Community Forums

rory .miller · 03-27-2017, 07:40 AM

I have a 14 foot enclosed Hallmark trailer, to Haul our Razor. I can not see where my Monaco dynasty has been set up by the factory to have trailer brakes. you would think Monaco would have thought someone would want to haul a trailer any thoughts would be helpful

MSHappyCampers · 03-27-2017, 08:54 AM

I guess they think there's not enough folks out there hauling trailers to justify the extra cost on every coach.

vito.a · 03-27-2017, 06:10 PM

Monaco did start adding a trailer brake controller harness, but I think it was after 2002. Our 2007 model had the harness. Our 1997 did not. On the 1997, I had to run the brake wire from the cockpit all the way to the back of the coach. After wiring both coaches, I'm not sure the OEM brake harness was that much of an advantage. It took me weeks of looking to find the OEM trailer brake control harness on the 2007. Wiring the 97 was simple and straight forward, just had to spend 15 min routing a 10 gauge wire under the coach.

I recommend you use the Teknosha Prodigy brake control. I've had many brake controls over the years and this one is the best yet!

BigLar368 · 03-29-2017, 08:57 PM

We have a 2004 Camelot PBDD and it did not have a harness. I had to wire a relay of the brake light switch which is ground activated. Was not hard but wiring a 10 gauge wire front to back was a hassle. I bought a 50' roll and only had about 4' left over. First time we used it we towed my car on our 20' open car hauler along with the golf cart and tools. Total weight may have weighed between 6500 and 7000 pounds (just a guess). After towing I could not even tell if the brakes were helping...lol. It stopped the same as it did without the trailer. Oh well at least I know it's there and I did check them and they worked before I left.

rory .miller · 03-30-2017, 09:40 AM

Thank you I was thinking that you might not be able to tell the difference. our dynasty weigh's 40,000 pounds with out my wife and all her stuff LOL. and the trailer with the Razor weigh's about 3600 pounds I'm not sure if its worth it. ?????? thanks again

BigLar368 · 04-01-2017, 04:27 AM

Not sure what the laws are in your state but I would check just to be safe. With that being said we did tow our toad (2007 Honda Pilot) all the way to California last year and we did not have a brake system for it. It pretty much stopped the same with or without towing it. I am a very conservative driver though. We never got over 60 MPH the whole trip. Not on purpose anyways. I would also recommend the Teknosha Prodigy controller. It was not hard to wire in. Just running the wire to the back was difficult but nothing undoable. Either way best of luck to ya.

oldguy70 · 04-01-2017, 03:29 PM

I had to do all the wiring on my 98 Dynasty for pulling a trailer. Here in BC I don't need
breaks on my Toad but I do other places so I've order a SMI Air force one.

BigPapaYams · 04-02-2017, 10:00 PM

I'll submit a couple of answers to your questions:
1 - Monaco didn't know whether an owner would tow, what type of rig they'd tow and whether or not it would need trailer brake wiring. I agree with previous post that said they could have pre-wired it with very little added manufacturing cost and taken care of the "what if".

2 - Any added braking power is a GOOD THING. We flat-tow a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe that weighs about 3600 lbs. I don't notice the added weight while towing but having any added braking power to slow my almost 30,000 rig down is appreciated. There are too many STUPID people on the roads and since I plan to live a long a happy life, I want to have every advantage possible.
Since we too live in California, we opted for the SMI Air Force One system for our coach and toad. LOVE IT.