Do these hitch and brake controller estimates look good?

[BibelRanch]

I just put a deposit down for a 2021 wolf pup today. It should be here in March. Wooot!!

As first time owners, we need some work done to our car and the RV dealer gave me some quotes. I’d love to know if these look good or if I should try to find an independent mechanic to install.

This is for my 2015 Honda Pilot (can tow 4500lb):

Weight Distribution Hitch with Sway Control Bars: $550 (includes parts and install)

Brake Controller: $250 (includes parts and labor)

Does that look okay? I’m in southern NH.

I’m OK with paying a little more than average to have it done all by the same people at the dealership. But if this is exorbitant, then I’ll shop around.

Thanks!

I look forward to spending the next two months obsessed with these forums 😜

[moose074]

I can’t tell you if it’s a good deal or not. There is too much info missing mostly the type/ name brand of the items being installed. Just a quick search to show the difference in price.

[BibelRanch]

Thanks for looking that up! I'll find out when I talk to the dealer about more specifics, but the range you posted makes me feel okay at least

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by BibelRanch

I just put a deposit down for a 2021 wolf pup today. It should be here in March. Wooot!!

As first time owners, we need some work done to our car and the RV dealer gave me some quotes. I’d love to know if these look good or if I should try to find an independent mechanic to install.

This is for my 2015 Honda Pilot (can tow 4500lb):

Weight Distribution Hitch with Sway Control Bars: $550 (includes parts and install)

Brake Controller: $250 (includes parts and labor)

Does that look okay? I’m in southern NH.

I’m OK with paying a little more than average to have it done all by the same people at the dealership. But if this is exorbitant, then I’ll shop around.

Thanks!

I look forward to spending the next two months obsessed with these forums ��

I found most of the brake controllers installed by dealers give a very rough, jerky stop, unless most of the braking effort is adjusted out. Switched to a Tekonsha Prodigy 2 for much smoother braking. Installed it myself with little difficulty.

Ended up with an E-2 600/6000 Equalizer WDH. I like it enough that when I bought a bigger A-frame, I moved the E-2 over to the new A-frame, added 2 washers, and it works even better with our minivan.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[bikendan]

The WDH price looks fine but $250 for an installed BC is crazy.
They are so easy to install yourself, especially the Tekonsha Prodigy controllers.
My P2 cost me $99 and took me 30 minutes to install.

[mark mcpherson]

Just do a you tube search on hitch and brake install. The brake install is just plugging in wires under the dashboard and in the back by the left rear tire. At least my pilot was already wired it took me less then a half hour to install.

[rsdata]

look at controllers at etrailer dot com and hitches also... for prices, brands and recommendations... call them as they are very good

typically, unless you find a super dealership ( and there are not many) I would rely on a hitch dealer to install hitch and controller as dealerships are usually incompetent with setting up tow installations

[dmctlc]

Originally Posted by rsdata

look at controllers at etrailer dot com and hitches also... for prices, brands and recommendations... call them as they are very good

typically, unless you find a super dealership ( and there are not many) I would rely on a hitch dealer to install hitch and controller as dealerships are usually incompetent with setting up tow installations

I agree a hitch dealer is better. I recently had my DWs 2017 lincoln mkx done by a hitch dealer and though I'm in Florida I priced with RV dealer and hitch house. A lot cheaper and they did a super job, very clean professional look as well.

[The_Rhino]

Originally Posted by BibelRanch

I just put a deposit down for a 2021 wolf pup today.... This is for my 2015 Honda Pilot (can tow 4500lb)

I agree with the others-take it to a trailer shop (construction, landscaping, etc. trailers) for the WDH & get a Tekonsha Prodigy Controller... I installed a P3 in my Ram 2500 & it's superior stopping power literally prevented me from hitting a state highway patrol that suddenly stopped in the middle of my 65mph freeway lane w/no emergency lights, etc. to warn me... I just bought it on Amazon for $155 & installed it myself, but not sure how easy it would be on a Pilot...

That said, we also have a 2015 Pilot & although it has a "little engine that could" spirit with 6 cyl. 250 hp. engine & tranny rated to last over 300,000 miles, IMO it is better suited for popups, A-frames & boats that do not have the frontal surface area & drag of a full height TT...

[Boomerweps]

Did your Pilot come with a factory towing package? 7 pin connector?
If so, a Trailer Brake Controller should be a simple plug and play with the correct wiring harness. OK, maybe a couple screws into the dash somewhere. Prodigy P3 for about $125. Note: When buying a TBC, make sure it has the words proportional on it. Older tech still sold for $60 & under are time based so the longer you ride your brakes, the more electrical clamping force on your trailer brakes. I bought cheap and my trailer brakes were smoking a few times, wheel hot to the touch, on all the steep hill driving. Deglazed the brakes, inspected and regreased the bearings, bought a P3 and all was good on my Explorer.
WDH? Bought mine used from the dealer for $250 & it was installed correctly. Verified that after downloading the manual. Installer should be measuring every item installed. What weight level requires a WDH on your Pilot? Most Wolf Pups have a GVWR under 4000# & all but one IIRC, have a 3500# axle with the extra of the GVWR carried as tongue weight.
Searched for Honda Pilot towing specs on hitch tongue weight. Basically 10% of the Tow capacity of the model year. Could not find official references to WDH, but a poster on some forum said there was a factory hitch sticker to not use a WDH. So what does your owners manual and hitch stickers say?

[The_Rhino]

Originally Posted by Boomerweps

...there was a factory hitch sticker to not use a WDH. So what does your owners manual and hitch stickers say?

As noted, we also have a 2015 Honda Pilot 4WD and the manual specifies that you are NOT supposed to use a WDH with it, only Sway Control. This is because its not a good idea to redistribute the weight from back to front axle over unibody construction which is what the WDH is designed to do... Also, the manual specifies 450 lb. max tongue weight and the tow limit of 4,500 factors-in just (2) 150 lb. adults and 30 lbs. of baggage. If you have kids, you can't tow as much...

Since the OP only put down a deposit on the Wolf Pup, I highly recommend choosing a popup or A-frame for a V6 SUV or reconsidering their whole tow vehicle / trailer combo options. MOST dealers around here will apply your FULL deposit to another trailer of equal or higher value - but I don't know about the Wolf Pup since they are harder to sell off the lot...

I don't like popups or A-frames, so we decided to get what we wanted as our first TV/TT combo, but buy gently used to stay within our modest budget...

For about the same price as a new Wolf Pup (approaching $20,000), we got a 2 year-old roomy 6,500 lb. bunkhouse w/popular floor plan (from a dealer), camped for 7 YEARS and sold it for just $5,000 less than paid. We paired it with a 2 year-old Ram 2500 crew cab that I got for $14,000 and saved the wear & tear on our Honda Odyssey & Pilot. Since we got what we wanted up-front, within our budget, we did not lose money reselling & upgrading so our annual cost of ownership was very low...

In comparison, some friends bought a new single axle full-height TT much like the Wolf Pup, tried towing it with their V6 SUV, hated the towing experience, hated not having any room, and sold the TT for a $7,000+ loss after only one season of camping... Everyone is upgrading from small TTs, so they are harder to resell & you take bigger losses... IMO better to lose deposit than to lose it on resell...

[Boomerweps]

Originally Posted by The_Rhino

MOST dealers around here will apply your FULL deposit to another trailer of equal or higher value - but I don't know about the Wolf Pup since they are harder to sell off the lot...
SNIPPED
For about the same price as a new Wolf Pup (approaching $20,000), we got a 2 year-old roomy 6,500 lb. bunkhouse w/popular floor plan (from a dealer), camped for 7 YEARS and sold it for just $5,000 less than paid.
SNIPPED
In comparison, some friends bought a new single axle full-height TT much like the Wolf Pup, tried towing it with their V6 SUV, hated the towing experience, hated not having any room, and sold the TT for a $7,000+ loss after only one season of camping... Everyone is upgrading from small TTs, so they are harder to resell & you take bigger losses... IMO better to lose deposit than to lose it on resell...

AFAIK, ALL RVs are still selling like hot cakes.

Wolf Pup MSRPs may be near $20,000, even when I bought mine but new my nearest dealer wanted $16,000 for their last new 2018 and I bought from 200 miles away next state over at $11,500 2019 model in April 2018. Www.RV trader.com is your friend.

I towed it first with a 2008 V6 Explorer, handled and braked fine, power sucked. Tow rated 5225#, TT GVWR 3877#. Hard on steep hills, wind resistance on interstates a killer. Bought the F150 V8 April 2019. Truely a happy camper