something like that it's gonna help decrease the power so your brakes don't overheat. It's also going to defend the brake controller and trailer brake away system against any shorts and prevent positive and negative power reversal with its built-in polarity protection. This is gonna be very quick and easy to get installed. Again because you're not having to worry about the orientation, you can basically just get it mounted wherever it's gonna be most convenient for you to reach and access those controls. They've got this mounting bracket here. As you can see we'll just use the included hardware to get this mounted in place. And then basically our controller just slides onto that so it can be mounted flush with your dash. So very convenient to get that mounted. When you're considering where you can mount this, give you a few measurements here. You can see it is right about three we'll call it three and one eighth of an inch wide. Our length, we're right about four inches long. And our height approximately one inch overall. So keep that in mind and when you're deciding where you can get this mounted. Now as far as wiring goes, that's gonna completely depend on your setup. So there are some vehicles that already have a plug pre-installed from the factory that will allow you to just plug this right in there. If you don't have that on your vehicle, there are some kits available that will allow you to make that installation process pretty simple. But they are very vehicle specific. So I'd encourage you to use 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 are confirmed to fit with your vehicle. So that's another route to go. If your vehicle isn't already pre-wired with a plug then I would recommend that. Otherwise, it is gonna take a little bit of doing to get this installed. If you don't already have a seven way plug at the back of your vehicle, I would highly recommend using our ETBC seven plug that's gonna provide wiring and everything to get you set up so that you've got that connection so that your trailer can connect to your vehicle. But overall, a really great option here. Like I said, I really like the proportional system. The way this is going to allow your trailer's brakes to be applied at the same intensity as your tow vehicle. I like that this model gives you that option to have more versatility and where you get it mounted. And so overall, I think this is gonna be a great way to go if you are needing a brake controller for your trailer's brakes. And that completes our look for today. Again, I'm Michael with etrailer.com. Thanks for watching.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
96% were satisfied with this product
4% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
Very easy to install. Instructions were very clear products worked as intended very satisfied.
Exactly what I paid for with fast shipping at a good price. Everything looks great and works perfectly.
All the information I needed was on your site. Got the correct adapter cable and was able to just plug in the controller.
Great product
I’ve use the electric brake system several times over the last year. I was impressed at how easy it was to use, and how much safer it was when braking. It was easy to install and worked great
Easy to install, had no glitches. Replace an older brake controller.
Absolutely excellent service!
This unit took less than 10 minutes to install and works flawlessly with my Grand Cherokee while pulling a Travel Trailer. Plus its low profile design made it easy to install by the hood release so I don't have a big box and display on top of my dashboard. Great product at the right price. Highly recommend this brake controller and etrailer.
Works well. The connector I got from e trailer which fits other older model Audi’s wasn’t listed to fit the 2024 Audi but fit perfectly. The Curt Triflex is an easy to use brake controller. Highly recommend!
install was easy...just hope it works....Im an older guy...hope i can follow instructions
Arrived as planed and was much smaller then my old clunky one. The custom cable harness was easy to install. Finding a flat spot to mount the controller took the longest to find the perfect spot. I gave a five stars because every was as it said. (Plug and play)
Perfect fit.
This is a perfect fit for our E450 RV chassis. It made the install a five minute job.
Great brake controller for the price. Easy to install with the video. Customer service was very prompt and kind.
Customer service is very good.
Kate M. my salesperson, had a most professional interaction with me being certain of my and my vehicle's needs. In addition, she walked me through the complete installation process. This I completed, wiring the 7-way and the Curt Discovery Controller making no errors along the way. On the first test, every terminal on the 7-way tested as it should. When we came home with the RV from the dealer, all the lights and the brakes worked flawlessly. Many thanks!!
Switch Housing is a bit bulky and created an issue for mounting. A smaller, more compatible housing would definitely be preferred.
Took a while to figure it out. Have a 2003 Dodge van. Had to tow in package but didn’t have any wiring factory installed other than for the seven way. Paul it was great identifying what I need and sending it to me. Thank you very much.
Adapted Curt brake controller for my 2014 Ford F150 STX without any problems. Just find your Ford brake control connector behind the coin slot on the left side of the dash and plug it in.
Tommy J.
1/31/2015
After a year of using the Curt brake controller it has been by far the best one of several I have used and installed. i highly recommend the controller.
Plug and play, quick install!
Works well, first trailer brake I've ever used.
This is a new model of the Curt TriFlex brake controller. As a replacement for the previous unit, it was nice to be able to install it without rewiring. The new model has a more modern style digital display that is easier to read and less annoying. The button controls are a bit less obvious than the previous model, so it takes a little effort to figure out how to adjust the system. Overall, I think it's a better unit that the previous models.
It was as it said , plug and play, on my pickup anyway, you have to remove the plastic piece underneath the steering column and I was able to reach across to the back of plastic tray where the factory controller would be installed and unplugged the pigtail you need to connect to your controller
So what I found out is that the adapter plug that fits the 2026 Branco also fits my 2026 E450 cutaway (motor home).I imagine it fits all 2026 ford trucks, can't confirm nor verify but it would make sense. Plug for controller is behind stash/coin holder just left of steering wheel. I will try to upload some pics or maybe even a vid after I finish install.
The Curt TriFlex Next works perfect and was simple to install. The harness plugged right into the my trucks adaptor and I did not have to splice any wires. The included zip ties helped tuck away the wires and the double sided tape was all I needed to mount securely to my dash. The towing modes are simple to adjust and the controller works as advertised.
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Kenneth
2/12/2025
Still doing exactly what it is supposed to do. My only hint to you is, unless you have a photographic memory, do NOT throw away the quick reference card.