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Big box controllers can clutter your dash, but this one mounts nearly flush and is only 1" thick. The compact shape hugs the console so nothing sticks out near your knees. The included bracket keeps it solid and easy to reach, and automatic leveling lets you mount it at any angle that works best for your setup.
The TriFlex NEXT senses deceleration with a built-in 3-axis accelerometer and instantly matches the trailer’s brake power to your braking. The result is smooth, even stops with no lurching or push-pull effect. It supports up to 4 axles (8 brake assemblies) and works with both electric and electric-over-hydraulic systems, so your trailer tracks steady whether you’re braking lightly or coming down a steep grade.
Fine-tuning your brakes takes only seconds. Use the gray rocker switch to set gain on a scale of 0.5 to 9.9, then dial in the load control from 1 to 9 to control how quickly your trailer reaches full braking force. Once locked in, the settings stay steady so you get repeatable, confident braking every time you tow.
The included custom harness plugs straight into your factory wiring port under the dash, meaning no hardwiring or guesswork. Just connect it to the port, snap the other end into the controller, and it’s ready to calibrate automatically. That plug-and-play design cuts install time down to minutes.
The large LED display shows gain level, sensitivity, and error codes clearly so you can keep tabs at a glance. Brightness is adjustable, and night mode keeps the light soft when driving after dark. Built-in diagnostics continuously check connections and alert you if something needs attention, while polarity protection and sleep mode guard your wiring and battery between trips.
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
Brake controller is all plastic, screen is ok, broke after the second use, would not turn on/work and then randomly the brake lights started turning on when no one was in my vehicle and key was out. After 3 weeks etrailer warranted it and I got a new one.
Just finished the install. It was nice to be assured that I had everything I needed to finish the job before I got started. Honda didn't make it easy.
Outstanding product is everything we expected from easy to connect and display in the truck. Great to have when necessary too.
Could not have been easier on Honda Rid geline
Perfect fit plug'n'play for my Honda Ri dgeline.
Very easy installation .
Awesome controller
I like this because it doesn't take up alot of room and it's compatible for electric over hydraulic, so it'll still work when I convert our latest trailer to disc brakes.
Very easy to install. Instructions were very clear products worked as intended very satisfied.
All the information I needed was on your site. Got the correct adapter cable and was able to just plug in the controller.
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.
Very easy to install and use
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.
Missed mounting clip.
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!
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)
Great brake controller for the price. Easy to install with the video. Customer service was very prompt and kind.
I had no clue what I needed but the customer service team helped me out. Easy install and works great.
Was looking for a trailer break for a 2021 Honda Passport. My vehicle didn't have a hitch so I installed an etrailer hitch and later, a 7-way plug (also from etrailer) just in case I bought a camper. Now I'm purchasing a camper so needed a break. My experience with emailing and then "live chat" came up dry as far as a plug and play option for my Honda. I checked my vehicle and it did have a 4-pin under the dash so I thought this strange. I decided to call and ended up speaking with Fred who took the time to think through how to make it work. As disappointed as I was in my interaction with emailing and Live Chat, I was thrilled with Fred's support. The parts came quickly (as usual with etrailer) and the install was a breeze. Thank you Fred!
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.
The Curt Custom Wiring Adapter for the 2017 Honda Ridgeline worked perfectly for the installation of my new Curt Spectrum Trailer Brake Controller. Thanks etrailer!Thanks Curt!
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.
This was the easiest trailer related installation I've done for my Passport. The only trick was routing all the excess adapter jumper wire behind the vehicle electronics, then looping it around to make connection with the controller. A snap-in adapter would be ideal.
I had a bit of trouble interpreting the display. I finally determined that the instructions were not accurate. I even returned one unit because the display didn't match what the instruction manual said I should see. After installing the second unit, I finally realized that the instruction manual was not accurate. The controller works great. It's really smooth and applies the appropriate braking every time.
Info for this part was:
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Michael
9/8/2021
The Curt Spectrum Trailer Brake Controller has been working flawlessly. I am pleased that the custom harness made the install so simple.