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Bulky brake controllers can clutter your cab space, but this one keeps things simple. At only 1" thick, the CURT Venturer NEXT mounts flush with the dash using the included bracket and hardware. You can place it anywhere at any angle without restrictions, so it stays out of the way while staying easy to reach when you need it.
When you hit the brakes, the Venturer NEXT sends power to the trailer brakes at a preset intensity and rate. You control both gain and load with rocker switches—gain sets maximum brake force, and load fine-tunes how quickly that force builds. It’s compatible with trailers up to 3 axles (6 brake assemblies) and works with electric or electric-over-hydraulic systems, plus low-volt, PWM, ABS, and cruise control setups.
You don’t have to guess what your brake controller is doing. The LED display uses bar indicators so you can see your settings at a glance. It shows error codes for quick troubleshooting and even adjusts its brightness or switches to night mode so it won’t glare on dark drives.
In sudden stops or sway situations, you can apply trailer brakes instantly without touching your vehicle’s pedal. The large pinch-trigger override is easy to grab while keeping your eyes on the road. That direct control gives you extra confidence when towing heavy loads.
No cutting or splicing required—the custom harness plugs directly into your vehicle’s factory brake control port under the dash. Once connected, simply plug in the Venturer NEXT. The design makes installation quick and clean, with auto-sleep mode built in to prevent battery drain when not in use.
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:
94% were satisfied with this product
6% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
Plug and Play installation with this cable! Thanks!
Plug and go. Works great with my 2023 GMC Sierra.
Easy install with good instructions. Works well!
Was just able to install controller, everything went really smooth, works great, thank you for the quick delivery as always.
Adapter is well worth it! No fussing with the wiring, just plug and go
This break controller was easy to install and
Works grat.
Worked great with the Controller, and was a simple plug and play installation
My husband installed easily. Makes towing our camper much easier.
The products are excellent and the installation instructions are very easy to follow. Products are very well made
The combo of the Curt Spectrum brake controller and wiring harness made installation a snap
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.
We got a new truck and needed to convert our trailer breaking unit to the new truck. I wrote to be sure what I needed, got an answer right away, ordered it, and it was easily installed!
Easy plug and play. Would buy again.
Easy hook up to the OEM plug
Easy Install with the Harness I bought for it. Works great.
This is used on a 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 pulling a 16' enclosed cargo trailer. With the appropriate adaptor cable it was very easy to install, just plug in and mount in a convenient spot. Once installed it was simple to get it matched to the weight and brake setup of the trailer. Close to 6k miles with it so far & very happy.
The wiring adapters worked great. It made installation quick, easy, and clean.
Great product at a great price. It was easy to install and setup.
Just what I needed to move my brake controller to my new truck. Best price that I found.
Was put in the mailbox.still waiting on item number 2
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.
Seems to work as advertised. Super easy to hook up but the double back tape doesn't hold. I'll have to drill into the dash.
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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Travis
9/8/2023
The wiring adapter made connecting the trailer brake controller so quick and easy that I dont think I will ever use butt splices again.