Ford Trailer Brake Controller (TBC)
Forest River Forester Ford E450 buyers beware!
I recently purchased a new Forester E450 2291SF 24' motorhome
RV for traveling and towing my racecar trailer. The motorhome
came with the hitch & wiring but not a trailer brake controller (TBC).
I really wanted to keep it looking nice and although 3x the cost,
purchased the Ford OEM TBC unit that fits in the dash. The mount
and connector are already there from Ford, so installing it and
plugging it in was easy. The Ford parts guys said I'd need to get
it programmed to talk to the dash. The OEM Ford TBC has no
display so it has to talk to the dash "information center" to use
the display in the dash to show trailer brake gain settings and other
TBC stats. I looked it up on the web and found many F150 guys
had done it. So no problem right?
I took the RV to two different Ford dealers and had 5 different
Ford tech guys working on it and couldnt do it. I was told that
unless the vehicle comes with it installed from Ford, it cant be
programmed! The VIN number wont allow it. Charged me $75 for
their tech guys 2 hrs of trying. Luckily my Ford parts guy was
able to return the $300+ Ford TBC unit.
I put the filler panel back in the dash and installed an aftermarket
unit. Doesnt look as nice or as easily accessible but the only other
solution. So beware, you cant install the Ford TBC as an add-on!
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