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This controller is only 1" thick and doesn’t need to be mounted at any specific angle. That means you can place it wherever it’s easy to reach without worrying about calibration. The included flush-mount bracket keeps it tucked neatly against the dash so it doesn’t take up legroom or block other controls.
With time-delayed braking, you set both the gain and the load so your trailer brakes come on exactly how you want them. Gain controls how much power goes to the trailer brakes, and load sets how quickly that power ramps up. Once dialed in, every stop feels steady and consistent—no jerky starts or harsh grabs when you tap the brakes.
The LED screen shows your settings as a clear spectrum of bars, so you can check brake power without looking away from the road for long. It also displays error messages for quick troubleshooting and has adjustable brightness and a night mode to cut glare on late drives.
This controller works with trailers that have up to 3 axles (6 brake assemblies) and supports both electric and electric-over-hydraulic brakes. It’s also compatible with low-volt, PWM, ABS, and cruise control systems, so you can tow confidently with a wide range of setups.
You connect directly to your vehicle’s factory brake control port using the custom harness—no need to cut or splice wires. Just plug one end into your vehicle under the dash and the other into the controller. The bracket and hardware are included, so once plugged in, you’re ready to go.
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
This controller is fantastic. Works very well very precise easy to use need I say more.
And the Customer Service I got from etrailer was second to none
The controller arrived quicker than expected along with the wiring harness. Installation, with your instruction, was painless and simple.
I choose to use velcro to mount my accessories, and in the pictures you can see this is a simple fast method. Plus, I can always remove it easily if need be.
Great product, great support, great prices.
Steve
Made wiring of the spectrum brake controller super-simple. Just plug this end in here and that end in there. Quick youtube search told me where the "there" was on the truck was before I ordered it.
Easy installation for brake controller only Con was there were no instructions provided as to where on the fuse block to plug it in. Had to research website for info. Mirrors fit perfect and allow to see rear of 26 ft trailer for up coming traffic
The connector was part of a kit which included the trailer brake. Everything worked as advertised. Plug and play in my 2015 Silverado.
This is my first order with etrailer.com . The Curt Custom Wiring Adapter was as advertised and came on time as promised.
I had shopped around at All the big three auto parts places (except "NAD*) only to get the same answers: "You have to splice those things to mak'em work"....cost could be around $50-150 bucks" OR " We can't get the connectors from our company". This was not true.
Glad I found "etrailer.com . Thank You ALL. :)
The screws for the bracket did not fit into the plastic bushings in the bracket. I have got hooked this up to a trailer with brakes, yet, but everything else seems to work, including the adapter for my Silvy1500. Note that this review bears no negativity on etrailer, but he manufacturer of the brake controller. Stop letting China manufacture our goods and get better product reviews. I have had good experiences with etrailer.com, they always ship fast and deliver quality installation guides. Kudos to them!
This thing does everything you could ask a trailer brake controller to do. Easy to install, easy to adjust, and performs flawlessly. And it is priced right where it should be.
E-Trailer had exactly what I needed for my new model year vehicle that I couldn't find elsewhere. The product was accurately described and the installation manuals were available online which helped tremendously in making a purchasing decision. The order was placed on a Sunday and a shipping notification was received on the same day literally minutes after the order was placed. Item was received within 3 days...can't ask for better than that.
I have bookmarked this site for future business...very efficient.
After waiting for almost 1 month I finely received my order had too return one order that was not mine and had to wait until I got instructions on returning it. I have placed 3 different orders with etrailer but the last one was a mess, I don't known where you get the people that work in shipping but I think that a 4 year old could do a better job also when you have a complaint U wind up talking too four or five different persons and no one knows what you are talking about the only person that was of any help was Kim P thanks young lady
I love this product. I have had many tow vehicles over the years. Wiring a brake controller always took a little time. This plug in device makes the job simple.
It and etrailer both deserve 5 stars.
RB
Don't get much easier then this. The installation video was top notch , easy to follow and accurate. Thank you E-trailer
Easy Install with the Harness I bought for it. Works great.
Works great. Easy to follow online installation instructions for the wiring adapter - no problem!
Bob B.
9/2/2015
It works just fine, no problem at all.
Excellent product, made hooking up my brake controller super easy and fast.
Fast and easy ordering from etrailer good people to deal with.
Thanks
Ray
4/9/2019
PRODUCT WORKS PERFECTLY. JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.
Good product ! Plug and play small mounts anywhere great price
They provided me with everything necessary for this brake controller to make installation quick and easy. The price was reasonable and it works perfectly.
Installation was super easy! Works like a champ for my truck and travel trailer application.
Quality product made my install simple and neat!
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.
Nicely constructed cable but the end that mates with the GMC interface does not lock in place and will occassionally fall out cause the control to be inoperative. Have to stop the vehicle and get under the dash to plug back in. Very inconvenient. Not sure if the issue is with the cable or GMC's interface.
Greg Z.
3/13/2026
The plug on the interface end does not lock in place and easily falls out of the interface module if bumped. Otherwise works fine.
The pigtail was nice. But the brake controller was junk. Never could get it to work right. Got tired of messing with it so I gave it away and bought just a simple controller and it does what I need it to do. All the setting just made it more complicated than it should.
You guys were very helpful and I'm having the tow hitch and wiring installed with AP Automotive.
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Ray L.
5/29/2016
Great product great company!!!