Is This The Future of Towing? Wireless Brake Controller Makes Hauling Heavy Painless and Safe! 

I work for a hire company in Australia and we fit a similar unit to all trailers over 2000kg as they require electric brakes. Just typed up a simplified version of the usage instructions and the remote lives on the trailer with the adapters best idea ever.

Do you still use it and like it?

Happy

Bro if you have a 2014 Silverado you should just have a normal brake controller that plugs into the factory tow package hard wired into the truck. Same with mine

2013 Silverado

Do you ever have issues with your Curt Echo? i want that one too and have a Tacoma TRD Off Road but saw some bad reviews. Some people say they're dangerous?

Lol you shouldn't be towing with a minivan

@@banana82728 Meh, it's a pop up camper and I added a trans cooler. Manufacturer says 3500 pounds and I'm way below that.

@@dshall442 wait how do you even monitor the trans temp. It has a gauge for that?

@@banana82728 Scangauge II can monitor trans temps.

@Clay S no problem at all. I went with a Derale 13503. Pain taking the front bumper cover off, and chewed up my forearm a bit getting the new hoses run, but all in all not bad. I say go for it.

And that's what you're supposed to do.

I agree with you concerning braking conditions and ice. I don't agree with you on "too much work". I'm not about to let some spider monkey mess around in my $100k SUV's electrical system. This solution is easy and guaranteed not to mess up the complicated electronics or ECU's in expensive vehicles.

@@christschool You must not have anyone repair it either.

@@christschool agree 100% for a 100k$ truck messing with wires is a crime 🤣

Agreed. Didn’t know that you couldn’t install the brake controller on my first truck until after I bought it…😅

Heck my 1998 Lincoln came prewired. Factory adapter cable to Curt Triflex screwed into bracket and done. 15-30 minutes maybe. $75 or something for the cable and controller.

Andra?

Trucks never had brake controllers installed for well decades, you wanted to tow you took your truck to a shop and had the receiver hitch and trailer brake controller installed, why do people seem to think that stuff should be installed at the factory? Many never tow a trailer so why put that stuff in a vehicle that may never see any real work? This is what automakers see...and if they all did add brake controllers buyers wouldn't want that model and would rip it out and replace it with what they want anyhow, just like stereo systems, tires, wheels, etc.

my 2018 Silverado 1500 LT Z71 came with brake package

You might want to check and see if that is a dealer installable option.

My 2018 Silverado 2500 WT had a built in brake controller, pretty handy and looked nice.

and they are correct

Won’t? Couldn’t.

It just doesn’t look right pulling that horse trailer

Pick up trucks and SUV's did NOT come with a factory brake controller back in the days. He did mention this was a 2008...

If your point is to hate on Toyota. Then you might want to say how some Tundra drivers have complained about their brake controller not working, new from factory. And how the small overlap crash protection on the Tundra will leave you in a wheelchair. Toyota has had the small overlap problem since 2014 and has done nothing to fix the problem! When Ford fixed their problem from one year to the next..... I drive a Tundra, but I'm on the side of truth! 👊

I did not want a big dash wart on my new vehicle.

Depending on vehicle and pre-wiring installed, this can be quicker and much easier to install.

Many of today's trucks are "Pre-wired" for brake controllers, a couple screws and a couple wire connections, plug in a pig-tail harness and away you go.

Curt manufacturing has one that plugs into the 7 pin in your truck and is all self contained, no need to install on the trailer so you can use on multiple vehicles AND multiple trailers. Controlled via app for Iphone and Android. Plug it into your 7 pin on the truck and plug the trailer into the unit. Pretty slick..

@@jamesm6327 I'm pretty sure you could install this on your truck instead of the trailer and have pretty much the same thing. Why one needs to connect their smart phone to their trailer brakes is baffling though.

@@killer2600 James M was introducing this thing, CURT 51180 Echo.

US towing regulations are different. Usually it is not because the vehicle is not capable, but rather it needs to have certain safety equipment by law. I am not sure what the towing speed in Australia and Europe are. Here in the US, people will tow at crazy speed on the highway (>>55 mph towing speed). This is where having proper towing equipment (sway control, weight distribution hitch, trailer brakes, etc...) will save your ass.

No need, the uhaul trailers have "surge brakes" built in, no electric brakes installed to control

If you do not mind a big dash wart on your vehicle.

7 pin controls everything.

Sergiu Puscasu depends if you measure in Imperial gallons or those silly US gallons ! in real gallons its 27.37 and 18.45.

thats ok because we have gas stations every ten feet and most americans stop in the local gas stop for coffee and doughnuts before work or if your like me, beer on the way home and our local gas stops have the cheapest, coldest beer

Lol that's sad. This super expensive SUV and yet my cheap pickup has a 34 gallon.

@@CrimeVid I'm using US gallons. I would use liters, but most Americans don't know what they are, so I'll use gallons.

@@philtripe it's not about how many gas stations you have, it's about how often you stop at a gas station to fill up. With the Land Cruiser, you will stop very often, as the 5.7L engine is just as efficient as a full-size pickup truck from the 80s. At least here in Europe, there's a 4.5L diesel that gets 22mpg city and 26 highway. How about that?

Yeah, that's how my nice rc car broke, went out of range and then ran into a curb at full speed lol :(

Wireless makes me cringe. Imagine pulling passes in Colorado then no brakes. Not worth the risk. Get a truck with brake controller to tow.

The first thing that came to mind is I would never put wireless in control of my safety. That's over-complicating a simple wired connection into many things that are needed for a paired connection including hundreds of electronic components on circuit boards, antennas, memory, firmware etc... Imagine that one time you really needed those trailer brakes and in that moment it losses communication and you crash.

It only uses the wireless signal to adjust the gain and send the override signal. For normal braking, the box mounted to the trailer uses the brake light wire to activate the brakes, just like a hardwired unit. It's basically just moving the brake controller from the cab of the truck to the trailer tongue, then adds in the wireless controller for adjustments and override from the cab. Now, granted, the emergency override is wireless, so there is a bit of risk there for the rare occasions when that's needed.

The controller works wether the remote is active or not.

Cigarette lighter just provides power. The trailer controller knows you pushed the brakes due to the brake lights signal.

I agree. This seems more ideal for someone who tows a specific trailer with multiple vehicles - not exactly the most common use case.

@@killer2600 hire companies mate best idea going for them.

Tundra 5.7 never came with a gear other than 4:30

The brake light pin in the trailer connector.

But the advantage is that you can tow your trailer with any vehicle that has a hitch and a 4 or 7 pin connector.

@@rik999 just leave the old four pin connector on your vehicle and add a seven pin or use an adapter. I dont need a cigarette lighter plug coming loose while towing snd causing brakes to fail. Cig lighters are notorious for loose connections over time with cell phone chargers etc

Wireless isn’t as reliable plus they had to install it anyway just like you would with the wired unit, then this guy says you have to pay a dealer much more to install the wired unit, lol. Talk about a paid endorsement. Then your vehicle can only pull one trailer for $250 plus labor

@@fredkuhn165 or you could bolt the trailer unit to a magnetic mount, so it's easily transferable.

@@fredkuhn165 then if you have multiple trucks, you only have to buy one system instead of one for each truck.

If your vehicle is prewired yes, but just because it doesnt come with a tow package doesnt automatically mean it's not built to tow enough. My Tacoma wasnt prewired, yet is rated to tow 3500lbs. Anything in my mind over 2k needs a brake controller which even small CUV's like some Subarus can tow.

@@ALMX5DP it depends. I agree that if your towing that much weight, brakes are a good idea. However depending on where u live, you wouldn't need it for 3500lb. Here in Ontario for example it's only required for over 3500lbs or 2 or more axles. So your truck could tow a single axle trailer that weighs less than 3500 with just the truck brakes and no trailer brakes. My wives van is the same. Now most full size trucks obviously are set to tow more (even without the tow package/pre wiring harness) but it's still limited to an avg of 5000lb. Tho the trailer still needs to have brakes at that point( most boat trailers have surge brakes for example) tho personally I think it should be law that any and all vehicles "rated" above 3000lb-3500lb towing should have to have a factory brake controller as standard equipment or not have the tow rating. I could have got the factory integrated controller for $300ish.... but the only trucks the dealer had with that had other crap I didn't want to pay for. So I opted to buy mine without and installed an aftermarket for $100 and I'm go to go.

@@craigquann laws vary, so my 2k weight limit statement was just from my personal experience. However I disagree that a rating should be based on the inclusion of a brake controller or not. Many areas have laws for "unsafe loads" which I feel encompasses that aspect without specifying the need for specific equipment. I think most vehicles that can tow upwards of 3500lbs have a harness enabling an owner like you or me to add a controller if needed so I would be a shame if my truck wasnt rated for the weight just because it didnt have something from the factory due to cost or whatever.

@@ALMX5DP no. They wouldn't have the wiring for a brake controller/7 pin because it not legal required. Hence my point once you cross that threshold trailers either require surge brakes or require a 7 pin setup. Again my wives van is rated for 3500lb. And only has the basic 4 pin towing harness and no option for a brake controller without me adding a complete 7 pin harness. My truck has a factory towing package ( 4 and 7 pin, hitch receiver and locking rear and gearing. The built in controller was an option from factory but not on mine. Tho my truck itself has the 7 pin harness built into the chassis. I only had to buy the brake controller which came with a cord that plugs into the truck factory wiring with no mods or splicing. I drilled 2 holes for the mounting bracket. But by law even tho my truck is rated for 10000lb (max you can tow without a commercial license and cvor) I cant legally tow more than 3500lb without the trailer having it's own braking system be it surge or electric. So that's why I'm saying anything above that should be required by law. Hell they have daytime lights and back up cameras by law now on new vehicles ( backup cameras as of 2018+) it only makes sense to have brake controller be mandatory from factory to get the tow rating. Cuz believe me, we both know theres plenty of stupid fuckers out there that would hook up to a trailer, plug the cord in to the 7 pin. And because the lights work and the truck says x-lbs towing, think the truck can roll off with a trailer and not have a controller.

Craig Quann that just adds cost for the end user though, and if they don’t tow enough to warrant it then it’s money they’re spending on nothing. Like your minivan my Tacoma didn’t come wired with anything so I had to add my own 7-pin to P3 controller. It’s just like many ratings are based on weight distribution or fifth wheel components, however I think it should be the owner’s responsibility to ensure they are safely towing not on the manufacturer to cover their bases. I see a lot of utility trailers where I am that don’t have brakes yet are rated to haul upward of 5k loads. Same principle for someone to tow that with a vehicle with a controller yet no brakes thinking their okay, and I’d hate to have mandatory laws saying it’s necessary for that since not all people need it.

It senses your brake lights. From there, in the box mounted to the side of the trailer, is an inertia sensor. I've been using this exact set up for a few years now on my camper trailer. Modern tow vehicles that don't have a controller built in, there is very little room to mount a controller in a convenient spot (especially so that you can get to the manual override quickly and safely) It's great if you are using multiple tow vehicles on one trailer. There is an issue with pairing on some vehicle that have LED brake lights. There is not enough voltage for the box to sense when the driver hits the brake pedal. The VW Touareg is one such vehicle. The solution is to use another vehicle with a 7 pin to do the inital pairing. Once it's paired it will work with any tow vehicle. Including the VW Touareg Andre mentioned this doesn't work with if you already have a controller in the tow vehicle. This is incorrect. The box mounted on the side of the trailer will sense if there is a controler in the tow vehicle and if there is, it will bypass and you will use the tow vehicles controller. I've done this many times.

It appears to be plugged in to the electrical system where the manufacturer left a connector for a regular brake controller.

@@glenm2229 Nope. Not at all.

One pin in all 7 pin adapters is for power and is supposed to be rated for at least 20 amps.

@@Webcrawler45 I am helping a friend install on a Toyota he bought. The controller came with the controller and no instructions. When the Toyota has no plug, I have it wired but I don't know where to get the power to the plug in from the vehicle to operate it. Any ideas? I ran a wire from the battery to power the unit, but how does the power come from the brakes

Intellihitch is another solution we use for controlling trailer brakes.

Its "paired" just be matching RF frequency, not through bluetooth. So if something interfered, once that interference went away, the frequency would still be paired. Also, the "brain" is on the tongue and detects both inertia and brake lights, so the brakes will still work even if the remote got unplugged from power. The remote is only for setup, changing braking levels, and manual over-ride. I had the same unit on my work truck, and only ever had to use the remote going up hills, to turn off the "boost" feature, because my 4-way flashers would cause the brakes to pulse with boost enabled.

Using RF is not as reliable as hard wired connections. This system uses 3.2Ghz from what I understand which might be unlicensed spectrum, so that bandwidth not used for a lot of things yet in the world. However 3.2Ghz signal is used for things like radar systems and probably some other devices similar to this brake controller. All you'd need for a problem is a strong enough 3.2Ghz signal to add enough interference where your driving and you could have a communication problem. It would be really rare with not too many things operating on 3.2Ghz range, but who knows with new devices popping up all the time. Maybe years down the road more things using 3.2Ghz would be an issue noted by more people.

As he said, you don't need to run wires though your dash and vehicle. And it is wirelessly connected to the controller on the trailer.

its low voltage and the wiring SHOULD be heat shrinked/soldered. its usually fine good practice would be to un plug trailer before backing into the water and it should be fine. remember that even without electric brakes, the trailer has brake, turn and marker lights and they are fine

@@Black70Fastback Yes, all that and disconnecting the electrical before dipping the trailer is best practice. Not only to keep from shorting things out but also to keep incandescent bulbs and lenses from getting temperature shock.

@@killer2600 I learned that one the hard way. Of course the first time it happened I swapped out my lights for LEDs, so I never learned that trick.

Did you not listen to his cons about surge brakes?

Like that's a problem, people buying new vehicles haven't realized they're totally hackable, what company was that who hacked the Jeeps a few years ago and took control over the vehicle's acceleration, braking, etc.? That's real, and today's vehicles are extremely vulnerable to that stuff...the more and more electronic crap added to vehicles the more vulnerable to being hacked.

@@wildbill23c that was this one www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AdZ8nx6nRfA.html . Most of the time all this is not designed with security in mind. Do any of those companies think about the used car market when updates are not available anymore. Cars have a longer lifespan than cellphones

it is, the wireless is only for the remote. The brakes work with the last setting wether the wireless hand held device is plug in or not.

It does have inertia sensing.

@@ALMX5DP that's good to know!

It is inertia based that is why it has to be mounted level.

And why are you paying to install a controller if its pre wired. Plug and play.

or it just accidently happens because the person next to you is causing interference because they have the same piece of equipment installed.

Some people dont have the knowledge or capability to wire up a brake controller. This is a good solution for the recreational user.

Really? On my 08 Toyota Tundra, I pulled the brake controller out of my old truck, installed the pig-tail connector on the brake controller wires and installed 2 screws on the mounting bracket, plugged the pig-tail into the truck and it only took me 10 minutes. Today's vehicles are pre-wired in most cases for brake controllers....at least Toyota was smart enough to use the same wiring harness in their trucks regardless, so it was pre-wired for everything to tow, as well as add any accessories to turn a base model truck into a limited by just buying the accessory and plugging it in.