The optional factory installed
Ford Motor Company "TowCommand" integrated TBC (
Trailer Brake Controller) system is only available and compatible on the extra-heavy duty commercial
Ford Super Duty line of trucks starting with the 2005 models. It is built and engineered jointly with Tekonsha who is famous for their Prodigy TBC. With adjustable +/- trailer braking gain in a digital readout from 0.0 (no trailer brakes) to 10.0 (full trailer braking) in 0.5 increments and a manual override lever (to test trailer braking action), the Ford 'built into the dash' TBC provides smooth braking even when pulling up to a 15,000 lb 4-axle conventional (receiver mounted) or 26,000 lb 4-axle 5th Wheel (bed/frame mounted) trailer. TowCommand being different from most aftermarket TBCs, ties into the trucks' computer and hydraulics, so it senses truck brake pressure and can apply trailer brakes as fast as the truck's brakes. Master Brake Systems 'BrakeSmart' TBC is the only other TBC that taps into the trucks hydraulic lines in modern trucks.
The TowCommand TBC is basically made of three major components; the in-dash TBC module, a special TowCommand master cylinder with a brake pressure transducer, and an activated PCM (
Powertrain Control Module) parameter by a Ford dealer's NGS or WDS programming method. All 2005 and newer
Ford Super Duty trucks are already pre-wired for the TBC from the factory, no matter if the TBC option was ordered and installed at the time of the trucks assembly or not.