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Blue tooth brake controller

Tpreston

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Anyone have this or have any thoughts on it? Seems like a good alternative to installing a brake controller if you don’t have one. Of course as long as it works!
 

zappel

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I tried one of these with my previous TV that did not have a built in brake controller, it worked well but I have found that I way prefer having the controller wired in. The main gripe I had was having to use my phone for manual or emergency braking.
I never had the Bluetooth disconnect or any other issues.


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76poptop

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For that kind of price I would lean more towards installing a factory one myself and having the dealer program it


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Konrad

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For that kind of price I would lean more towards installing a factory one myself and having the dealer program it


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Also, of you're of DIY kind for that kind of price you can get yourself a factory TBC kit, AlfaOBD software, SGM bypass and Bluetooth OBD dongle, program it yourself and have endless hours of fun playing with your truck's software in the future. Just saying ;-)


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Mikent

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i purchased an Echo brake controller shortly after picking up my ram last year. I’m very impressed with it performance and reliability. I was concerned about not having the dash mounted levers to squeeze if I needed emergency braking. I’be had a couple of instances where someone cut me off. The first reaction is to step on the brake pedal to bleed off speed and then i check the surroundings for a possible out to drive around, I haven’t had time to look for the trailer brake levers on the dash. I suppose if time allowed the brake levers would be a good option, but I always make sure my trailer brakes can stop my truck without touching the brake pedal before heading out.
 

Zinger

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I wouldn't trust it. Bluetooth is funky sometimes, and the last thing you want is to lose brake functionality when towing. Plus having the brake function immediately at your fingertips in an emergency is paramount. If for whatever reason your trailer starts to sway uncontrollably the solution is to immediately engage the controller braking, not hitting your truck brakes. You have only a few seconds at best to do that to avoid a catastrophic scenario. Wire one in, that's the smart bet.
 

Konrad

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I wouldn't trust it. Bluetooth is funky sometimes, and the last thing you want is to lose brake functionality when towing. Plus having the brake function immediately at your fingertips in an emergency is paramount. If for whatever reason your trailer starts to sway uncontrollably the solution is to immediately engage the controller braking, not hitting your truck brakes. You have only a few seconds at best to do that to avoid a catastrophic scenario. Wire one in, that's the smart bet.

Exactly. I've seen all my past and present smartphones (both Androids and iPhones) hang, become unresponsive, force close apps etc. often enough to not depend on them in anything that important - and this can actually be a matter of life or death. These Bluetooth controllers should not be allowed on the road IMO. This is unsafe. BT wasn't designed for crucial communication, is prone to interference and errors etc.

Also, knowing my luck, the very moment I need my trailer brakes the most with the BT controller, my mother-in-law would call me effectively disabling it


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Mikent

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I wouldn't trust it. Bluetooth is funky sometimes, and the last thing you want is to lose brake functionality when towing. Plus having the brake function immediately at your fingertips in an emergency is paramount. If for whatever reason your trailer starts to sway uncontrollably the solution is to immediately engage the controller braking, not hitting your truck brakes. You have only a few seconds at best to do that to avoid a catastrophic scenario. Wire one in, that's the smart bet.
If your trailer is loaded properly it won’t sway out of control.
 

Konrad

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There’s no ‘if‘ about it. If the trailer isn’t loaded correctly, I’m not pulling it, it’s that simple.

And yet you're fine with towing without a proper and reliable brake controller?


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Konrad

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hav

have you used an Echo brake controller?

Not personally, but I rode shotgun on a camping trip where one was used. It worked. However, I don't see a reason to buy / use one over the factory TBC. Here's a quick analysis compared to OEM, from engineering and functionality standpoint:

- it introduces to the system an external device that adds an extra mode of mechanical failure. It is designed as a cylindrical adapter that plugs directly into your 7-wire trailer connector. It is 3-4 times longer than a regular plug and the connector is not designed for the additional forces created by such "lever". The connection is much more likely to become loose or even break off, especially in the long run.

- the device itself is a removable electronic module installed externally, exposed to elements and all the dynamic forces related to vehicle movement and travel. This adds a mode of possible electronic / electric failure.

- it bases a mission-critical component (emergency manual braking) on a wireless Bluetooth connection, which is not designed and shouldn't be under any circumstances used for such purposes. It was designed for non-critical audio and digital signal transportation. It is prone to interference and its reliability is strongly affected by many factors (short range, "steel cage" effect etc)

- it introduces a smartphone to the system, which is a totally wild variable and a risk of infinite modes of failure. The app can crash. The phone can freeze momentarily or die on you or fail in any other possible way, like they do. The Bluetooth connection can fail at any time. You could drop and break your phone at a gas station and thus be left without manual brake controller in the middle of the mountains. Your mother in law can call your phone when you need your brake the most. Should I go on?

- it is an exact opposite of ergonomy and convenience of the OEM brake controller. You need to firmly mount your phone in an easy accessible location and route your cable, usually obstructing visibility or access to your truck equipment or controls. You need to keep the phone on all the time - sucks when it shines in your face all night long. You have to look at it every time you need to use it, which creates an additional distraction in critical moments. It does not provide haptic feedback or proportional regulation of the braking force like OEM "sliders" do.

- it does not integrate seamlessly with your truck like the OEM, which provides additional settings and info on your dashboard.

- it can be stolen, forgotten / left behind, driven over, you name it.

- it is more expensive than the OEM controller kit

So, to sum it up - what's the point?


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Mikent

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Not personally, but I rode shotgun on a camping trip where one was used. It worked. However, I don't see a reason to buy / use one over the factory TBC. Here's a quick analysis compared to OEM, from engineering and functionality standpoint:

- it introduces to the system an external device that adds an extra mode of mechanical failure. It is designed as a cylindrical adapter that plugs directly into your 7-wire trailer connector. It is 3-4 times longer than a regular plug and the connector is not designed for the additional forces created by such "lever". The connection is much more likely to become loose or even break off, especially in the long run.

- the device itself is a removable electronic module installed externally, exposed to elements and all the dynamic forces related to vehicle movement and travel. This adds a mode of possible electronic / electric failure.

- it bases a mission-critical component (emergency manual braking) on a wireless Bluetooth connection, which is not designed and shouldn't be under any circumstances used for such purposes. It was designed for non-critical audio and digital signal transportation. It is prone to interference and its reliability is strongly affected by many factors (short range, "steel cage" effect etc)

- it introduces a smartphone to the system, which is a totally wild variable and a risk of infinite modes of failure. The app can crash. The phone can freeze momentarily or die on you or fail in any other possible way, like they do. The Bluetooth connection can fail at any time. You could drop and break your phone at a gas station and thus be left without manual brake controller in the middle of the mountains. Your mother in law can call your phone when you need your brake the most. Should I go on?

- it is an exact opposite of ergonomy and convenience of the OEM brake controller. You need to firmly mount your phone in an easy accessible location and route your cable, usually obstructing visibility or access to your truck equipment or controls. You need to keep the phone on all the time - sucks when it shines in your face all night long. You have to look at it every time you need to use it, which creates an additional distraction in critical moments. It does not provide haptic feedback or proportional regulation of the braking force like OEM "sliders" do.

- it does not integrate seamlessly with your truck like the OEM, which provides additional settings and info on your dashboard.

- it can be stolen, forgotten / left behind, driven over, you name it.

- it is more expensive than the OEM controller kit

So, to sum it up - what's the point?


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Mikent

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This is probably the biggest downside of forums is opinionated and uninformed people spreading misinformation.

Once the Echo is activated it will continue worked in the event your phone battery dies, loses its bluetooth connection, etc. Not sure what is meant about, “having to look down every time you use it”, I just step on the brakes when I need to slow down. As I mentioned in an earlier post I adjust my trailer brakes every time I hook up my trailer. I set them to slow and stop my truck at slow speed, but not lock up and cause the trailer tires to slide. I would rather have my trailer and truck brakes working together rather than squeezing the trailer brakes causing them to skid, and I like my trailer brakes to apply just before my truck brakes.

You can switch it from one vehicle to another vehicle if needed. It has a greater range of sensitive and brake setting then any OEM brake controller I‘ve ever used.

My truck didn’t come with a OEM brake controller, the Echo cost me $170, which was considerably less than buying a factory controller, paying to have it installed, and paying a dealer to program the vehicle.

The installation of the Echo is every bit as robust and secure as any 7 pin wiring setup. In other words, it’s not going to fall out or become unlatched. It may actually be a stronger and more secure than a 7 pin light/brake connections.

I’ve never left it behind, forgotten it, driven over it, or you name it. You’ve just got to be smarter than your trailer.

To sum it up...the engineers that designed the Echo were pretty smart and they build a very nice product. Don’t buy or use one if you don’t need it or want to. But don’t tell everyone how bad they are if you have no experience or are uninformed.
 

Konrad

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I see a lot of misinformation (and misunderstandings) here indeed. I'm not criticizing this particular product and I'm sure it is well designed and manufactured... and please show me where I "told everyone how bad Echo's engineers are". I'm constructively comparing the whole concept and system to the OEM one, that's all.

First of all - I fully understand that the Echo and similar controllers work normally (e.g. controlled by truck brakes / pedal) even without the Bluetooth / phone connection. My point here was that without the Bluetooth / phone connection you're losing the additional ability to manually activate trailer brakes in case of emergency or any other case when they can be usable.

Second, I think you're under a false impression that the factory brake controller only activates the trailer brake when you squeeze the levers? FYI, just in case: The OEM brake controller works mainly with your trucks brakes / pedal (just like your Echo) and allows you to adjust the sensitivity 0-100% within their full range.
The squeezable levers are an additional feature that allows you to activate the brakes manually (and with regulated sensitivity, unlike the Bluetooth ones). With a lost Bluetooth connection, you're loosing that additional capability whatsoever with Echo or similar controllers.

Which takes me to the third point - I see you're kind of questioning the usability and necessity of the manual control of the brakes in general... It's not my place to criticize your style of driving / towing, but please be aware that the improper load distribution you mentioned isn't the only factor that may cause trailer sway. Other bad things can happen and there are other circumstances where an ability to deploy brakes manually might be important or crucial. If you haven't experienced such situation - good for you and I wish you to never be in one.

Since you're playing the "me" narration, I bought my OEM TBC for $168.00 and installed and activated it myself, so it cost me considerably less than the Echo listed everywhere for $225-$299. I also don't care about one more thing to be smarter than (and remember about).
 

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