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Old 02-18-2022, 12:22 PM   #1
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Name: Ellpea
Trailer: 1989 Lil Bigfoot
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Wireless brake controllers! Recommendations?

Several people on my XC60 group have recommended the Bluetooth unit from elecbrakes.com. The features are intriguing! This is apparently an Austrailian/ NZ system... are there any stateside recommendations?

It looks like there is an adapter that plugs into the socket... which notices (I guess?) when the TV brakes are applied, and then signals to the trailer brakes to get busy. I'm not sure if this adapter fits the 7 pin socket.

I was reading elsewhere that some Bluetooth units connect to your phone, which sounds fine... but I don't want to look for my phone when needing to slow the trailer down

Upshot: I would LOVE a wireless brake controller so I do not have to install a wired unit on the console of my new car. I would really like to have one that reacts to braking in the TV!

All discussion on this intriguing upgrade welcome!
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Old 02-18-2022, 12:47 PM   #2
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Name: You can't call me Al
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I have no experience with that controller, but it looks expensive (USD$680 with a remote and all the plugs) compared to the Tekonsha Prodigy RF one I use with my XC40 (USD$350)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YZ3JV8N...607-2-12297362

Why not go with the Prodigy or even the Autowbrake that Scamp uses?
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Old 02-18-2022, 12:55 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by AlanKilian View Post
I have no experience with that controller, but it looks expensive (USD$680 with a remote and all the plugs) compared to the Tekonsha Prodigy RF one I use with my XC40 (USD$350)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YZ3JV8N...607-2-12297362

Why not go with the Prodigy or even the Autowbrake that Scamp uses?
Why not? This wireless concept is a new one on me! Tell me more about your Tekonsha... (I will look it up also, but would like to know more about your experience)
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Old 02-18-2022, 01:06 PM   #4
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My experience has been awesome.

I just bolted it onto the trailer and plugged everything in.

Then I noticed I couldn't raise my hitch wheel jack so I bolted it on farther back. :-)

It's got a remote that plugs in to the 12 Volt auxiliary jack in the passenger compartment for when you are actually towing.
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Old 02-18-2022, 01:09 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by AlanKilian View Post
My experience has been awesome.

I just bolted it onto the trailer and plugged everything in.

Then I noticed I couldn't raise my hitch wheel jack so I bolted it on farther back. :-)

It's got a remote that plugs in to the 12 Volt auxiliary jack in the passenger compartment for when you are actually towing.
I see that it has the plug for the 7 pin socket. Does the trailer plug apply to the unit then?
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Old 02-18-2022, 01:14 PM   #6
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Yes, you just plug the trailer's 7-pin into the Tekonsha ans the Tekonsha's 7-pin into the vehicle and you're all set.

I pushed the trailer 7-pin all the way back inside the trailer body but you could leave it wrapped around something and then you could tow with a vehicle that does not have a brake controller like your XC60, OR you could plug the trailer tail directly in and tow with a vehicle that DOES have a built-in brake controller and you'd have brakes in both situations.
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Old 02-18-2022, 07:11 PM   #7
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Spent way too many years in computers (built my own in 1975) and high tech. Retired after 40 years in the field. I will NEVER trust my safety to anything wireless, particularly Bluetooth based. I'd do surge braking first.
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Old 02-19-2022, 08:36 AM   #8
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The curt echo get very good reviews. It is a bluetooth controller. The reason I did not go with it as you have to buy a separate button for those OH no moments. I went with the redarc tow pro elite. It only has a little button dial that shows, the rest is covered up by the dash.
https://www.amazon.com/CURT-51180-Co...s%2C117&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/Redarc-Tow-Pr...ps%2C98&sr=8-2
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Old 02-19-2022, 08:57 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by tractors1 View Post
Spent way too many years in computers (built my own in 1975) and high tech. Retired after 40 years in the field. I will NEVER trust my safety to anything wireless, particularly Bluetooth based. I'd do surge braking first.
The brake controller senses the acceleration of the trailer and does proportional braking based on that signal.

Bluetooth is used for setting parameters and the emergency-braking button in the cab.
So even if you lose the bluetooth button, you've still got much better braking than surge brakes.

Yes, if bluetooth fails, you won't have the button in the cab which is bad, but tapping the vehicle brakes will activate the trailer brakes. Not perfect, but WAY better than no brakes at all.

And the Tekonsha doesn't use Bluetooth, it uses some homebrew RF protocol, so who knows about that.

(Retired firmware/electrical/robotics/medical device engineer)
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Old 02-19-2022, 09:01 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by jeepers29 View Post
I went with the redarc tow pro elite. It only has a little button dial that shows, the rest is covered up by the dash.
I liked the Redarc also. It was my first choice in fact

But I couldn't find a Volvo XC40 wiring harness and I didn't want someone chopping into the under dash wiring to attempt to find the right wires.
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Old 02-20-2022, 05:39 AM   #11
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Autowbrake

The autowbrake system works well on my Scamp. I recommend it. It also disables itself when the trailer is being towed by a TV with a traditional brake controller.
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Old 02-20-2022, 11:00 AM   #12
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Here is a new thing I learned about trailer brakes.

I have been such a good citizen… hooking up my breakaway cable even when driving in the neighborhood to practice backing up.

BUT, the trailer battery is totally dead, can’t be charged, no good.

Haha, didn’t realize that trailer brakes are powered by the trailer battery.

Granted, I wouldn’t be going anywhere of any distance without replacing that battery, but I might have taken a short trip across town on the freeway in order to get to the civic auditorium parking lot, gloriously huge and also empty, to do some backing up shenanigans… yikes!

The Lil B is now happily ensconced at Northern Trailer and RV Supply in Redding, CA to get some replacements and fixin’s done. Seriously, if you are driving through and need something for your RV, or a repair… they are the people to see!
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Old 02-20-2022, 06:57 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by EllPea in CA View Post
Here is a new thing I learned about trailer brakes.

I have been such a good citizen… hooking up my breakaway cable even when driving in the neighborhood to practice backing up.

BUT, the trailer battery is totally dead, can’t be charged, no good.

Haha, didn’t realize that trailer brakes are powered by the trailer battery.

Granted, I wouldn’t be going anywhere of any distance without replacing that battery, but I might have taken a short trip across town on the freeway in order to get to the civic auditorium parking lot, gloriously huge and also empty, to do some backing up shenanigans… yikes!

The Lil B is now happily ensconced at Northern Trailer and RV Supply in Redding, CA to get some replacements and fixin’s done. Seriously, if you are driving through and need something for your RV, or a repair… they are the people to see!

During normal use with conventional trailer brake controller the trailer brakes are powered by power from the brake controller. Trailer brakes are powered from the trailer battery only if the trailer breaks away from the TV and the breakaway switch is pulled.
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Old 02-20-2022, 07:16 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by AlanKilian View Post
The brake controller senses the acceleration of the trailer and does proportional braking based on that signal.

Bluetooth is used for setting parameters and the emergency-braking button in the cab.
So even if you lose the bluetooth button, you've still got much better braking than surge brakes.

Yes, if bluetooth fails, you won't have the button in the cab which is bad, but tapping the vehicle brakes will activate the trailer brakes. Not perfect, but WAY better than no brakes at all.

And the Tekonsha doesn't use Bluetooth, it uses some homebrew RF protocol, so who knows about that.

(Retired firmware/electrical/robotics/medical device engineer)

Without researching it further, I don't see the advantage of having a "wireless" controller. The "under the dash" conventional controller senses the deceleration (negative acceleration) of the TV, which is pretty much the same as with the trailer (the two are hooked pretty solidly together), and controls the brakes accordingly. Enlighten me.
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Old 02-20-2022, 07:34 PM   #15
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Without researching it further, I don't see the advantage of having a "wireless" controller.
Research is important to me when I'm trying to understand new things. Without that, I come to incorrect conclusions based on my ignorance and I don't like doing that.

Several things were an advantage in my situation:
1) There are no adapters for the Volvo XC40 for any car-mounted brake controller I've found so someone would have to dig around trying to find the brake signal under the dash.
2) My dash is pretty and tight and I didn't want a box bolted somewhere I could knock my knee into.
3) A trailer-mounted brake controller allows anyone with or without a car-mounted brake controller to tow my Scamp and have brakes.
4) There was no need to run a high-current brake wire from the dash, cutting up carpet or trying to unbolt headliner panels all the way back to the trailer hitch, making sure not to disturb all the VERY expensive airbags along the path

Those were the advantages for me.
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Old 02-21-2022, 03:58 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by AlanKilian View Post
Research is important to me when I'm trying to understand new things. Without that, I come to incorrect conclusions based on my ignorance and I don't like doing that.

Several things were an advantage in my situation:
1) There are no adapters for the Volvo XC40 for any car-mounted brake controller I've found so someone would have to dig around trying to find the brake signal under the dash.
2) My dash is pretty and tight and I didn't want a box bolted somewhere I could knock my knee into.
3) A trailer-mounted brake controller allows anyone with or without a car-mounted brake controller to tow my Scamp and have brakes.
4) There was no need to run a high-current brake wire from the dash, cutting up carpet or trying to unbolt headliner panels all the way back to the trailer hitch, making sure not to disturb all the VERY expensive airbags along the path

Those were the advantages for me.

OK. Gotcha. Not being familiar with the Volvo didn't know those particular problems. My TVs have been factory set up for towing. Just "plug and play."
With respect to 3 and 4, where does the power for wireless controllers come from, the trailer battery(ies)?
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Old 02-21-2022, 04:01 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by wilyoung View Post
where does the power for wireless controllers come from, the trailer battery(ies)?
It comes from the tow vehicle through the auxiliary/charging 12 Volt line in the 7-pin trailer connector.
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Old 02-23-2022, 11:23 AM   #18
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Name: Don
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Curt Plug N Play

I got this from GM dealer when we bought a vehicle, about $200. Very easy to connect and if you opt for notifications on your smartphone app, you’ll know if it becomes disconnected. I like this feature as I have a conventional controller on my other vehicle and wasn’t aware that someone probably stepped over tongue while parked at a rest area and unplugged me, good safety feature as I wouldn’t have know my lights weren’t on as well. Sometimes new technology can have a good safety feature not even advertised as such.
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Old 02-23-2022, 11:37 AM   #19
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Name: Stuart
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Thumbs up Wireless Brake Controllers! Recommendations?

In reply...
First, I have only been trailering a little over a year. We first rented a trailer that we could tow with our Honda Pilot 6 cylinder w/AWD that had the trailering package installed at the dealership. The owner of the trailer taught me how to hitch/unhitch and handle the trailer. He suggested we purchase a Curt bluetooth brake controller that plugs right into the trailer's 7 pin plug and then into the 7 pin receptacle on our vehicle. He helped me set up the profile so that when the brakes were engaged, the car and trailer braked smoothly.
After that experience, we bought a used Casita. And I can all of you that it is a piece of cake to set up. The brake controller works off an APP on my phone and once it is activated at the start of the trip, it remains activated even if the bluetooth connection is lost.
We never had a problem.
As a relative Newbie, I am delighted and cannot imagine a more convenient and inexpensive solution. I bought the Curt at a U-Haul dealership for $200.
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Old 02-23-2022, 01:46 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by AlanKilian View Post
The brake controller senses the acceleration of the trailer and does proportional braking based on that signal.

Bluetooth is used for setting parameters and the emergency-braking button in the cab.
So even if you lose the bluetooth button, you've still got much better braking than surge brakes.

Yes, if bluetooth fails, you won't have the button in the cab which is bad, but tapping the vehicle brakes will activate the trailer brakes. Not perfect, but WAY better than no brakes at all.

And the Tekonsha doesn't use Bluetooth, it uses some homebrew RF protocol, so who knows about that.

(Retired firmware/electrical/robotics/medical device engineer)
I have the Tekonsha RF and love not having to mess with mount anything on the dash.
You are spot on that the wireless connection is not required for any normal braking. For those worried about the reliability of the wireless connection, consider that the hand unit continuously displays the state of the connection. I've checked periodically to see whether the connection is stable; maybe hundreds of times over the course of many trips and I've never once seen loss of connection. The probability that a connection will fail in the moment when I might want to use the button is extremely low.

On the other hand, any dash mounted controller that the other devices use can be lethal if they are improperly placed. Literally! Airbags come out at hundreds of miles per hour and will launch any device in the way with extreme force. Under-dash knee pads, side curtain bags, side bags, front bags, and steering wheel bags can all send anything in their way at you or other occupants. Some come out at 200 mph! I had the personal experience that the steering wheel airbag blew my hand (on the horn) into my chest during a major accident. Although the airbags undoubtedly saved my wife's and my lives (we walked away from a totaled car and totaled trailer), both my hand and my chest took months and therapy to recover. As one EMT fellow observed, I was lucky that it hit my chest rather than my face, as frequently happens.

As an aside, controller or not, look at your vehicle the next time you are in it, and ask what other things will get launched at you in your next major accident. Unless you are sitting properly, feet down, legs not crossed and seatbelt on, you are likely to be seriously injured at the car attempts to protect you. Seatbelts are essential; they have explosive devices that tighten you firmly in the microseconds after impact so that you will be in the best possible position before the airbags deploy.
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