Trailer hitch with brake controller

I have a similar question but im not pulling a horse trailer. I'm pulling the type of trailer you see landscaping companies using. total weight for my load should be about 2500-3000

So I figured out this much. The stock hitch receiver should be capable of towing the 3500 lbs. Why else would GMC advertise a 3500 lbs towing capacity if the hitch accessory could not tow it. The tow-ball accessory I purchased has that capability on the sticker, so that should not be a problem.

Now, with the brake controller....yep, it has to be installed. Asked the dealer, it will be about a $150 for the wiring and about 2 hours worth of labour.

I will have to ask if the transmission has to be outfitted with an additional cooler though if you are towing something with greater capacity.

Paul

brunp said:

So I figured out this much. The stock hitch receiver should be capable of towing the 3500 lbs. Why else would GMC advertise a 3500 lbs towing capacity if the hitch accessory could not tow it. The tow-ball accessory I purchased has that capability on the sticker, so that should not be a problem.

Now, with the brake controller....yep, it has to be installed. Asked the dealer, it will be about a $150 for the wiring and about 2 hours worth of labour.

I will have to ask if the transmission has to be outfitted with an additional cooler though if you are towing something with greater capacity.

Paul

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I see the transmission cooler as "insurance" for your transmission. Seriously, I think you should get it even it the load doesn't go over what the Terrain calls for. Better to be safe than sorry.

Also if you damage the transmission while towing, the dealer might not cover it under warranty or anything and say it the damage was caused by "your own negligence"

jimmy said:

I see the transmission cooler as "insurance" for your transmission. Seriously, I think you should get it even it the load doesn't go over what the Terrain calls for. Better to be safe than sorry.

Also if you damage the transmission while towing, the dealer might not cover it under warranty or anything and say it the damage was caused by "your own negligence"

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We got the brake controller installed and from what the dealer told me, if we stay within the towing capacity (which we will), we don't need any additional cooling on the transmission. I then consider anything that occurs within warranty to be a warranty issue and not caused by my own negligence.

Paul

brunp said:

We got the brake controller installed and from what the dealer told me, if we stay within the towing capacity (which we will), we don't need any additional cooling on the transmission. I then consider anything that occurs within warranty to be a warranty issue and not caused by my own negligence.

Paul

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smartest way to go about this!

have you used your terrain to do the towing you were going to do? and how did it go if you did?

Terrain said:

smartest way to go about this!

have you used your terrain to do the towing you were going to do? and how did it go if you did?

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yep, we picked up the trailer without issue. The trailer ended up being a 7-pin, not the 6-pin that the seller had mentioned to me. He said....oh, the trailer is the big 6-pin, you got the small 6-pin. Well, he wasn't the brightest tool in the shed because there is no such thing as a big 6-pin. There are 6 pin's around the outside and a 7th used as the center pin. This is the new standard for RV's and what not. So, we ended up going to Canadian tire, using wire-taps to at least get the lights working. We didn't really need to use the brakes for an empty trailer.

Got home and are now getting the proper wiring harness and brakes sorted. It is a good thing I took the trailer in with the vehicle as the brakes didn't appear to work on the trailer. So, now we got to fix that....

Joys of horse-trailer ownership.

Paul