Thank you.

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you Elliott. This was just an easier set up for me and I am really pleased with it. Again as I said I like less stuff inside my truck as this is not a sports car so having another gauge would just be added noise for me. Personal preference though.

...why did you return it? I am looking at the Echo right now.

@@georgeniles9712 mine had intermittent connection issues. From my understanding some do and some don't. The Redarc is truly the falcon 9000 of trailer break controllers.

@@n.elliott9122 Just installed the Redarc on my Grand Cherokee then stumbled upon this video. I was worried about the blutooth connection strength. This seems like a decent product for the occasional tow, but I wonder how it will hold up over time and in rain, etc. Glad I went with the Redarc just to be hardwired.

Awesome! Only thing that I forgot to mention is that you need to use the velcro to help ensure the echo does not ever fall out. That’s it. The reason I like the echo over the permanent installed units is that it’s so convenient and unless you install it yourself you will still pay $100-$150 installation fee at a shop.

@@YuriyMotso used it 1st time today. Instead of the velcro i used a 6 inch zip tie.

Thank you Keith!

It functions on the phones Bluetooth not the wireless signal.

Right on. Be blessed and safe on your journey!

@@YuriyMotso ok my verdict after using the curt echo brake controller. Picked up trailer in Orlando Florida towed trailer to Bullhead City Arizona. Worked perfect no issues. Worth every penny.

Thanks!

The loss of connectivity is not a thing to be concerned about. It has the last preset memory of the data stored so it will continue to operate at what ever setting you saved or chose last. I drove with it in snow and in rain across America about 3 times now. One time in summer and two times in winter. My dad was moving and used it. No issues.

Had mine for 5 years now. Works great.

You will need to have a vehicle that already has the 7pin or will need to install as the 4 pin only handle the brake lights on a trailer.

Wow quick response, thank you!

Your vehicle was NOT wired properly.....not a problem caused by the Echo. The instructions explain how the controller works and that it uses 12v. from the trailer plug. SMH

This is a you problem not a product problem.

So you could keep it at the 75% brake, it won’t lock up the wheels Because the sensitivity is not maxed. 75% is how much stopping power will be applied of the maximum available 100%. So it would probably be best to turn it down a bit if it’s dry but It never locked up on me.

@@YuriyMotso Thanks!

The brake lights activate when you press on your brakes. The button on the phone is just an additional function to allow you to control the trailer brakes manually if you needed to for some reason.

The brake controller remembers the last setting that is programmed. Usually an individual these days has their phone in a phone holder which is easily accessible. It would be no different than touching your vehicles head unit while driving to change channels or simply even the exact same distraction to change settings on brake controller. If needed It is easily adjusted on the fly if the phone is in the open. Let’s put it this way, if you mount everything up yourself there is some potential savings on a brake controller that is not Bluetooth. However if you have a shop do it then it will cost the same if not more in labor to install. On top of that, if you sell your vehicle or need it on a different vehicle you can no longer use the built in brake controller. Also in my towing experience you would really only add additional braking on a very significant grade hill. Your general driving settings for the weight you are towing should stay about the same the entire time towing. You can also have 5 preset brake settings if you needed to quickly change between a setting on the fly from the Home Screen. So just set them up before hand and then you can just press your desired setting and it will automatically adjust. So things to think about.

No issues during my trips. The unit saves to memory the last input that you make. If you don’t have your phone, it still uses whatever the last setup units were. Even if you lose service or disconnect, it’s still active. I think there is a misconception that this unit cannot be used without a phone which is not accurate. Atleast after set up has been initially completed. There is a basic setup out of the box and then you tailor it to your specifications and needs.

The 4 pin connector is not capable of supplying power to the electronic breaks unfortunately. It misses the critical 12v circuit. I am not sure that it would work for you even with an adapter like so amzn.to/2LI1f8B . I am not a 100 percent sure that it its possible to have successful power sent to the breaks. Maybe, but may have to be something that you would need to look into.

@@YuriyMotso Thanks for your help. I got a 4pin to 7 pin adapter. I had to route a wire from the 7 pin to the battery with a 30 amp fuse. E trailer walked me through the process. Very simple. I ordered the echo wireless brake controller. Thanks for your informative video.

@@angelcornejo5989 Nice. Thanks for the update on this! Been trying to figure out how this thing actually works. Sounds like it works off of the brake light circuit but uses power from the 7 pin.

Nice!

It remembers last set setting. It won’t automatically just shut off or clear the setting if that is what you are worried about.

Not a dumb question. They operate with the truck brakes and are able to work independently.

@@YuriyMotso thanks for the reply!

Mine grabs at a lower number, I have read that you have to turn off the traction control on toyotas, not sure yet if that is accurate since I haven't tried it yet.

Yes. It’s like having a Bluetooth watch. It will Still work with the vehicles bluetooth.

What sensitivity did you have it set too? It may not be engaging fast enough for you? Also is it a new trailer? Could be that it needs to break in. Third do you have the right ball for the hitch? If it’s not correct it can move around inside giving that bumping feeling your talking about or if not the ball maybe you are not level with the truck? Quite a few variables but I would recommend around the 75 percent as you said you had it set up and at least 7 on sensitivity. Also if you are breaking hard and suddenly frequently it could happen but honestly driving 3000 miles after dialing it in for my truck I never had the trailer bump into my truck. It worked perfectly. Please keep me posted. Let me know if you get it resolved and what you did. Thanks!

I would also recommend that you lift the trailer off the ground and test that for sure the brakes are engaging.

There are 5 presets you can create just for this purpose.

Not sure I understand fully. Are you saying the trailer brakes are engaged immediately even before you apply breaks. Just stationary? Or they grab Have you lifted the trailer up off the ground and made sure that the breaks are in fact engaged? I would recommend first lifting the trailer up to make sure that in fact it is or isn’t engaged without the controller plugged in maybe the wheels and drum breaks need adjusting. Then next move to plugging in the controller spin it again without breaks applied and then apply the breaks from the vehicle and see what happens.

@@YuriyMotso Well, unfortunately the car is loaded inside the trailer, and it took us all weekend to get that done. It's a monstrous trailer, not something we can easily just lift up to check the brakes. We're new at this. It's a brand new trailer, and when we drove it home empty from the dealer it worked fine just attached to the truck. It seemed like the plug in brakes were the problem. When we use the manual override on the app, the brakes stop grabbing until the next time we apply them, then they seem to stick again.

A couple things. It’s a brand new trailer and when you drove it home you were not using the brake controller correct? If so then the trailer wouldn’t have engaged the electronic brakes. I wonder if the electronic brakes need to be “broken” in. You said that it worked fine driving it home and then after you loaded the trailer now your having issues. Not likely that issues would be caused from this though. When I first took the brake controller out for a test drive the brakes got hot and started to smell which I believe is because they were not used before me. I drove it around up and down some hills and then everything started to work fine after a few minutes of braking and testing.

You also don’t need to lift the whole trailer but just one side. It’s sounds like you have a Dually trailer since it’s for a car. I would try and get the wheels off the ground to see if you can replicate the issue without the load.

@@YuriyMotso Thanks for your very helpful advice. Yes, we had smoking brakes when we drove the trailer empty after installing the app. Didn’t realize that might be a normal part of breaking it in. And we’ll try doing the one side lift as you suggested. This is a great forum for sharing ideas! We’ll check back in after the trip. We’re towing a 1970 Jaguar XKE to be refurbished. The makeover is probably going to take a year🙄

No. Once you set it it’s programmed and it remembers the previous preset even if disconnected.

This is it. It’s the most simplistic and convenient design available.

Interesting question, the logical answer would be no change to charging since the power goes through and powers all features on the trailer. It’s not like you are limiting any of the outlet. So it should still pass through as intended.

I agree but does anyone know for sure? I read a review that said it did not. However that person may have had a different issue ie: battery issues etc. If anyone owns and uses this controller, Let us know. @@YuriyMotso

There is a rubber strap that you wrap around the mounting bracket or the flap to keep it in place. I was on the phone with curt a while ago and the rep uses this unit himself and he said his recommendation is for even better and safer connection is to use Velcro. I drove over 8000 miles with this brake controller doing multiple trips across the US and it’s held up great assuming you properly mount and secure it.

The rubber strap piece sucks. It has a little button fastener that you press the strap into to secure it in a certain spot (like a belt that you would wear) but the button fastener is held on so loosely that it falls out after driving a little. My friend and I both have the ECHO and we both lost ours within just a couple of trips. So now I just have the strap dangling, not even strapped around around the piece. Maybe I will try to rig something up like he said ^ with Velcro.

Same prob here. Waiting for a response

When I took my suv to my mechanic after a 3500k road trip when Curt wouldn’t work,I was told needed a 12v line to that brake plug. No where have I seen that mentioned so i’m interested in others’ comments.

@@margaretfarris2756 Get your tow vehicle wired correctly!!

There is a strap that you wrap around the controller to the outlet. I forgot to mention it.

@@YuriyMotso great. Thank you getting back to me on a Sunday. Have an awesome week.

Yes. The phone is only for setup. The controller saves whatever last preset was created into memory.

Sorry if the video was not fully clear. The phone has the ability to manually override and break for you, hence the big button we see in the app, plus it is used as I mentioned to help set up the trailer but I find it’s better to set up in real life test drive. The break controller works with the pedal. When you apply the breaks it sends the signal to the controller that is connected into the trailer break system and sends that information to the trailer brakes. The whole system is wireless to your phone so no need to wire up the unit other than just plug it into the trailer conduit. Hope that makes it more clear. Sorry about any confusions

@@YuriyMotso , the decelerometer is in the device. I saw that on another video. Your phone is basically only needed for the setup but they advised to keep it connected while towing but has the built it failsafe if your blue tooth stops working. Seems to be a safe device. The only negative is if someone steals it and gets the pin code of the cover. I'd write it down and remove off the unit. Why give the thief the code?

@@craigcontofalsky4387 Correct, I think I went over that in the video was well. It remembers whatever last setting you have programmed in its failsafe as you mentioned. I personally set it up and then closed the program and towing 3000 miles across the United States with 3800lb trailer never had one problem. Went down a really steep hill in Tennessee so I just quickly opened up the app and adjusted the sensitivity for the breaks and it started to work better.

@@craigcontofalsky4387 and not a bad idea about removing the pin. may consider that.

​@@YuriyMotso This is an interesting thread. I am trying to figure out how this could be used to stop a runaway trailer, or to prevent theft of a trailer. I wish you could set a "maximum downhill speed" so if you have your hands full - like when you said your truck started to feel like it was being pushed by the trailer - the device would ratchet up the trailer braking until you reset it. I'd be sad to find out a device that could have increased your trailer braking sat there waiting for it to be told what to do while you were getting scared and failing to think about opening your app and tapping at small buttons on the bottom of the app. I suppose you can hit the big red button but if I designed the app the +/- buttons would be bigger.

Fabricate for yourself a lockable box. 😁

Brake is only if you want to add additional breaking or brake the trailer and not the vehicle. The brakes when pressed initiate the trailer brakes too just like any other brake controller.

@@YuriyMotso Thank you for the info.

Have you checked the shoes on the trailer brakes? If improperly setup or using too much braking power input from controller/app, you may have worn through the shoes prematurely and the stalling/jarring feeling may be metal on metal. Obviously if you remove the device, no braking will occur on the trailer and it will be smooth the whole drive. Test this theory by installing another brake controller (difficult) or find another person/vehicle with an electric brake controller (easiest) and ask to pull your trailer around the block. If you get the same result with test vehicle, it’s the trailer brakes and need to be inspected/replaced. Hope that helps.

@@TheSpoolin77 it’s a brand new trailer so I highly doubht that is the case. My truck is only a year old too, I did get ahold of a support person at curt and learned this brake controller is SUPER particular about how it’s set up. I mean, you can do one step in the wrong order and it seems to make the whole braking experience pretty uncomfortable. the order in which you plug in the brake controller and sync the app and plug in the trailer electrical plug all has to be in the correct order 100%. My past two hauls have been without this weird jolting feeling. I posted a comment about this on Facebook and others had the same issue I had with braking being off. Fingers crossed it keeps working ok now I’ve been consistent in the set up steps.

Well I think if it was an emergency then I highly doubt reaching for a phone would be natural. More likely both hands would be on the wheel and feet would be through the floor. 😂 But what do you mean like in an emergency? What emergency would you need to manually press brakes that the regular pedal wouldn’t take care of? The brake controller works tandem with the trucks brakes, so both truck and trailer brakes activate when you press on the trucks brakes. I could only imagine that you would need to manually use the brake controller app if you were going down a steep hill in which case you probably would know ahead of time.

@@YuriyMotso Lets suppose you have a trailer sway, I don't think you would want to hit the brakes on the tow vehicle, I think you would want to manually apply the brakes to the trailer, isn't that the recommendation? I am asking these questions because I am considering this brake controller but I think fumbling with my phone when a situation arises where you need to apply the brakes manually appears to be a shortcoming of this controller.

I’m having the exact same issue. Did you get it figured out or does it still do that? I’m not impressed after towing just twice now with my travel trailer. Low speeds is a nightmare waiting for the brakes to slam on. I even turned my output to 10% and sensitivity to 2 and was still doing it.

@@heavyd3972 I did not! Spoke to them and they sent a new one but after 5 mins it also started doing the same thing. It’s a brand new travel trailer and I doubt that the brakes are bad. I’m going to send the trailer in for service and have them look at the brakes.

@@NickOnTheWater I ended up going with an OEM truck brake controller. Just couldn’t get it dialed in.

What’s the output percentage setting & sensitivity level on your profile? Thank you.

Yes

So I called customer support about that and they told me why that happens. Forgot exactly but I think it was because of the pairing process on the blue tooth. I would give them a call and they will help you straighten it out quick. Wish I could remember exactly what it was.

Sure but chances are pretty slim. If you are worried just unplug it when you park and then plug it back in when you leave. Easy Peasy. I never removed mine and have used it already tens of thousands of miles between my vehicles and my dad who brows it all the time. Never had it stolen and never took it off when parked even over night in a parking lot. I don't believe that's a good or strong argument not to buy one of these because removing it is so simple.

Wow that’s unfortunate. Sorry that you ran into this issue. Like everything out there you will always have a handful of issues with a mass produced product. I got it based off my neighbors experience and review. I was sold on the ease of use.

No. This is an over ride feature you can manually break if you need to.

Only to set it up. And if you are going through an area you know will be difficult you can control the braking outside of the vehicle brakes. It’s not terrible, it’s quite amazing actually. After set up, the controller remember your setting and stores it. So it becomes permanent until changed even if the phone is off.