Purchase ?

Or he could buy a minivan and just rent a motorhome for the camping trips - forget about towing ;-)

Why do you Need 3 rows? I'm curious as you do know that putting a third row in the rear crumple zone is unsafe? As fasr as I know, a Econoline Van and the Surburban are the only vehicles that the third row is forward of the rear axle.

Another good thought. In my case, I sometimes rent vehicles when needed for limited purposes and my family enjoys having something different to try in those situations.

Another poster mentioned the need to have the proper towing gear and connections on a tow vehicle. I admit I don't know if the following is true, but it would seem to me it should be possible to rent a pickup or something that would already be configured for towing. The OP could take the minivan on the trips as a people hauler and rent a pickup truck (or some other tow vehicle) and take that also on the trips, when needed. I realize that having two vehicles on the trips might be slighly awkward, but it would only be an occasional thing. The above would be another way to avoid having to own and support a big tow vehicle (such as a big SUV) permanently, when he really only needs a big tow vehicle briefly and occasionally. The SUV fad seems to be continuing, but SUVs really make sense for only a very few people. For almost all people almost all of the time, SUVs are pricey overkill.

The brake controllers I've had were incorporated into the hydraulic brake line system. I installed them myself so I know how they operate. The controller transduces mechanical energy to electrical energy, proportional to brake pedal application, which causes the electric trailer brakes to apply with force proportionate to the tow vehicle's brakes. Actually, the controller should be adjusted so that the trailer brakes apply with slightly more force so that the rig does not jack-knive during hard stops.

With an ABS tow vehicle, the hydraulic pressure is pulsed during emergency stops. The trailer brake controller cannot properly compensate the conversion from pulsed mechanical energy to electrical energy. Since the arrival of ABS vehicles, many trailers are now equipped with surge brake controllers that are mounted on the tongue of the trailer. It is my understanding that the performance of surge brakes is only fair.

There very well may be, at this time, electronic brake controllers that are compatible with ABS vehicles. If there are, I am unaware of them.

Having used both electrical trailer brakes and surge trailer brakes, the surge brakes work much better in actual driving. The reason that electric brakes were more common was that they were cheaper in the first place and it was easier to implement break-away braking with just a dry cell battery and a switch.

George

Going back to 1988, the only brake controller I've ever seen any family vehicle equipped with was an electronic one that activated electric brakes on the trailer. They all worked as I described before...

Which left me bewildered. You stated:

"Nope, electric brakes are controlled by an electronic module mounted in the cab of the vehicle. This module is activated by the brake light switch. Some have progressive force, allowing a smooth application of the trailer brakes instead of a full-on, lock-'em-up application."

I do not comprehend how an On-or-Off switch can apply braking to the trailer that is proportional to the tow vehicle's braking.

This is the unit I've seen in operation most recently:

"Applies power to the trailer brakes in proportion to vehicle's deceleration"

"No level adjustment necessary - it adjusts itself to varying terrain as you drive."

"The only inertial control that works proportionally in reverse - great for backing into tough spots."

I'll admit, I don't know how it does it, but it does. I'll also admit that I am NOT the one doing the towing, this is for my father's camper, but I assisted in the install, he needed help plugging in the harness to adapt the controller to the truck, helped with calibration and have been on a couple short trips with him. E-mail Tekonsha, they'll be able to give more insight into the inner workings of their unit, they were VERY helpful to us when we needed a little wiring assistance, they may be helpful to you as well.

The site about my dad's (the link above) says it's inertial, but it can be mounted nearly vertical and it'll still work, plus it has a brake sense wire that attaches to the brake light wire on the brake switch.

The last paragraph turned on the ol' light bulb. Now it makes sense. Thanks.