RAM432
Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2020
- Posts
- 30
- Reaction score
- 35
- Location
- Kentucky
- Ram Year
- 2021
- Engine
- 5.7L V8 HEMI VVT
My new Ram 1500 did not have the brake controller option so I'd like to add it to ensure I can use brakes on any future TT I buy. I'm lucky enough to have a locally owned truck/trailer/rv shop just a mile down the road from me so I thought it best to start there. They've quoted a mere $220 for a brake controller and having installed/wired into the current 7-way, which seems extremely reasonable to me.
However, I happened across the official Mopar part 82215278AE which is a bit more expensive, but obviously is OEM parts and integrates with the truck, so worth it to me. Plus the install instructions look completely doable. Then I started to see where this part might be cheaper and ran across a couple of ebay auctions that have what they claim is the same OEM part but for a third of the price. Here's where I was given pause...one of the auctions said that programming will be required for it to work.
So my questions are plentiful:
However, I happened across the official Mopar part 82215278AE which is a bit more expensive, but obviously is OEM parts and integrates with the truck, so worth it to me. Plus the install instructions look completely doable. Then I started to see where this part might be cheaper and ran across a couple of ebay auctions that have what they claim is the same OEM part but for a third of the price. Here's where I was given pause...one of the auctions said that programming will be required for it to work.
So my questions are plentiful:
- For the ebay auction, would programming be needed by a dealer to get it work and is this just a sign that it's not an actual OEM part?
- If I bought the official OEM part, will programming be required? It mentions it nowhere on the store page that I've seen.
- If I were to go the route of a third-party brake controller, will those integrate just fine with the truck brakes or is there more to it than I'm thinking?