Brake Controller Part Unavailable Indefinitely

BackToTheFuture said:

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to the forum and joined to see if anyone else is in the same situation as me, or if anyone has a solution for the issue I'm facing.

I purchased my Lightning a little over a month ago with standard tow hitch/package. I did not custom order the truck, and was lucky to get it for the price I ended up paying, so I went for it. I love the truck, but I did not realize that it would be such an issue to add a brake controller to tow my trailer. The tow capacity specs are great, but I don't know why they would make a truck capable of towing 7k+ lbs, but not include a brake controller stock. I guess they assume that people will buy the controller as an add-on if they decide they want to tow. One problem: the brake controller is unavailable and Ford service and part departments have no clue about tow package options for the Lightning or how to install them.

I have reached out to numerous parts and service departments at a variety of Ford dealerships across the country, as well as larger part distributors, with no luck. The brake controller part appears on the Levittownfordparts.com website, but I called them only to get the same answer: it is unavailable and there is no estimated timeframe for when it will become available.

I sold my previous tow vehicle to purchase my Lightning, and now I can't pull my trailer for the foreseeable future as I need to have a brake controller installed to do so. I know there is a ton of differing thoughts and opinions around towing trailers with the Lightning, but I would love to give a weekend camping trip a shot with it!

Does anyone know if an after-market brake controller would work, or maybe a brake controller from an older F-150 model could be wired by a specialist? Or will I just need to wait until the part is available - if ever. I'd prefer not to install an after-market controller, or have a non-Ford shop work on the truck considering the technology and how new it is. From what I've gathered so far, even Ford service departments don't have any experience with this at all, and they have suggested going to a third-party shop for an after-market controller (pretty lame advice coming directly from the manufacturer of the vehicle).

In an ideal world, I would just upgrade to the Technology Tow Package, but that doesn't seem to be possible.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks y'all.

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