On our motorhome (Ford F53 chassis) and my Ford truck it was less than a 10 minute job to install the controller. They were both prewired so it was a simple matter of finding a good location, installing the bracket and plugging it in. We use a Tekonsha Prodigy controller. The newer P2 version sells for about $150.00. We bought our Roadmaster dolly from Camping World. We waited for a sale and picked it up at the store to save shipping costs. They will ship to a residential address, but I'm sure it's not cheap.
As for electric vs surge brakes, I've had several equipment trailers over the years with surge brakes. They are by no means manitenance free. If you dont flush the system every couple of years or so the master cylinder and brake cylinders will fill with a brake fluid/water mix eventually remdering the brakes useless.
I switched to trailers with electric brakes for (in my opinion) less maintenance and more dependability. We've had the tow dolly with electric brakes over 12 years and the newest equipment trailer over 7 years (it's probably a little over 15 years old) and neither has given us any problems. To each their own, but I will never own another trailer with surge brakes again if I can avoid it.
