Trailer brake controllers
Tekonsha Primus IQ Proportional Brake Controller, 1 to 3 axles: published ratings and specifications
The controller the rest of this category gets compared to, and the one a dozen listings on Amazon describe themselves as replacing. Proportional, self levelling so mounting angle does not matter much, and a boost setting for a heavy trailer.
This page carries only what Tekonsha publishes for this part. Where a figure is not published we leave it out rather than estimating it, because a reader comparing two pieces of towing hardware on a table cannot tell a published rating from a guess and should never have to.
What does Tekonsha publish for the Tekonsha Primus IQ Proportional Brake Controller, 1 to 3 axles?
Tekonsha publishes 3 figures for the Tekonsha Primus IQ Proportional Brake Controller, 1 to 3 axles, including a controller type of Proportional.
Published standard A published, traceable figure: a standards body, a federal regulation or a manufacturer specification states it.
| Specification | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Controller type | Proportional |
| Trailer axles supported | 1 to 3 |
| Boost settings | Yes |
Taken from the manufacturer listing. Anything the maker does not publish is absent here rather than estimated.
What the manufacturer says about it
- PROPORTIONAL ELECTRIC BRAKE CONTROLLER: Provides automatic braking based on the intensity and rate at which you apply your tow vehicle's brakes, giving you smooth braking thanks to an internal inertia sensor. This makes the Primus IQ brake controller ideal for general and heavy-duty emergency braking.
- EASILY INSTALL AND STOW, THANKS TO PLUG & PLAY: The Primus IQ trailer brake controller has a snap-in dash mounting clip, Plug & Play port for two plug adapters, and removeable electrical connector so the unit can be easily unplugged, unclipped, and stored.
- EASY-TO-READ LED DISPLAY: Digital LED display shows settings, real-time diagnostics, and alerts.
- BOOST FEATURE PROVIDES EXTRA BRAKING POWER: Boost provides up to three levels of additional stopping power at the touch of a button, giving you confidence in stopping safely when you're hauling heavier loads and/or need more power to stop.
- VERSATILE: The Primus IQ electric brake controller is compatible with a wide range of vehicles including Ford, GM, Chevy, Dodge, RAM, Toyota, Jeep, and more with 2, 4, or 6
Quoted from the manufacturer's own listing and kept as a citable source rather than paraphrased into a specification we could not attribute.
How it compares on published ratings
The nearest alternatives in the same category, compared on the same figures. A blank cell is a figure that maker does not publish.
| Published rating | Tekonsha Primus IQ Proportional Brake Controller, 1 to 3 axles | REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty Electric Trailer Brake Controller, 1 to 2 axles | Tekonsha Prodigy iD Brake Controller, 1 to 4 axles | CURT Venturer Next Electric Trailer Brake Controller, time delay, 1 to 3 axles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $157.99 | $190.00 | $229.99 | $76.11 |
| Controller type | Proportional | Proportional | Proportional | Time delay |
| Trailer axles supported | 1 to 3 | 1 to 2 | 1 to 4 | 1 to 3 |
| Display | not published | not published | Smartphone configured | not published |
| Boost settings | Yes | not published | not published | not published |
| Mounting | not published | Remote head, hidden module | not published | not published |
Every figure here is the manufacturer's own published rating. A blank is a figure the maker does not publish, and we leave it blank rather than estimating it. The rating stamped on the part you actually receive is what governs.
Before you rely on any of these numbers
A published rating is the maximum the maker will stand behind for that part in isolation. The assembled hitch is limited by its lowest rated component, so a receiver, a shank, a ball mount, a ball and a pin each carry their own figure and the smallest of them is your real limit.
And none of them raises anything on your vehicle. Your payload, GVWR, GCWR and axle ratings come off your own door jamb sticker and owner manual, and no part on this page changes a single one of them.
Frequently asked questions
What are the published ratings for the Tekonsha Primus IQ Proportional Brake Controller, 1 to 3 axles?
Tekonsha publishes controller type of Proportional, trailer axles supported of 1 to 3, boost settings of Yes. Every figure on this page comes from the manufacturer's own listing. The rating stamped or labelled on the part you actually receive is the one that governs.
Is the Tekonsha Primus IQ Proportional Brake Controller, 1 to 3 axles rating the same as what my vehicle can handle?
No. A part rating and a vehicle rating are completely separate things. This part will carry what its maker says it will carry, and your vehicle will carry what the sticker in your door jamb says. The lower of the two governs, and on most vehicles it is the vehicle. Work your payload sum before you choose hardware.
What limits an assembled hitch?
Whichever component is lowest rated. The receiver, the shank, the ball mount, the ball and the hitch pin each carry an individual rating, and the assembly is limited by the smallest of them. A class V receiver fitted with a 5,000 lb ball mount is a 5,000 lb hitch, not a 17,000 lb one, and the same logic applies to every part in the chain.
Why are some specification cells blank on the comparison?
Because that manufacturer does not publish that figure. We leave it blank rather than estimating it, inferring it from a similar model, or copying it from a retailer listing that may have invented it. On a site about load ratings, a plausible looking number in a specification table is more dangerous than an honest gap.
Where do these figures come from?
From Tekonsha's own product listing, pulled programmatically rather than retyped, which is how the price and image on this page stay current too. We do not test towing hardware in person and we never claim to. Nothing here is a measurement we took, and everything here is a figure the maker published.
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Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published standards, manufacturer towing guides and product specifications, and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Figures described as a rule of thumb are towing convention rather than published standards, and they are labelled that way wherever they appear. Nothing here overrides your own ratings. Work your payload sum before your tow rating, because payload is the limit that actually binds on most half ton trucks and nearly every SUV. Load a conventional trailer to 10 to 15 percent tongue weight and a fifth wheel to 15 to 25 percent pin weight, and never lighter: a tail heavy trailer is what starts sway. Weigh the rig loaded rather than trusting a brochure dry weight. A weight distribution hitch and a set of air bags both restore ride height and control, and neither one raises a single rating. Trailer brakes are required by state law above a threshold that varies by state, and a breakaway battery that has quietly gone flat is the normal condition of most trailers on the road.