The CURT Echo mobile trailer brake controller is a Bluetooth-enabled device that wirelessly connects to your smartphone and allows you to control and monitor all trailer brake activity right from your own device.
It’s really simple to use. The biggest thing is on the back of your vehicle there needs to be a 7-way plug.
If you don’t have brake wiring, you need to have your lights wired to it and you need a 12-volt power feed from your battery to it.
This is a little handheld wireless controller. All you have to do is take it and stick it in your 7-way. Just pop it in on the bottom. There’s a little blue light it’ll blink until it’s paired.
To initially set it up you have to go to your Play Store either with your Android phone or your iPhone.
You’re going to download the Echo Smart Control app. Once it’s downloaded it’ll come in and then you can set it up with your Bluetooth.
It’s just going to tell you to avoid distracted driving and to only use with the dashboard cell phone mount.
Once you’re in, it’s going to give you a little code. They give you a little card with the code on it and you’re going to punch the code in. That’s going to activate the program on your phone.
If you lose this card, the nice thing is, if you open up the cap the pin number is located right on the cap.
Each one has a different number. You can set this up to multiple vehicles so when you’re in the app you got profile 1 2 3 4 & 5 so you can set up to five different vehicles on this.
Once you’re hooked up you are going take your 7-way power cord and you’re going plug it in. Once you’re in there’s a green blinking light. It’s going to blink and once the light underneath goes solid you’re all set. You’re connected. On some vehicles this will be flipped up the other way to make the lighting easier to see.
Some vehicles are different. With the Chevy, all you’re going to do is plug it in. If you have a newer Ford f-150 2018-19 or a couple of years older, you have to have the tow haul mode on your truck on for it to sense the brake controller. If you do not have your tow haul mode on it will not work. So once you’re in you’re hooked up and your phone is paired. It only takes a couple minutes to pair everything and get it set up. You can go right up here in the app where it says My Profiles. We are going to go to active profile. That’s the one we’re hooked up to now.
You can adjust the output and the sensitivity of the brake. You can manually brake or when you touch the brake pedal the brakes will activate. If you wanted to manually activate the trailer brakes you just push the button here and then the blue line will go around and it’ll activate your trailer brakes.
We are going to hop in the truck and we’ll go for a little ride and we can show how the controller works.
Once you’re in and ready to go, the best way to use it is you want to mount your phone where you can easily see. When you’re driving and your foot is on the brake you can see that it’s activated. So once we’re going here and I hit my brakes it just shows and then if I adjust it for harder braking. If your trailer starts to sway and you don’t want to brake the truck but you just want to brake the trailer, you can just tap it and the trailer brakes are going to start braking and slowing you down almost right to a stop. Then you can let go and you’re still good. I’m just going to keep the trailer from getting out of control. If you’re doing it by hand. For this system to work you need to have a 12-volt power supply back to your 7-way plug. You need your left turn, right turn, brake and running lights run to the plug and a 12-volt power feed from the battery. Foreign cars are a little more involved to hook up your brake controller systems. So if you’re towing with a BMW or an Audi this is a really nice system to use. Or if you have a leased vehicle or a leased pickup truck or a car that you want to tow it just makes it easier to install. You’re not putting holes in your dashboard. In this F-150 it’s in tow haul mode. In my Chevy it’s on the shifter. Some of the Fords have it on the dashboard where you have to turn it on and off. It’s a really nice easy system to use the brake controller system. It runs $291 for the system. The app is free.
If you have to hard wire a full brake controller front to back and run all the wiring and the 7-Way, the cost of the brake controller is $650 to get that installed. If your vehicle is pre-wired you’re looking about $280 for the brake controller, the wiring harness and the labor to get it installed. With this system and you already have a 7-way and you don’t want to wire anything in it is $291 for the system. Then all you’re going do is download the app. Really simple. Anybody can do it.
If you have any questions, please give us a call here at Colton RV at 716-694-0188. Any of us in the parts department will be willing to help you out. Same thing if you want to see how it works in person come on down. When everything gets back to normal we can show you how it works.
Thank you
