Wireless Brake Controller

Snorebaby

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Taking it easy now...

Echo Mobile Trailer Brake Controller #51180 by Curt

Street price is $229
Let's see if the Chief Cash Flow Officer approves when she's in a good mood.
That is the one I am going with when my CFO approves funding. Until Ford has a "factory TBC" it will do just fine. Plus I can let our daughter use it if needed for her 2017 Tacoma. It will fit under the back seat just fine when not in use! I have a 6x12 enclosed dual axle trailer and need the controller if I were to use the Ranger. Right now the wife's F-150 pulls it with a Ford TBC.
 

DannyL

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Rone28

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I purchased one but don't seem to be getting consistent power to the brakes. I could not pair the controller until the trailer was attached. Turn signals etc seems to work. Plan to take it into the dealer to get it checked out.

Very interested to see if you have any issues. Love the idea of a wireless no install controller. But want to make it it works.
 


Rone28

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I purchased one but don't seem to be getting consistent power to the brakes. I could not pair the controller until the trailer was attached. Turn signals etc seems to work. Plan to take it into the dealer to get it checked out.

Very interested to see if you have any issues. Love the idea of a wireless no install controller. But want to make it it works.
OK I took my truck in to get it checked to see why I was not getting the brake signal to the controller. They said everything was fine so I decided to try this again. I could not get it to work properly. The closest I got was when I turned off the truck, then it sent the signal to the app and brakes. Will probably take it back and go with the RedArc unless I hear back from Curt with a solution. The dealership is very interested to see how it goes. They decided to carry the Echo since the Ranger does not have an OEM option.

I was the first one to try it.
 

DannyL

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OK I took my truck in to get it checked to see why I was not getting the brake signal to the controller. They said everything was fine so I decided to try this again. I could not get it to work properly. The closest I got was when I turned off the truck, then it sent the signal to the app and brakes. Will probably take it back and go with the RedArc unless I hear back from Curt with a solution. The dealership is very interested to see how it goes. They decided to carry the Echo since the Ranger does not have an OEM option.

I was the first one to try it.

OK Thank you for the update.
This is a little troubling. I sure you can figure out how to make it work.

Anybody else try this unit? How did it work?
 

Floyd

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Get a Hopkins Insight and wire it in, its simple to do and you will LOVE it.
(and save a bunch of money in the bargain)
 

t4thfavor

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Teknosha Prodigy P3. I am an amateur radio operator, and as such I cringe anytime I hear about someone using RF to control something as critical as brakes... The spectrum is painfully crammed full of noise from cheap electronics, rogue transmitters, and spurious signals from "Part 15" devices, I would barely trust it to open my garage door anymore...

The wiring is easy to do, especially if you have the factory tow hitch option.
 

Deleted member 1634

We currently have an Autowbrake wireless controller on our trailer. Got it before we got the Ranger for the express purpose of being able to switch vehicles and not have to worry about anything. It's wired right into the trailer harness, so ANYONE who hooks up to our trailer automatically has trailer brakes that work. The controller is programmed by you beforehand, so you don't even need any wireless connection at all to inside the cab (expect for the emergency sway control keyfob that comes with it per regulations). But the keyfob could get lost or left behind and the brakes would still work. It's worked really well for us and is great for people with a single trailer and multiple towing vehicles.

https://getautowbrake.com/
 

t4thfavor

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We currently have an Autowbrake wireless controller on our trailer. Got it before we got the Ranger for the express purpose of being able to switch vehicles and not have to worry about anything. It's wired right into the trailer harness, so ANYONE who hooks up to our trailer automatically has trailer brakes that work. The controller is programmed by you beforehand, so you don't even need any wireless connection at all to inside the cab (expect for the emergency sway control keyfob that comes with it per regulations). But the keyfob could get lost or left behind and the brakes would still work. It's worked really well for us and is great for people with a single trailer and multiple towing vehicles.

https://getautowbrake.com/

The only thing that scares me about this one is the FOB, I'd just make sure that the FOB works before setting out on my trip. And I'd keep some extra batteries in the trailer.

Nice solution if you only have a single trailer with brakes, or don't plan to borrow/rent one at any point.

Here's the link talking about how it works. Apparently they patented the brake controller not coupled in any way to the tow vehicle's brakes.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US9604613B2/en?oq=9604613
 

VAMike

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Teknosha Prodigy P3. I am an amateur radio operator, and as such I cringe anytime I hear about someone using RF to control something as critical as brakes... The spectrum is painfully crammed full of noise from cheap electronics, rogue transmitters, and spurious signals from "Part 15" devices, I would barely trust it to open my garage door anymore...

The wiring is easy to do, especially if you have the factory tow hitch option.
The brakes aren't being controlled wirelessly, the controller is being configured wirelessly. In operation the brake signal activates the brake, just as it would if it were wired under the dash. The only possible concern is whether the brake signal they're using might flash rather than stay on if AEB activates.
 

Floyd

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Teknosha Prodigy P3. I am an amateur radio operator, and as such I cringe anytime I hear about someone using RF to control something as critical as brakes... The spectrum is painfully crammed full of noise from cheap electronics, rogue transmitters, and spurious signals from "Part 15" devices, I would barely trust it to open my garage door anymore...

The wiring is easy to do, especially if you have the factory tow hitch option.
I like the P3 as well, in fact I have one on my shelf, because I was not happy with my location options.

The Insight works at least equally well and is amazingly versatile for installation locations being three pieces with the main unit placed out of sight,
Plus I found a brand new one on E-Bay for only $58 including shipping.(list is something like $199)

The echo echo echo echo echo does require additional wiring connection to power the trailer brakes.


 
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t4thfavor

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The brakes aren't being controlled wirelessly, the controller is being configured wirelessly. In operation the brake signal activates the brake, just as it would if it were wired under the dash. The only possible concern is whether the brake signal they're using might flash rather than stay on if AEB activates.
The emergency braking option is wireless, but other than that, I understand the difference. I'd still rather have one wired into the dash utilizing the BOO wire (violet) as was intended by the Ranger Gods :)

Thanks for clearing that up for me, I still want a hard wired emergency braking option.

I like the P3 as well, in fact I have one on my shelf, because I was not happy with my location options.

The Insight works at least equally well and is amazingly versatile for installation locations being three pieces with the main unit placed out of sight,
Plus I found a brand new one on E-Bay for only $58 including shipping.(list is something like $199)

The echo echo echo echo echo does require additional wiring connection to power the trailer brakes.
I paid 60$ for my P3 as I got it on super sale for some reason. It came unopened in brand new packaging, so it could have been a return, but wasn't opened, or missing any parts.
 

VAMike

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Thanks for clearing that up for me, I still want a hard wired emergency braking option.
I wouldn't consider that "emergency braking" on any brake controller, more "manual supplemental braking" for things like trailer sway. If there's really something that makes the trailer lose the brake signal, the odds that taking a hand off the wheel to fumble with the brake controller interface (in whatever form that takes) will help matters are vanishingly small, and the odds that the fact that it's wireless will matter at that exact moment are even smaller. I mean, if someone wants to hard wire a controller, that's cool--I just don't see any issues with going the wireless route if someone wants to do that instead. (And some real advantages, e.g., if they want to use the thing on multiple vehicles or rent one to go with a rental trailer.)
Sponsored

 
 



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