To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
Most brake controllers stick out under the dash, but this one hides the main unit completely. The Tow-Pro Liberty’s control box mounts out of sight while a tiny knob—just 9/16" wide and 1-7/8" long—sits cleanly on your console. It looks like it came from the factory, not an aftermarket kit. That single knob does everything: adjust braking power, press for manual override, and show color-coded LED feedback while you drive.
Towing feels steady with true proportional braking. The internal 3-axis accelerometer senses how hard you’re braking and matches the trailer brakes to your input for smooth, even stops every time. Whether it’s a light tap or a full stop, it keeps your trailer in sync and eliminates that push-pull feeling. It works with trailers up to 2 axles (4 brake assemblies) and supports both electric and electric-over-hydraulic systems.
Wiring doesn’t have to be a project. The custom plug-in harness connects straight between your vehicle and the controller with no splicing needed. Mount the main unit wherever it fits best—on a kick panel, under trim, or tucked along the dash—and plug it in. The included universal mounting panel gives the finished install a clean, factory look.
When sway or steep grades call for quick control, just press the knob to activate manual override. That triggers your trailer brakes and brake lights independently from your vehicle’s brakes so you can settle things down fast without overreacting at the pedal.
The Tow-Pro Liberty is engineered for durability and tested to meet UNECE R21 and FMVSS 201 safety regulations. It runs at 9V–16V with an 18-amp continuous output rating and a maximum charging voltage of 12V DC. Once calibrated—about twenty normal stops—it stays dialed in automatically so you can tow with confidence trip after trip.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hey everybody, Ryan here at etrailer. Today on our 2018 Ford F-150 we're gonna be showing you how to install the REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty Electric Brake Controller and we're gonna be doing that in conjunction with the REDARC Adaptor Plug. But before we get into that, let's take a couple minutes check this out and make sure it's gonna work for you. If you plan on pulling a trailer around that has brakes on it, whether they're electric or electric over hydraulic you're gonna need a way to apply those brakes. That way you know, slow you down in a much shorter time and keep you safe and everything like that. And that's where a trailer brake controller is gonna come into play.
When it comes to these late model trucks, you know, there's not a ton of room to put extra stuff on the dash usually. And that's where I really like the REDARC style. It's a very small knob and to me is about as factory as you can get. So this is all you're gonna see in terms of what's gonna be mounted on the dash. So very inconspicuous but still easy to get to, easy to operate and everything like that.
So this particular controller is gonna work for those trailers that have one and two axles. So probably pretty common for what the F-150 is gonna be pulling around and you know, to me I like this style better than the traditional more boxy style brake controllers which you could put on this dash for sure. But it just takes up space, you know If that's what you're familiar with and that's what you like there's a bunch of options out there. I like the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 is a really good choice but with this one it's going to be a proportional style brake controller and that's usually what I recommend. So more or less what that means is however hard you hit the brakes in your truck, the trailer brakes are gonna match up pressure.
So you know, if you're rolling up to a stop sign and you're halfway down, trailer brakes are gonna do the same thing. On the other end of things if you're on the highway, maybe an accident up ahead or something and you really gotta stand on that brake pedal, the trailer's gonna do the same thing. So it just makes your braking experience a little more predictable and a little more smooth. You're going to be able to adjust your braking force with the knob. All right So when you turn this you're gonna have zero and it runs all the way up to 10 and more or less what that braking force is gonna do is you can kind of fine tune it to suit where you're driving, how heavy a load you got, things like that.
So you know, let's say you got an enclosed trailer and you're going to pick up equipment and you don't have anything in the trailer you probably don't need much help, right So you can probably turn this down to 1 or a 2. But let's say you load it up super heavy and you can kind of feel the trailer wanting to push you around a little bit or something like that. You can always dial that up to a higher number until you find that speed spot. So definitely lets you kind of suit things up to your particular needs. This is also going to have a manual override. You simply just push down on the knob and what happens when you do that is it's going to send power or it's going to engage just a trailer brake. So a lot of times you'd use that in event of a sway situation or if you have a sliding type 5th wheel and you need to slide the 5th wheel or something along those lines, what you can do especially in the event of a sway is push down on it and kind of ramp it up, feather it up that'll slow the trailer down and help kind of get it back under control, get it riding straight behind your truck again. So when it comes down to it, you know, I think it's a pretty good fit for the F-150. Everything went together pretty smooth. I like the location that we have it where you can see it, get to it easily and everything else. And we have a lot of luck with REDARC brake controllers. I do a lot of 'em and they seem to be reliable. You rarely run into any issues so really can't go wrong. As far as the installation goes, you know, it seems like done quite a bit of these Fords and they're all kind of a little bit different from the next. But I've ran into two main scenarios with these. With ours we have a factory 7-way connector on our back bumper and all we used was the adapter plug and the brake controller. And so with that adapter plug it just plugs into some factory wiring under the dash here into the brake controller. You mount this up and that's about it. If your truck does not have the factory 7-way what you can do is get these two parts that we just talked about as well as the 7-way vehicle wiring harness. And even if that's your scenario, still pretty easy. That 7-way kind of just tees into some existing wiring, plugs in. So you'll just have to have that setup up back there. And then all this should be applicable to your situation as well. But if you'd like to hang around, feel free to, we'll go ahead and get started on it now. To begin our installation, we're gonna be here in the front seat of our truck and we need to locate our factory connector plug, which is usually located right here in this area just behind the dash. So you can lower this panel down to make it easier to get to. And with these, they literally just unsnap so you can kind of work your way around here till it drops down. To give us even more space, we'll remove this metal plate here. So there's a total of four 10 millimeter head bolts. You just got one in each corner. So go ahead and pull them out. (dill grinding) That connector plug is gonna be located just inside of this opening here and it's a little tricky to see but your coin pocket or this little container on the front of your dash, that connector plugs actually kind of plugged into the back of that. It goes to nothing, it's kind of just a keeper. So you know, I'll get that disconnected and show you what it looks like and how you would separate it. So I unplugged it and that's what we're looking for. Alright, that's the factory connector. And so like I said, this is plugged into kind of a just a keeper, you know, to prevent it from bouncing around. To get it disconnected you got a tab there in the center, you push that down and hold it and then this will pull right out. Take our adapter plug, so one end, you know, will match up with the factory connector, which is that in there and that's literally just gonna plug right in. And now we can find a spot to actually kinda mount up our brake controller. And you just want to have it be on something solid that's not gonna bounce around or anything like that. You know, you don't wanna zip tie this up to a wire loom or something that moves and call it a day. So what I came up with under the dash here there's kind of a metal support with a couple holes in it already and ironically enough the holes in the brake controller kinda line up with those and I'm gonna mount it this way where this ethernet looking plug will be facing towards the back of the truck and I think that would be sufficient 'cause how it's gonna set it's gonna be pretty well supported. You know, like I said I don't see an issue with it there but just to give it a little extra support I have this thin piece of metal. I'll probably bolt you know to it and screw it to this just to be on the safe side. But like I said, this should turn out pretty solid. The hardware that I'm gonna end up using is just really small machine screws. I just got a flat washer and we'll put these through like that and like I said, these are gonna line up with those holes right on our factory metal bracket there. So I'll drop this down and on the bottom side put another flat washer and a nut. So I get those two going and like I said that'd probably be all right but I still gotta come up with something to kind of configure our other little support bracket that we're gonna come up with here. So go ahead and I'll get this going. So I was able to get our controller mounted up and this is how it turned out. Worked out pretty good. Did it just like we talked about using those bolts to kind of secure everything and with that little extra piece of metal that support that I put on this side just for good measure with that I just used a self-tapping screw to kind of secure it to this beam here. So you know, not going anywhere. What you can do now is take this style of cable, all right and I think just 'cause we don't have a ton of space here when that metal piece will go back up, I think I'm gonna use this 90 degree one that we'll just plug right into there. And then on the other side of the brake controller we can plug this connector in. Looking back at it now I probably should have plugged it in before we mounted it but not a big deal. It can still be done. I'll get my hand up there and get it plugged into the back. So when you go to plug this in this part, all right, that's going to be down. So the flat part of the plug will be facing up and can't really mess it up. Just plugs right into the controller. Plan to spot to mount up our control knob. You know, you got a lot of choices on where you can put it, really just depends on how much work you want to put into it and how custom you want to get so to speak. What I think we're gonna do is if you we're to fold this panel up, think I'm gonna put it right here in this area. All right 'Cause it works good. It's outta the way. You can still see it and get to it and you won't have to completely hack up our panel. There's a thin opening here where this should be able to fit. I can drill through that and whatnot. The only issue is, so if you got your plate back up here this part's gonna block for this switch that's gonna set. And so what I think I'm gonna do is just kind of trim a little bit of this material out and it's not gonna hurt anything and it'll give us the space that we need to get everything to fit back here. Marked where we can trim, this should provide sufficient space and I might even looking at it now I might even just run it all the way down here cut this whole piece off but pretty thick metal. So I'm gonna use a Dremel tool. You could use a cutoff wheel kind of whatever you find appropriate to get this removed. (saw grinding) With our panel trimmed, I just kind of roughly put it in place and I'm not actually bolting anything back up yet. Just kind of test fitting it and make sure it fits. But looks like we'll have sufficient room now for our switch to clear and where I'm gonna mount that up on the panel is where this plastic insert goes. Essentially if we just file that straight down somewhere in this area here is where we're gonna drill out and get our switch mounted up. To make modifying our panel just a little bit easier I'm just gonna remove it 'cause it really looks like the only thing holding it is a couple of clips and some wiring which might be easier to unplug 'em first actually. So to unplug 'em, just push down on the center and get 'em unsnapped. That one was a little easier to push with the tool there. And what I'm using is a trim tool just makes it a little easier but flathead screwdriver will work too. There's just this one last deal here, pry that off, and then we should be able to just push those tabs in that way we can kind of set this on our tool bench or the ground and make it a little easier to drill out our opening. So the back of our panel I put some painters tape, that way we can mark it and this little push snap here, I just went straight down from it and about even with this one kind of centered it up. And then I used this as a template. This little ring and set that up and you want this part here this little nipple to be in the 12 o'clock position. So just line that up, you know, and made a mark there where we can drill. So I'll start with the larger one make sure we get it centered there and drill it out. (drill grinding) And you can come back to that smaller one. We change bit out and drill it out. (drill grinding) So yeah, the holes drilled out, everything looks pretty good. A lot of times too don't be surprised, you know, when you go to put everything together, if you have to kind of clean it up a little bit or file just a little more plastic out to get everything to fit. And so we have a couple of choices here what we can do because of the thickness of the panel it's kinda right on that threshold where if you use this ring, all right, so this could snap in here, line up, you put the switch through. Problem is if you use that, the little locking nut that threads onto the switch, it won't go all the way down and pull the switch tight to the panel. So if you're wanting to use this, what you could do is come back and sand some material off this area here to make it thinner to allow that switch to pull all the way in tight. What I've done in the past, instead of doing that I won't even use this. It's really not completely necessary to be quite honest with you because as long as you drill that hole right the little light on the switch will fit right in there really good. So that's what we're gonna do. This'll line up, all right, and then this little retainer or this nut you can thread that on. And be careful while you're doing this. You know, this is easy to cross thread so make sure it catches good. If you're, you know, having to fight it at all or anything, just slow down and take your time and make sure it's on there. But with this you don't have to crank down on it by any means. What I like to do is take a 12 millimeter socket, snug it up by hand. So that's what we're looking for there. On this dial you want to turn it all the way to the left or counter-clockwise and then take your knob, alright, and that's going to have numbers on it you want the zero to be in line with the light there. Just push that on. Back inside the vehicle now I just put our plastic panel back on, plugged everything back in the opposite way that we removed it. Now you can take the other end of this cable and simply just plug it into the switch there. And once that is complete what I'm gonna do is kind of come back, we got some of our loose wires and stuff I'm just gonna kind of bundle 'em up and zip tie 'em out of the way. So I got our wires just kind of zip tied up off to the side, you know, make sure they're not hanging where you get caught up in your steering column or your brake pedal or anything like that. So pretty easy to look out for. Give yourself a little, you know, extra length here. That way it's not pulling on the switch. But from here we're just going to reinstall our metal panel the opposite way that we removed it. Where we cut there, that edge just kind of sharp. So I just took a piece of wire loom, put it over our cable just to give it a little extra something if the wire goes in there weird and ends up rubbing on that or anything. Now we'll just kind of carefully taut everything into position and snap our panel back into place. So at this point, you know, you can plug into your trailer and this should power up. You can see now it's kind of flashing between green and blue. And more or less what that means is we need to calibrate this. So a couple ways you can do it. The way that I like to do it is just drive around without a trailer or anything just like you normally would. You know, get up to speed, make some stops. Usually don't take too long. Once it's calibrated it'll stay a solid blue color and that's when you know it's completely calibrated. Or you can leave your trailer connected too, drive around and make the stops. Like I said, I like to do it without the trailer 'cause I'd rather know that our brake controller is calibrated and working perfect before we drive a trailer around. So that's what we'll go ahead and do now. So I drove around for a minute and it probably took 10 or 12 braking sequences to get this to calibrate. So we got our solid blue color now. I wanna mention too, if you do this without being plugged into a trailer, you're not gonna have lights coming on and everything so you'll just kind of have to guess, you know, do 10, 20 braking procedures, come back, plug it in. If it's solid, solid blue, you're good. If not, if it's still blinking you'll have to get out and do it again. So that's kind of one of the benefits if you have your trailer hooked up, you can see it in real time because then you'll know exactly when that light turns solid blue. Now it's a good idea just to test this to make sure it's working. So I plugged into a test box at the back of our truck, plugged it in our 7-way and that's gonna simulate a trailer. For those of you at home, you know, you should be able to do this with your trailer but keep in mind if your trailer has any issues might mislead you and thinking it's something you did on this side. So a couple ways we could test this. You can dial that knob up to, we'll just go 10 and if you push down on it, that'll be the manual override. You can see it turning red. So power in theory should be being sent back and we'll do the same if we push our brake pedal down, you'll see it's going red. And so while we're doing this we'll look at our tester and make sure we're getting power sent back. Looking at our tester, you know, if we push down on our brake our knob is turning red and we're getting power sent back here so we know we're in good shape. And that'll finish up our look at and our installation of the RREDARC Tow Pro Liberty Trailer Brake Controller on our 2018 Ford F-150.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
92% were satisfied with this product
8% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
So far the Liberty has been fine. Install was pretty straight forward. The learning progress took a bit longer than expected but its now calibrated and working fine. Other than me picking the cheapest shipping and waiting 3.5 weeks for it to arrive via covid shipping. My only complaint is my own fault again which is that the one I ordered didnt come with a universal harness (pigtail) that plugs in to the controller. IMO there is not enough warnings in bold that say you need one. The Elite comes with it as part of the kit. I'm not sure why this option is even offered on the liberty. Needless to say I figured this out a week after ordering, and I'm still waiting for the harness to arrive. Had I known this I would has either gone for the Elite, or the CURT spectrum, because CURT actually makes a plug and play harness for my 2014 VW Touareg, and Redarc doesn't. I didn't bother going to VW for the OEM plug and wires as per the etrailer install video. In Canada that was over $xx from the dealer and [online store] wasn't any better. I found the CURT harness PN:51522 for Audi Q5, SQ5 & Q7 for $xx and snipped the CURT end off it (got here in 3 days). Hence why buying the CURT Spectrum would have been nice. Currently I'm using female spade connectors (not recommended for long term) to hook up the controller until the harness arrives.
Installed this in my 4runner that I use to haul several thousand pounds of metal boxes on an aluminum heavy variant tilt deck trailer. Install was fast and easy, the main unit is small and is easily tucked up under the dash. I drilled one small hole and placed the small lighted selector (small blue light) on the key side of the steering wheel area (see pics) and looks like it came factory from the truck. Its sasy to adjust and robust enough that it wont move settings on its own, even in rough off road conditions that a 2WD vehicle cant go. Ive had other controllers in the past but am super happy that I had lucked out and found this proportional one from Redrac with the dash knob.
Overall, I’m completely happy with the REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty controller. The design and execution is elegant, the installation is fairly simple, and the completed appearance -in my opinion- is unmatched. I’m slightly annoyed that the REDARC product doesn’t come with some basic accessories you need, leaving you to hunt for and assemble things they know you’ll need like a fuse, fuse-holder, and the basic wiring harness to even connect to the REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty. So, if you’re price shopping different brake controllers I recommend factoring in about another $50 worth of accessories into the overall cost of the product when considering the REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty and comparing it to other brake controllers. The folks at etrailer, of course, make that simple by suggesting the items you’ll need automatically.
There is one “feature” of the REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty that is made VERY clear in the owner’s manual, that perhaps should be made clearer when advertising the product: The Brake Sense wire, which is the wire that connects to your brake lights and tells the controller you’ve activated the tow vehicle brakes, is bi-directional. In other words, in normal proportional operation it senses the 12 volts from your brake lights, but when in manual mode it also outputs 12 volts with the intention to activate your brake lights if you manually activate the REDARC controller. This matters a lot if your tow vehicle has factory automatic braking and collision avoidance or adaptive cruise control as the REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty can back feed these systems and cause a lot of damage. When the Mazda is in adaptive cruise control, or if the factory collision-avoidance system activates, the Mazda also activates the brake lights. A blocking diode is the solution and the placement is critical.
I have a 2020 Mazda CX-5 with AWD and their turbo 2.5-liter engine and the factory adaptive cruise control and collision-avoidance systems. The vehicle has a 2,000-lb towing capacity. I am towing a teardrop styled camping trailer that weighs 1,200-lbs, so I’m well within the capability of the vehicle. Trailer brakes just enhances the safety. Mazda is curiously quiet on their recommendation of how to properly wire this, and the dealership really wasn’t any additional help. This set me to find schematics and figure it out on my own.
The solution included two devices. The REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty, and the Tekonsha model # 118746 Trailer wiring module; both from etrailer. I installed the Tekonsha trailer light wiring system first, then installed the REDARC controller. Instead of connecting the REDARC brake sense wire to the normal brake lights, I connected it to the positive side of the wire that feeds the rear center brake light on the Mazda. This is where I installed a 50-cent Schottky diode to allow the brake light to send +12v to the REDARC controller but prevent the REDARC controller from sending +12v back to the center brake light when the brake controller is in manual mode. I’ve included a schematic in this review as one of the photos; I hope this helps others.
The result is beautiful. You get the aesthetically pleasing factory appearance of the single-knob REDARC controller in the dash, that operates perfectly in both automatic proportional mode and in manual mode, AND the Mazda’s adaptive cruise control and automatic collision avoidance system still operates perfectly and will also automatically operate the REDARC controller and your trailer brakes. The REDARC Tow-Pro Liberty can install in any orientation, which makes installation a breeze, the proportional braking is smooth and confident. I’m extremely pleased with both products: The REDARC controller and the Tekonsha wiring model # 118746 and thrilled with eTrailer.com who offered both at a reasonable price and reliable shipping/delivery.
This brake controller is the best I’ve used so far. It’s compact, comes with the correct vehicle wire harness splice and has been 100% reliable. Thank you!
I’ve found other brake controllers are either unreliable or too bulky. Job well done Redarc!! The safety trailer loads is of utmost importance.
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland (5.7 Hemi w/Tow pkg)
I purchased the Redarc Liberty for a new Honda Ridgeline which replaced an F250 with an old technology two dial proportional brake controller. This Redarc not only installed easily and cleanly in the more confined cabin of the Honda, its advanced one dial adjustment makes it more user friendly to adjust, and the settings are easily repeatable. For example, my trailer empty on hardtop gets 4, trailer with tractor 5.5, trailer with 1 yard of gravel a 6.5; on a dirt or gravel road just subtract 1 position on the knob.
The photos reflect my mounting technique which consisted of constructing a small open-back box of 1/4" MDF. The Universal Mounting Panel accessory worked well with the MDF. A coating of textured paint to match the interior makes it look almost OEM. Velcro holds the box securely yet allows for easy removal for whatever reason. The wire tucks neatly between the lower steering wheel valance and the console trim--can't see it even if looking for it, and no holes drilled in the dash.
Overall very happy with this product and with etrailer answering my questions and processing the order quickly.
SUPER EASY to install in a 2021 Frontier. The controller box can be easily screwed/ziptied to the under dash structure in a couple places, and the adjustment control fit nicely in a blank plug in that was in the dash. The unit plugs right in to the Nissan brake controller.
It works well with a 5000 lb trailer I pull. I use a load distribution hitch and didn't realize at first that the '5' setting was using too much trailer brake. For my setup, 3.5 to 4 is perfect. It works well, and there's not a clunky controller box to bang your knees on. You'll like it!
Working well through one season. Hoping for many more.
This review includes the following items: Item #RED69FR - Wiring Harness, 30A Breaker kit and Item # ETBC7 Installation Kit for Trailer Brake Controller - 7-Way RV and 4-Way Flat and Item #RED24FR Controller. I wanted to be sure I had everything. A local place Custom Coach on Pulaski Hwy, Baltimore did a fantastic job on the install, Sorry I can't remember the techs name. I have a 2018 Kia Sorento SX V6, AWD with 4 pin Tow Pkg. car rated for 5k/500# load. Trailer is a 2022 Palomino Real Lite RL-186. I've logged 2 trips so far 1 to NYS mostly highway and to Cass, West Virginia area. The controller adapted quickly, I went to a '5' to a '4' setting even in the mountains it was smooth no jerking. The one picture shows installation ubder the dash totally out of the way. It works great!
The controller and dash knob are solid and nicely crafted. Both are made to be easy to install. The dash knob works great and is simple and easy to use. The manual is well written, and has detailed and very useful information. Be sure to get the REDARC Tow-Pro Harness (TPH-025), too, which is needed to complete the hookup of the controller.
I was surprised how nice this brake controller is - clean install with the unit up under the dash. I installed the knob in one of the 'blanks' in the dash for a really clean look. No banging knees on older-style controllers under the dash. Thanks!
The hardest part was getting the zip ties tightened around the module without completely removing the trim under the steering wheel. I chose near the shifter for my location so it’s easy to reach but still out of the way.
Mounting the brake controller up and out of the way under the dash of my 2023 Tacoma required some thought. I chose to fabricate a bracket from a piece of 3/4" aluminum angle (bolted to the underside of the dash) and anchored the brake controller to it with zip-ties.
I love the separate controller and knob. The knob fit into a factory blank and the end result is factor clear. We picked up of 7x16 cargo trailer yesterday and the controller worked perfectly.
With the vehicle specific harness the install was very straight forward.
Highly recommended
i have ordered 2 of these in the last 2 years and both times the kit was missing parts, last one i ordered the knob was missing and this last order the nut to hold the dial in place was not in the box. the product is good, but replacement pieces are not easy to find, fortunetly i had to order a complete dial kit for the one i ordered last year and i saved the rest of the parts.....
Etrailer is great. Service is outstanding even the return policy. My go to for trailer needs
Expedited shipping was super fast with no problems. I installed the unit myself and it was fairly simple. I recommend getting the exact fitting wire harness (huge time saver) and I’d recommend getting and exact fit knock out to install the dial in. (Another big time saver). I drilled a hole in my own blank or knock out thingy and I’m pleased with it but it took a little time. I’ve got a 2010 Honda Pilot. Funny thing, after rushing to install the brake controller, our trailer had to go in for repairs before we even completed the transaction. It will be another month before I actually use the brake controller.
On the Promaster when you take the BCM cover and upper dash cubby hole piece out there is a spot right above the BCM. Since the Redarc can be mounted any direction I simply added two 4mm Rivnuts to the bracket and bolted the controller in with stainless hardware (Bolt, washer, lock washer). The rest of the dash is kind of hard to find a spot, as I wanted it reachable with my right hand as I drive with my left typically. The lower instrument panel knee bolster comes down with a few screws and the inner dash piece has a hole from the factory that is perfect for the switch wiring. I used a unibit drill and a small square file to make the hole for the switch. The 90 degree cat cable is nice as it sticks through the inner hole and holds itself in place so it doesn't fall out into the bakc of the dash during assembly of the switch and there is enough room in the rear to not impede anything factory. I used a tap from O'Reillys's to tap into the brake wire suggested by the Mopar trailer wiring install guide. Typically I'd solder it, but it looks way better than a typical scotchlock connector, which I would not use under any circumstances. Ill chck its tightness in a few months and see how it holds. Used the factory wiring harness runs to run to the battery box under the floor. Used proper friction tape and braided wiring loom (O'Reilly's find) for a factory look. Seems to work ok, but need a trailer with brakes now.
This controller works amazingly well, considering the ease of installation, especially with the vehicle-specific wiring harness. I made several trips between Missouri and Colorado last year, loaded and unloaded, and a small twist of the dial compensated for the weight differences and braking requirements.
I didn't realize when I bought a new Frontier truck that I could no longer use traditional underdash brake controllers like I had for past 40 years. This meant that this Redarc was one of only a few brake controllers that I could use.
Mounting it was a bit tricky and the supplied instructions weren't good. Fortunately others before me had figured it out and posted better step by step instructions with pictures.
The brake controller itself works very well and provides the best and smoothest braking control I've ever experienced with my twin axle camper on multiple trips this last summer including one trip of over 1,000 miles around the UP of MI and northern WI.
The break controller works great...no problems. I've since sold the single axle trailer and purchased two more, one single axle new and one double axle used. I plan on stripping the cargo trailer and replacing the breaks and anything else that needs it for the suspension, creating a type of mini-home or tiny home on it. Thanks for reaching out. I will use your services for this new build. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Being new to towing a larger trailer requires research. After doing a lot of it, both through user reviews and manufacturer websites, we landed on the Rearc Liberty Brake Controller for our Tacoma. We have just over 1000 miles towing with this unit. It has performed extremely well. Towing for us includes city, highway, mountains, and even off-road to access our mountain home. Installation was straight forward and the ability to install the controller in virtually any position is an added bonus. I was able to install the dash knob in a blank panel giving the Tacoma a factory appearance, and controller located under drivers seat. I installed this unit on a non tow package Tacoma, so wiring was a bit intimidating at first. But using etrailer’s web site as a reference had everything operational in a couple afternoons. Great product so far and we look for years of use. Highly recommend.
I purchased the Redarc Liberty brake controller because I couldn’t find a place to mount my Tekonsha where I wouldn’t bash a knee or shin on it or cover an airbag.
So far, I’m very happy with the Redarc Liberty brake controller; although, I haven’t used it for towing yet, and I’m not sure it is operating properly. Apparently, I should have blue lights while it is learning which way the control unit is oriented but I don’t have blue lights.
Anyway, let me share information on the installation. I purchased the wiring harness for my vehicle, which I highly recommend as it was same cost as the universal harness, and a big time saver. I did not buy the blank switch panel for the switch installation as another reviewer stated he was able to modify the original switch blank. Big mistake, I highly recommend buying the appropriate switch panel for your vehicle. My Toyota blank switch panel was excessively complicated so I had to saw and melt a pile of plastic (see the picture) out of it without damaging the visible portion or the clips which hold it in.
Finding a suitable location to secure the controller up under the dash is a challenge with modern cars. After removing two pieces of plastic trim, I did manage to pull the panel below the steering column far enough out to complete the install. The unit it does look good. Very clean.
We’ll be towing the big trailer next week so I hope it works.
The Redarc Liberty was exactly what I wanted for my ‘20 Ridgeline. I ordered the custom pigtail and mounted everything behind the dash panel on the left side of the steering wheel. There was a blank switch cover available on the dash panel and I cut away the webbing on the back side of it (very soft plastic, Swiss Army knife) which allowed the control switch to fit right in, between the retaining clips of the blank. The drill bit sizes indicated in the instructions were not big enough for the control knob and plastic bezel so I just increased the bit sizes until the holes were big enough. Honda provided a pigtail with bare ends; I didn’t want to crimp any wires. Honda also said to put their provided fuse in slot 3 in the under hood aux fuse box; the fuse was the wrong type and there was already a 20a fuse in the appropriate slot. My Honda service tech advised Honda usually includes the wrong style of fuse and also usually installs the right one anyway. Go figure. I finished the install the night bf I picked up my new TT; took about 3 hours. It wasn't difficult but I’m pretty OCD. The most work involved routing the wires so as to avoid pinching or bending them too severely. I set the control on 5, tested it with the trailer hooked up in the sales lot and bumped it up to 6. I never felt the trailer on braking at all on the way home. Very smooth and I like the fact that it looks like a factory install. I couldn’t be happier with this controller. E-trailer’s video for the install was a great help, although I mounted the control box in a slightly different spot. This is my second purchase of towing accessories from E-trailer and I am pleased with the service and pricing both times.
Its simple and fits in the dash like it should be there. It controls the trailer as it should. it only lights up when the trailer is connected so you don't see any annoying light during normal driving. I would recommend, it has worked for me. installed in a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Installed it on my 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness. Ordered this without the harness so had to order that separately. I think the RED52VR is what I should have ordered to include the harness. Did not like the access and the very small wire gauge on the brake pedal the instructions said to tap into so when running the wire from the 7 pin kit ETBC7 from the back of the car I ran a 3rd wire which I tapped into the brake signal going to the factory 4 pin control box in the spare tire well. I ran the wires up underside the driver side and up through the floor by the drive door rather than into the engine bay. Found a neat location to mount the controller and ground wire. Installed the control switch after drilling and dremelling the blank as shown in the great video etrailer has. Unit calibrated and worked just as advertised. Been on short test run. Need a longer trip to experiment with the brake level setting.
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