'23 hybrid towing *gulp* 3k

[SamFranco]

This is not relevant. Regenerative braking is the same as downshifting one gear in a regular truck.

And trailer brakes work on all hybrids.
They just usually don't come as standard equipment.

You are wrong. Tekonsha, Reese and Curt all have top rated controllers that their sites say are not compatible with the Hybrid Maverick. UHaul who installed my 7 pin would not install any wired brake controller on my Maverick. Its how I found out about the Curt Bluetooth controller.

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[Joe Strummer]

There are two schools of thought on this Forum. I'm in the never exceed GCVWR Camp. Exceeding the GCVWR opens you up to a whole lot of liability should you get in an accident, roll the truck over or go off the road. Without a brake controller you won't be able to stop in an emergency situation.

 

[North Coast Joe]

No one should exceed the 2K limit, IMO. I certainly would not put in print it is okay. That is asking to be involved in a lawsuit. I doubt anyone's insurance would payout for an accident, if they discovered one had exceeded the weight limit.

 

[mav47]

You are wrong. Tekonsha, Reese and Curt all have top rated controllers that their sites say are not compatible with the Hybrid Maverick. UHaul who installed my 7 pin would not install any wired brake controller on my Maverick. Its how I found out about the Curt Bluetooth controller.

@The Real Maverick is not wrong.

There not being a plug and play brake controller on the market for the Maverick doesn't mean that a trailer brake controller doesn't work on the Maverick Hybrid.

Any typical brake controller, properly installed, will work just fine.

I installed a RedArc brake controller which happens to be perfect for a Hybrid with the 12V battery under the rear seats because the main controller unit with its power cabling can be located in the back too. The control knob for the driver only requires a simple Ethernet cable between it and the main controller box. Makes for a very clean install.

It works just as well as it would on any other vehicle, and I've had zero issues with it.

I installed one in our Toyota Highlander Hybrid too. Similar setup with the 12V battery, and works great.

 

[The Real Maverick]

You are wrong. Tekonsha, Reese and Curt all have top rated controllers that their sites say are not compatible with the Hybrid Maverick. UHaul who installed my 7 pin would not install any wired brake controller on my Maverick. Its how I found out about the Curt Bluetooth controller.

Respectfully, it is apparent you have not installed brake controllers in vehicles.

The web sites are misleading you.
The brake controllers are universal.
They work in 100% of vehicles on the road.

What they mean is, they don't have a easy connect wire plug out of the box. Because Ford did not supply the corresponding socket. You can buy a third party wire harness or make your own.

I've been using a brake controller in my properly wired Hybrid for two years and it's wonderful. Safe. And not hard to add.

 

[ndmiller]

You're going to do it anyway and the liability is all yours to take. No-one is going to recommend it as it's unsafe to you and everyone on the road. As others have said it can be done, which doesn't mean it should be done. If something goes wrong this thread will be used against you.

 

[SamFranco]

@The Real Maverick is not wrong.

There not being a plug and play brake controller on the market for the Maverick doesn't mean that a trailer brake controller doesn't work on the Maverick Hybrid.

Any typical brake controller, properly installed, will work just fine.

I installed a RedArc brake controller which happens to be perfect for a Hybrid with the 12V battery under the rear seats because the main controller unit with its power cabling can be located in the back too. The control knob for the driver only requires a simple Ethernet cable between it and the main controller box. Makes for a very clean install.

It works just as well as it would on any other vehicle, and I've had zero issues with it.

I installed one in our Toyota Highlander Hybrid too. Similar setup with the 12V battery, and works great.

We have a 2023 Hybrid Highlander too and Toyota parts doesn't even sell a brake controller for it and will not install one. Its not about wiring. Yes, you can wire any brake controller up, that doesn’t mean it will work the way it is supposed to. Regenerative breaking means you will not be using the breaks as much to slow your vehicle down.. unfortunately the trailer doesn’t have regenerative breaking. Its not just the brake light wiring that operates the controller. There is a reason Reese and Tekonsha sites say no model found for a 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid. I’m sure Reese, Tekonsha and Curt would love to sell their wired products to Mavericks owners. They aren’t stupid.

Go to their sites and check for compatibility. The fact that UHaul refused to install a Tekonsha P3, which they sell and had in stock, on my Maverick because Tekonsha said it wasn’t compatible was more than enough reason to get a Curt Bluetooth which I ordered from Amazon after the Curt site said it was compatible.

 

[Hardening2753]

The key to not overheating is don't push it. Slow down when necessary.
The temperature gauge built in does not move until trouble has started.

For absolute piece of mind, read real time temperatures to the exact degree with an OBDII scan tool of your choice.

I feel the cost savings of not using a bigger truck, or buying or renting a different truck are large, while the time commitment from driving a little slower is small.

65 MPH downhill.
60 MPH on Flat.
55 MPH on 3-4% grade.
50 MPH on 6-7% grade and you should be A-OK.

It's stated elsewhere and I agree.

DO NOT sustain the truck at above 50% power for more than 2-3 minutes at a time. Save the top half of the power gauge for passing, getting on the highway, and potentially, out running an exploding volcano.

You can drive at 40% to 50% power all day long. At least I could.

Got trailer brakes? I do.
Add a brake controller to your Mav.


HTH,

This guy tows

 

[Hardening2753]

Respectfully, it is apparent you have not installed brake controllers in vehicles.

The web sites are not correct.
The brake controllers are universal.
They work in 100% of vehicles on the road.

What they mean is, they don't have a easy connect wire plug out of the box. Because Ford did not supply the corresponding socket. You can buy a third party wire harness or make your own.

I've been using a brake controller in my properly wired Hybrid for two years and it's wonderful. Safe. And not hard to add.

Do you recommend a particular brake controller?

 

[mav47]

We have a 2023 Hybrid Highlander too and Toyota parts doesn't even sell a brake controller for it and will not install one. Its not about wiring. Yes, you can wire any brake controller up, that doesn’t mean it will work the way it is supposed to. Regenerative breaking means you will not be using the breaks as much to slow your vehicle down.. unfortunately the trailer doesn’t have regenerative breaking. Its not just the brake light wiring that operates the controller. There is a reason Reese and Tekonsha sites say no model found for a 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid. I’m sure Reese, Tekonsha and Curt would love to sell their wired products to Mavericks owners. They aren’t stupid.

Go to their sites and check for compatibility. The fact that UHaul refused to install a Tekonsha P3, which they sell and had in stock, on my Maverick because Tekonsha said it wasn’t compatible was more than enough reason to get a Curt Bluetooth which I ordered from Amazon after the Curt site said it was compatible.

These brake controllers are not all that complicated and use two main inputs to engage the electric trailer brake output : 1) the brake light trigger switch wire and 2) the physical deceleration of the vehicle, as measured by a sensor inside the brake controller unit. Then there are some sensitivity settings and gain settings to play with to make it work to the driver's liking.

The brake controller truly doesn't care whether there is regenerative braking or whether physical brakes are used. It will work equally well on an ICE drive line, with either automatic or manual transmission, or a hybrid, or a BEV.

When the brake light comes on, the unit activates, and the measured deceleration, together with the chosen gain settings will determine the electric trailer brake output.

That's it. There's not that much to it really.

That Curt Bluetooth unit you are using works basically the same, it just doesn't have a wired manual control (uses your phone), and it grabs the power from the constant +12V pin you have in the 7-pin trailer connector, and the brake light trigger wire is in that connector too of course. It is actually quite a convenient solution if you don't mind using your phone for yet another thing.

Either way: the fact that someone doesn't want to install a conventional hardwired brake controller on your Hybrid doesn't mean that it won't work correctly. In regard to Hybrids there's still a lot of misinformation out there. I think we can all agree on that.

I can tell you it works absolutely fine on both our Maverick Hybrid and Highlander Hybrid.

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