I tow a 20' TT + 16' utility trailer. The TT has brakes all wheel controled by a Tekonsha Voyager. 16' utility trailer has two axles with brakes on all wheel (electric) but not wired yet. The question is will the one Voyager control both sets of trailer brakes or is there something here I need to know about controlling each trailers brakes independantly. I was thinking possibly installing another Voyager for the second trailer. This would allow independant control but the issue I see is the connector under dash of my 2006 2500HD Duramax/Allison. There is only one connector for one brake controller. Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
It appears that you are talking about pulling both trailers at the same time, the utility behind the TT. Is that legal in your state. I know that some states permit double trailers if the front one is a fifth wheel, but not both bumper hitches. If it is legal, I would recommend 2 controllers because the brakes on each trailer would react differently due to weight being carried. If it was me, I'd want the rear tailer to brake before the front trailer.
I would also want the rear trailer to brake a slight bit harder to keep both trailers straight in a panic brake situation
I am reading different state laws pretaining to the law for 3 vehicle combination and they vary. Some require CDL which I have but most cases the 60' length rule and 26000 total weight for Recreational 3 vehicle combination (3V) is given a free pass if lights and braking requirements are met, but each state is different. The 5th wheel hitch is given certain rights over tow-behind. Passengers are allowed in 5th wheels where communication with the driver and passengers is available from both vehicles and the 5th wheel must have emergency break-away braking system. If someone has a more definitive answer or any information about their state laws I would appreciate the link . To answer the question "Is it legal? Yes in California and others but it is a very grey area and you really need a lot of reading under your belt before you would chose to do this type of towing! Necessity in my case. How would I connect the second Voyager? Need some help on this one.
You would have to set up the second Voyager like you would set it up in a vehicle that wasn't already wired for brakes; by running the wires yourself back to the bumper. Then I would think that you would run some 7 pin cable from the front of the TT to the back with a male end at the front just like the cable already on it, and with a female on the back like the one on your truck. Then you would plug the utility into the back of the TT and then plug both of the connectors from the TT into the truck. I think that's how I would handle it.
waytogo I can work with that. Thanks. Anyone know of a good online warehouse where I can buy a 25' 7 pin pigtail with male/female ends already wired? Also recommendations for online purchase of a Tekonsha Voyager?
I 've gotten my EBC's from southwestwheel.com seem to have the best prices. Also, don't enter NY with that setup. You won't get far! Tandem's are heavily restricted.
I wouldn't do a second brake controller. That would make it difficult to manually apply the trailer brakes in an emergency (too hard to grab both). When I moved from Maryland to Denver a few years ago, I towed my 23' Travel Trailer with my truck, and then my 16' tandem axle flatbed (empty) behind it. My brake controller was already good for 2-8 braking axles (most are I think). I trapped into the TT light harness for the lights, and the brake wire, and mounted a plug on the rear bumper of the TT. I knew that the empty flatbed would lock the brakes easily with the brake controller set for the TT brakes (all the way up, trailer was quite loaded), so I bought one of the old school typed of slide adjusters for brake controllers (some of you might remember the old hydraulic actuated brake controllers before the days of modern electronics), mounted it to the tongue of the flatbed, and adjusted it to prevent the brakes from locking. That way I had the proper amount of braking on each trailer. The whole rig handled great, and if I ever had a bit of sway, I tapped the brake controller, and both trailers straightened right out. BTW, I rhink you will be fine with both trailers anywhere in the west, but not so much back east. NY mentioned above, and I barely made it out of PA (found a cool trooper 5 miles from OH that did more laughing then ticket writing).
