Towing? There's an app for that. This brake controller connects to your phone with Bluetooth so all your settings are right in your hand. The plug-and-play unit mounts under your dashboard, out of sight and out of your way.
Features:
Specs:
Note: If Bluetooth connection is lost, the brake controller will continue to function safely, using the most recently programmed settings. This brake controller is not compatible, but will not interfere, with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The Curt Echo under-dash is all about simple use and easy install. With the main unit mounted out of sight beneath the dash, all you need is your smartphone to control the settings on the brake controller. You won't have to worry about banging your knee on a bulky controller, cluttering up your dash, or ruining the sleek look of your interior.
The Echo is unique for giving you control of your towing through your smartphone. You can set the maximum braking output, adjust the braking sensitivity, apply the manual override - all from the OneControl app.
The Echo connects to the app via Bluetooth. You can save multiple trailer profiles in the app, a big plus if you have a fleet and want to be able to just select a pre-set configuration and get towing. And don't worry: after you've downloaded the app, you don't need to have data on to use the app with the brake controller. You'll be able to receive calls and texts and access your other apps.
OneControl App
Simple, intuitive, and user-friendly, the OneControl App makes it wicked easy to manage your settings and control your trailer.
1. Manual Override
This big orange button in the middle of the app is your manual override. Press and hold the button, and the brake controller will smoothly apply the trailer brakes without applying your vehicle's brakes. This is perfect for stopping sway or controlling your trailer's momentum in an emergency.
Quick tip; Put manual override right at your fingertips by adding this button (C83HR - sold separately) to your dash. The app must be running for the button to work, but it can be in the background while you use other apps on your phone. The button has an adhesive pad for a quick-stick installation and includes an easily replaceable battery.
2. Brake Output Indicator
The outer ring gives you a visual indicator of how much power is being applied to the trailer brakes. This is determined by your max output setting.
3. Max Output
Braking output is the maximum amount of power that will be applied to your trailer's brakes. How much braking output you need is determined by the weight of your trailer; a heavier trailer will need more power to bring it to a stop.
To set your maximum braking output, tap this button and increase or decrease using the + and - buttons. You want to set the braking output as high as you can without locking up the brakes.
4. Sensitivity Level
This controls the aggressiveness of your trailer's braking, meaning how quickly the brakes reach the max output level. This is a great adjustment to make when you're towing a heavy load and the trailer will need more umph to bring it to a stop so it doesn't push your vehicle forward.
Just like max output, if you need to change your sensitivity level, use the + and - buttons. If your vehicle takes too long to come to a stop, increase the setting. If it stops too abruptly, lower the setting. You may also need to adjust the sensitivity based on your own preferences, or when the trailer load or road conditions change.
5. Vehicle Hazard Lights
If you turn on your vehicle's hazard lights, there's a chance the trailer brakes will pulse on and off as the lights flash. Turn this setting on any time you activate your hazard lights to prevent this problem.
Save Multiple Trailer Profiles
Get on the road faster by saving your settings. With the app, you can add and store multiple profiles for both trailers and vehicles so that your preferred settings will be ready to go as soon as you hook up. This is perfect if you own a fleet and don't want to have to reset the controller every time you swap out trailers. You'll have the ideal settings saved and waiting for you. To switch between profiles, just swipe left or right.
If you like the idea of monitoring your trailer from your phone, the other OneControl systems could be a great fit for you.
The Curt True Course (C94VV - sold separately) is an advanced Bluetooth sway control system that automatically triggers the trailer brakes (independent of the vehicle's brakes and the brake controller) when it detects dangerous trailer movement. The Curt Tire Linc (C54VV - sold separately) Bluetooth TPMS monitors the temperature and pressure of your trailer tires. All of these systems use the OneControl app so you can manage all of them in the same place on your phone.
You won't be banging your knee on a bulky brake controller or interfering with your vehicle's lower airbags because the main unit mounts out of sight under your dash. This product comes with an adhesive pad and 4 zip ties to make it easy to mount anywhere. (Just don't zip-tie the box to wiring or cables that can shift as you drive!) Thanks to the 3-axis accelerometer, the main unit can be positioned at any angle. No matter how you install it, the unit will sense the direction of travel and deliver smooth, even braking.
The included pigtail harness splices into your vehicle's wiring beneath your dash to provide an easy-to-access plug for the Echo.
Once the installation's done, download the OneControl app on your Apple or Android smartphone and wirelessly pair the unit to your phone via Bluetooth, following the in-app instructions. It should take about 5 seconds for them to pair. Once paired, the LED light on the unit will turn a solid blue. Plug in your trailer's 7-way and let the whole system calibrate for another 5 seconds. When the LED turns green, configure your desired trailer brake settings and save it as a profile. Then you're ready to tow!
Note: If you don't already have a 7-way plug at the back of your vehicle, take a look at our exclusive 7- and 4-way brake controller installation kit (ETBC7 - sold separately).
Proportional braking means that your trailer brakes mimic your tow vehicle's brakes. If you slam on the brakes in your vehicle, your trailer brakes hard; if you brake lightly, your trailer brakes lightly too. The trailer's braking is in proportion to your vehicle's braking. This saves wear and tear on the tires and the brakes on both your vehicle and trailer.
The Echo under-dash uses an internal 3-axis accelerometer to sense how your vehicle is braking so it can send the right amount of braking power to your trailer. It measures the inertia of your tow vehicle and activates the trailer's brakes to ensure that your trailer slows at the same rate. The result is uniform braking across your towing setup. No push-pull action - just smooth, proportional braking every time.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hey everybody, how's it going Today, we're gonna be going over the Curt Echo Under-Dash Trailer Brake Controller here on our 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. So the Curt Echo Under-Dash Trailer Brake Controller is one of my favorite options on the market. And the reason for this is simple. With most traditional brake controllers, you have to drill into the bottom of your dash and then you have this bulky controller that you're gonna hit your knees on getting in and out of your truck here. With the Echo Under-Dash, everything is gonna be installed behind the dash there. There's no drilling into the dash whatsoever and you're not gonna be sacrificing your leg room.
Everything is gonna be conveniently out of the way there. And it's actually gonna be controlled from a mobile device. Therefore we're using something that we're already comfortable with. So in regards to our mobile device, we can either have a tablet or a mobile phone, and it can use either the Android or the iPhone operating system. It really doesn't matter.
I will say that you do need an active data connection in order to download the app. But once you have that data connection to download the app you don't have to worry about losing signal when you're out in the middle of nowhere, the app will still work as promised. If you're familiar with towing a trailer with electric brakes, there's really two main types of brake controllers. We have portion proportional. We have time delay.
Now proportional is a little bit better design if you ask me, they do run a little bit more than the time delay, but basically they're more fine tuned. They're gonna allow for much smoother braking because it's basically gonna be applying the brakes in our trailer in a force proportional to that in our tow vehicle. So you really don't have to worry about one dragging the other there for there being some sort of delay between the brakes on the vehicle and the trailer. Everything is gonna be nice and seamless and just really sum this up. What it does is basically if we're out in the highway, we really slam on our brakes 'cause someone cuts in front of us and we need to come with our trailer and our vehicle down to a fast stop.
It's gonna apply a lot of force to the trailer brakes so we can get that done. Now on the contrary, if we're just driving around town coming to a slow stop at a stoplight, we obviously don't wanna lock up the brakes on our trailer by sending a ton of force. So the proportional design is gonna sense the momentum of the vehicle there coming to a slow stop. So we're just gonna apply a small amount of force to the brakes on the trailer. The Echo Under-Dash is compatible with trailers up to four axles. Not that I think we're gonna have that many with our Silverado here. And it's also compatible with electric over hydraulic actuators. So pretty much, no matter what you have on your trailer, this controller is gonna be compatible. Most of you guys, aren't gonna have an EOH actuator or four axles, but the option is there if we need it. So in regards to installation this one is gonna be very simple. 100% plug and play. No drilling or splicing required whatsoever. We do however, need an adapter harness which is sold separately. And this is just simply something that plugs into the truck and the back of our brake controller. So you will need that, but it is pretty cost effective. And again, it makes for a completely splice free install. So to start our installation here, we need to locate the factory brake control report. So for this particular vehicle here, if we look underneath the dash here to the left of our brake pedal, you should see a pretty large black box here. So what we're gonna do is we're actually just gonna be removing the cover to the black box. Now they're kind of hard to see, but on the sides, we just have some clips that we release and pull out. So you're gonna have to fuel for them, 'cause again they're kind of hard to see but you should be able to feel pretty easily and then we can just release it just like so. So these are the two tabs there. You're just gonna pull out like that. Pretty simple. There's one on the other side here but that one actually just came out once we got these two out. So once we got that cover off here, we're gonna notice we have two large rectangular connectors here. So with these blue handles and we're also gonna notice another one at the top here. So our brake controller plug is actually located to the left of these and then directly down from this one here. So it's this location here. So we're gonna take our vehicle specific adapter harness here. Keep in mind this doesn't come with a brake controller. So you will need to purchase this separately. This one is made for Curt is specifically designed for the Chevy it's designed to plug into the Curt Brake controller but we're gonna take this in here with this white connector. We're just gonna simply plug it into that port there. It should only go in one way and you should hear it click when it's locked into place. And there we go. I heard it click, it's perfect. So now we're ready to take our other end of the brake controller adapter harness and plug it into our brake controller. Now it's only gonna go in one way and again we should hear it click when it's locked into place just like that. Perfect and now we're ready to actually mount the Echo here. Now there's a couple different options for that. We'll get in into that in a second, but I do wanna point out some dip switches here on this side of the Echo. So these two little white switches in there, those are actually some settings that we can further adjust to sort of control how our brake controller functions. Now for most of you guys here, you're probably just gonna leave these with the factory settings here. You're not gonna have to worry about messing with any of those, but if you'd like to know more about them, the first switch there that's gonna be for the brake lights. So how this is set up now is in this with the switch in the current position whenever we hit our manual override, it's gonna light up to brake lights on our vehicle and our trailer. Now, if we wanted to turn that off for one reason or another we would just simply flip that switch. You can use a small Phillips head screwdriver or Flathead screwdriver whatever you have to reach in there just to flip it. They're pretty easy. And then the second switch there those are for the break output. Now normally our manual override or I should say how it's sat from the factory is our manual override is gonna apply a force that we can adjust. So if we turn that switch off, it's gonna basically apply the full a hundred percent to the manual override no matter what our brake controller setting is at. So I recommend just leaving these at the factory settings. You really shouldn't have to mess with them too much but there are some certain cases where you would wanna adjust those settings. So you do have the option to do that. But again, I recommend just keeping with the factory settings. So now we're ready to secure our actual brake controller here. Now I would like to point out that you should see some sort of flashing blue light once you have the two ends plugged in that lets us know it has power. So don't be alarmed there. But in regards to securing the converter, it doesn't really matter which direction or orientation that we have. A couple things though, this is a troubleshooting screen here. So this is actually an LED face. So you may or may not wanna have access to this just to be able to look at it. I'm not really too concerned with that but it is something you want to keep in mind when you're mounting this. And then the other thing is you need to make sure that the service that we're mounting to this is solid. I probably wouldn't zip tie this to some wires that are kind of loose because this sort of system works on inertia. So this needs to be pretty stable. So in regards to the mounting you have a couple different options. We have some double-sided adhesive tape that comes in your kit, as well as some zip ties. If you can use them both I'm gonna use this double-sided adhesive here and there's actually gonna be a metal bracket sort of directly above the emergency brake pedal. There's a nice flat surface up in there. I think it's gonna be a good place to mount this. So I'm gonna go ahead and reach up there and try to get that stuck on there. It is kind of hard to see on camera. So just bear with us here. We'll try to give you a little bit closer view of that once we get it on We just have it tucked back up there as far as I could. And there's that nice metal bracket there. It's nice and flat which is pretty much what we're looking for. I think I'm gonna try to sneak a couple zip ties on there. We may or may not be able to get them on there but it's just extra security 'cause sometimes the adhesive can let go and you certainly don't want your brake controller dangling around like that. That would affect its performance. So definitely try to get a couple zip ties on there. It may be a little bit difficult but the more secure we can make this thing, the better we are in the long run. So we've got everything connected, everything mounted. What we're gonna do now though is we're gonna secure this loose wiring here because we have our emergency brake pedal here. We don't want this to get caught up in there and we do still need to reinstall our cover there. So there's actually a hole here on the bracket that holds our emergency brake cable. I think that would be a good place to sort of sneak in a zip tie. That way I can secure that extra wire. But aside from that, we're pretty much gonna be taking this wire here using some zip ties and just securing it as best we can to get it up and out of the way. Last thing we take our cover here and reinstall that now you will have to sort of move the wiring harness. So it comes out at the top because the top of this box is open. So that's how the rest of the wires poke out. So you may need to maneuver this a little bit But there we go. So now that we have our controller installed, all that's left to do now is hook up our trailer and download the app. So all I did was went to the marketplace and I searched Curt Echo and it should be the first one to pop up there. So we'll go ahead and download that. So once it finished downloading, we can go ahead and just open it up here. So this is gonna be the first screen. We're gonna allow it to access to our Bluetooth, tap to accept. Make sure you read the warning messages Should have a few more of these. Let's go ahead and cycle through those. Again, allow. Now we're ready to get started. So go ahead and hit that button there. Again, we have one more terms of service, we have to accept and now it's gonna prompt us to plug everything in. So we've already gotta plug in, go ahead and hit continue. Scan for devices. And there we go, found it. So we'll go ahead and click that there. Then we're gonna hit okay to pair. So now we're ready to enter our code here. This can be found on the quick reference guide here that comes in your kit or the underside lid of the trailer connector or the brake controller router. We'll just simply enter that same code that appears in one of these two locations. Now keep in mind your code isn't gonna be the same. It is gonna be specific to that one. Go ahead and hit connect Pairing successful. Now we can continue. So once our brake controller is paired successfully, our first green here is gonna be our controller profiles. Now our controller profiles is gonna be more geared towards those people who have multiple trailers 'cause we can actually save the settings that we later setup for one of five different profiles. You can actually rename those profiles to say you have a horse trailer, you have a travel trailer, utility trailer. That way you don't have to go through the settings for each of those trailers whenever you switch. But for the sake of the demonstration, we're just gonna be using profile one. So this is gonna be our main screen here. This is where we're gonna control everything. First and foremost, we have our manual override button. So if you're familiar with some of the more traditional brake controllers, this is gonna be the manual override lever. It's the same thing. We just simply press this and this is going to apply the brakes. Now, if you don't like to have your phone on the dash and open the whole time you don't have to do that with this brake controller here. It'll still work. Even though if the app isn't open running there's actually a button you can stick on your dash for the manual override if you don't want the phone out. We'll move on to the max output settings or the gain or output, whatever you wanna call it. And that's gonna be in the lower left hand corner of the app, we have a plus and minus sign. So it can easily go between increments of five to adjust the breaking force of our trailer here. So for those heavy trailers, we'd wanna turn it up a little bit, but for those lighter ones, we'd wanna turn it down. We do want enough force to stop the trailer but we obviously don't wanna be locking our brakes up. So the best way to find the correct settings is just really go out on the road there, drive with your trailer a little bit. That way you can fine tune it since it's very easy to adjust on the fly. The next to that, we have our sensitivity adjustment and that's an increments of one, from one to nine. And this is basically gonna just determine how fast our brakes start applying. So you can sort of control how fast they do start to kick on. And then the bottom right here, we have our hazard vehicle lights so we can turn that off or on. So chances are you're not really gonna have to worry about this. You're not gonna be using this as much. In very rare instances where you need to tow with your hazard lights on. Now, normally just most brake controllers are gonna pull the brakes, but for this particular app here, we can actually apply the setting. And this is gonna stop the brakes from pulsing while we're towing with our hazards on. But again, most of you guys there won't be utilizing that feature because it's not very common to tow with your hazards on. So that's pretty much it for the main display. And as we, if you want some people like to just have their phone mounted in the dash there where they're using it for GPS, the app will still work in the background. So you don't actually have to have this screen up and running in order for the trailer brakes to work. Everything will work and you can see our phone here. My battery is getting kind of low. Even if my phone we're to die when we we're towing, the brake controller would still work using the last save setting. So you don't have to worry about being without your brakes. So that's a lot of people there have a misconception of the Echo that they don't wanna have their phone out the whole time or they're worried that their phone dies that they're not gonna be able to brake their trailer. And that's just simply not the case. Everything will still work as normal using the last saved settings. But in the upper left hand corner here, we sort of have our menu options. This is where we can change between our profiles if we need to sync another controller. We can also access the owner's manual from here. So just some extra information there for you. But again, this is gonna be the main screen and the one you're gonna be using most often. It's very easy. Everything is laid out very clearly and we can make adjustments on the fly. And that's gonna do it today for our looking installation of the Curt Echo Under-Dash Trailer Brake Controller here on our 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500..
Do not buy either the Curt Under-Dash or plug-in Wireless brake controllers until Lippert fixes the phone app. I’ve used both happily with the old ECHO Smart Control app. I could use the remote manual button with the phone app not even running. As one would reasonably expect the button talked to the controller directly via Bluetooth. The new OneControl Auto app must be running and in the foreground to use the manual remote! And the most recent version of ECHO Smart Control is non-functional, it just tells you to install OneControl Auto.
This is my first proportional brake controller. Stopping is much smoother without sacrificing safety. Communication by bluetooth makes for a clean installation.
I needed a trailer brake wire wire harness and connector. David verified the correct parts and I received it in a few days. Thanks
The Curt Echo is now on my Nissan Armada and works perfectly. It was an easy hookup with the supplied harness and does its job.
This was relatively easy to install under the dash of our 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee, especially since ours has the factory Trailer Tow Package and therefore an existing pigtail connector ready to connect to the brake controller. The Curt wiring adapter made it super easy to connect the Brake Controller to the vehicle's wiring harness. The controller was easy to calibrate and worked seamlessly while we're towing a rented trailer. We used a dedicated (older) cell phone to operate it while we're towing to avoid any potential interference from other apps rather than using our regular phone on which we receive phone calls texts, etc. This was our first time towing a trailer and this easy-to-use Brake Controller helped make us feel safe and comfortable. Highly recommended.
Not too difficult to install, but I would recommend using a car lift so you don't have to work from your back (review includes wiring harness and 4-7 Pole Adapter)
These are perfect for Curt brake controllers since the Triflex Next,
Spectrum, and under dash Echo brake controllers come with the connector prewired. This makes it so I don't have to cut the other end to make it all work, much cleaner.
I have the Dodge Ram Truck 94 model with factory wire 7 connector plug. This is the truck that many people can't find the blue wire under the dash. 94 model didn't come with a factory wire plug under the dash like later models have. I found the wire tape to the main wiring harness about two inches from the fire wall to the right of the emergency brake paddle. This harness worked great
this went into my VW Touareg which requires the relay modification described in the Technical Bulletin. Because ground and +12V is already present in the harness, instead of running additional cables, I soldered the relay right into the cable, making it a clean plug and play setup which is 100% removable. I also bought the VW housing and wire kit to complete the install
The break controller worked seamlessly. Profiles are easy to set up and it has very reliable Bluetooth connectivity with my phone. Installation was really easy on my Honda Pilot!
Needed a brake controller I could rely on because I was pulling my camper to a site at the top of a 25% grade within a few days. Unit plugged right into the harness for the factory brake controller (with the adapter cable) on my 2014 Ford F-150,and worked perfectly. Bluetooth connectivity works through the app (rather than through the phone's "settings" icon),and connects instantly. I'm very pleased with this product.
Very easy to install. Less than 15 minutes. On a 2023 GMC sierra 1500
Worked perfectly with the Curt Spectrum.
Works fine as it should.
Worked great. Helped me to trace down a wiring issue with my wiring on the truck and then worked perfectly and controlled some of the heavier loads and was easy to use.
works. I had to have this for a vehicle that didn't come pre-installed
Outstanding service and a quality produ ct!
Wiring up a brake controller can be tricky. Routing the wire from the hitch to the firewall and finding the right wire on the brake are the hardest part, but etrailer will do their best to help.
Consider running the wire inside the car along the door bottom just under the carpet. This avoids problems with the tie-wraps under the car -- there just isn't anywhere to tie wrap under the middle of the car. Use "loom clamps" ordered separately to solve this problem, if you go under the car.
To find the right brake wire without cutting insulation, use the fish wire from the hitch install to contact the end of the wire inside the connector (from the back). Then touch the fish wire with the continuity tester and apply the brake pedal. My brake had a four wire connector and I found the right one on the second try.
If you find a hole in the firewall with a rubber plug in it, don't discard the plug. Make a short slice in it with a razor blade and push the wires through. You may have to work the wires around to get them through the carpet. Be patient.
Be sure to watch all the videos and allow plenty of time, taking a break before you tackle the hard parts. Rest assured that doing it yourself is better than allowing UHaul to cut corners and charge you labor. :-)
If you are doing the hitch install and four-wire harness, those are much easier. If you are installing the hitch alone, be sure to have a magnet wand for when you push the bolt up into the frame rail. If I had it to do again, I would use a little electrical tape to hold the bolts down so a slight bump wouldn't knock them up.
I bought a 7 pin trailer wiring/brake connection for my Dodge pickup. I installed it myself, the instructions were absolutely clear and correct. It was an easy installation. In the year since, I've pulled my trailer (tandem axle, 16') many times. The brakes continue to work perfectly as well as the lights. The connectors are solid, all work just like new. I recommend Etrailer parts and their people 100%!
This unit has a constant draw on the battery and will kill the battery flat in about three days if the vehicle sits. Numerous other users had the same issue. Don’t buy. I will be contacting Curt about this issue.
I own a 2008 Chevy Silverado. I ordered the brake controller - C51515 and the universal wiring adapter on Friday and received it on Tuesday. My friend who is a mechanic installed it in about an hour on Wednesday. I towed my camper trailer to Lincoln, NE (about a 5 hour trip) on Thursday and returned on Sunday. After reading the settings instructions, all stops were made smooth and firm. Etrailer.com was great and the Curt Trailer Brake Controller is excellent!
sOnly have used it once so far and everything worked good
Easiest install ever !
Plug and play. App is easy understand and use.
My favorite is with the app and on selected active profile you can see the amount of brake amount is being applied to the trailer when the vehicle brakes are applied. I also install the manual override button. FYI: you don’t need the app on your phone open for the controller or the manual override button to work. Also another nice feature of the manual override button is the size about the size of a quarter, uses a CR2032 battery and the battery level is displayed in the app.
I purchased the wiring harness to aid with hooking up the Curt Brake Controller I had previously purchased. The shipment was fast. The product was perfect. The on-line installation video was perfect and allowed me to complete the installation like a professional. I have never purchased anything from etrailer.com .... but should I ever need anything in the future, they will be my first choice.
Nice system
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