To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.
Some brake controllers are bulky and awkward to place, but this one’s only 1" thick and installs flush with the dash using the included bracket. It doesn’t need to be level or face a certain direction, so you can mount it at any angle that suits your cab layout. The compact under-dash box keeps everything neat and out of the way while staying easy to reach when you need it.
Wiring can slow down a brake controller install, but the custom harness on this setup plugs right into your vehicle’s factory port. Once connected, the other end clicks directly into the Venturer NEXT—no hardwiring needed. The included bracket and hardware hold it securely in place, so you can get from unboxing to towing fast without extra adapters or guesswork.
Different trailers and loads need different brake force. The Venturer NEXT lets you fine-tune both gain (maximum braking power) and load (how quickly it builds up). Crank up the settings for heavy hauls, or dial them back for lighter loads and smoother stops. It works with trailers that have up to 3 axles (6 brake assemblies) and supports electric and electric-over-hydraulic brakes for dependable control across setups.
The LED display shows your braking level as a bar spectrum, so you can check settings at a glance without distraction. It adjusts brightness automatically for day or night visibility and displays error messages if something needs attention. When you’re parked, auto-sleep mode prevents battery drain by powering down the controller until you’re ready to tow again.
With time-delayed braking, the Venturer NEXT sends power to your trailer brakes at a preset intensity every time you hit the pedal. Both gain and load are completely adjustable, giving steady, predictable braking whether you’re in traffic or backing down a ramp. That consistency builds confidence behind the wheel on every trip.
If you don’t already have a 7-way plug at the back of your vehicle, take a look at the 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 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:
91% were satisfied with this product
9% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
I could not find this quick connector anywhere in town so I did an internet search and etrailer had the best price. This connector worked perfectly and was very easy to install.
Controller got here quickly, Not hard to install on my RAM once I found the factory plug for after market brake controller.
Pulled my travel trailer this past weekend and the Curt control worked well.
Seems to consistently work. No issues.
Just got my trailer brake installed, took less than 30 minutes. The wiring harness that was made for my truck pugged in with no problem. I have already tried it and it works great. Shipping notifications were updated every day so I knew exactly when to expect it. Their pricing was competitive with eBay and Amazon. I cannot say enough good things about this company and their service, I highly recommend them.
Glad the website recommended this. It was very easy to install, just plug it in to the existing wire connector under the dash by the accelerator pedal and the other end in the controller.
Works perfect on my 2026 RAM 1500 pick up. One big advantage of ordering from etrailer is the information they have on their website that shows where the location of components and how to complete the installation. Highly recommended:
Just what I needed
Very happy with controler and bracket. Easy to install took me only minutes.
Have a 2015 Dodge Ram 1500. After searching countless hours to find a "plug-n-play" trailer brake, I found etrailer. They sent me my trailer brake AND a pre-wired harness/adaptor that plugged right in to my existing harness under the dash. Awesome customer service!
I needed this adapter to connect the brake controller to my specific vehicle. Etrailer had it available when I bought the controller from them , so I ordered it. Easy connection, works great.
I recently purchased a 2018 Dodge Ram 1500 and traded in my 2014 Dodge Ram. I had removed my Curt brake controller and was to install it in the new Ram. Unfortunately, the connections were not the same, and I needed an adaptor. I called etrailer and was extremely happy with the service. Tammy looked up my truck and controller and matched the adaptor. The process took less than 3 minutes. I received the adaptor in just days. Thank you Tammy for making this easy.
Easy Install with the Harness I bought for it. Works great.
I just installed my Curt TriFlex Trailer Brake Controller C51140 in my new 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 Crew Cab. Thanks to the Curt Custom Wiring Adapter for Trailer Brake Controllers - Dual Plug In # C51458, it only took 4-5 minutes. Hardest part was finding the factory connector under the dash to plug into. etrailer has this wiring adapter listed as "Not confirmed to work" for the 2019 Ram 1500 but after my test drive I'm very satisfied. Worked just as I expected. I'll update this review after I have more time behind the wheel towing.
It's very well made and would be simple to use, except two of the wires were switched. We used this with a 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL, but apparently they are switched on newer Dodge trucks too. Unfortunately, the effect was that the trailer brakes stayed permanently on.
I believe it was the brake signal and the 12V wires that were switched. Unfortunately, I don't remember for sure, but etrailer support knew exactly the issue and told me which two they were.
There are two ways to fix this. The ugly way is to cut and splice the wires to their correct place. That's the way most people recommend, but there is actually an even easier way with no cutting: remove the orange insert from the end the plugs into your car's wiring (I believe there were tabs on the side that I had to press to do so). Now, you will be able to remove the wires/contacts from the connector, so simply switch the two that need to be switched. Click the orange piece back into place. Voila, it's fixed, no cutting required.
Anyway, apart from that wire switching issue, it's a nice product.
Came in exactly as I expected, looked up under the dash and found the wire, should be a ten minute install. Sure makes it easy when etrailer has your vehicle specific cable for install. Will have to add more when I get to use it under tow with my RV trailer.
Plug and play. Quick shipping.
Thank you. This was a very simple installation, from start to finish:45 minutes.
This harness made for a clean, splice-free install. I used this with a Jeep Gladiator which requires swapping the black and blue wires in the gray connector. The Gladiator is such a new truck, I could not find a good cross reference for the exact harness for a Curt Spectrum controller. I’m sure they have one by now or will very soon. I didn’t bother calling etrailer, I knew I could make this harness work. The wire swap took less than a minute, once you see the pin latches. Well worth the money to have a solid and clean install.
Rachael H.
8/22/2019
Curt does offer a wiring harness for the 2020 Jeep Gladiator and it is available as part # C51459. This harness has the correct plug configuration for the Gladiator and does not require swapping the black and blue wires.
Helpful Links
Great controller! Easy to adjust even on the fly. I had the controller adjusted a little aggressive and as I was trying to get out of Buffalo to go south for the winter we ran into some snow accumulation and was able to quickly dial back the controller to avoid locking up on thick snow covered roads. Literally a potential disaster! Very happy with the controller
The product came very fast and it was super easy to install. It's working better than I thought, I'm very happy with www.etrailer.com and there products. Definitely worth every penny and everything top quality. Thanks!!!!
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 paid a little extra for 2 day shipping and received items on time. Installation took about 20 min. including the 5 extra min. it took to organize/zip tie wires under the dash. The harness was plug and play and installed without any difficulty. I immediately used it to pull a 6K pound trailer through the mountains and worked as advertised. Installation was done on a 2016 Ram 1500.
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.
Do you have a question about this Trailer Brake Controller?
Info for this part was:
At etrailer we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Robert
3/13/2019
The cable install fit perfect and my system works great, the install was less than five minutes. Thanks etrailer!