Curt ECHO Brake Controller

The Curt Echo brake controller saved our four state RV trip. After putting it through the paces on 1600 miles of towing a 12k pound fifth wheel I feel I can share how it performed.

Right after I pulled out of the driveway and started down the road on a one-week RV trip, I noticed my trailer brakes surging at every stop. So, we drove back home and I checked every wire and magnet on the trailer brakes. No issues found. After some further testing, I determined the issue was on the truck side of the system. I took the truck and trailer down to the Ford dealer to have it checked. Without leaving the truck there wasn't much they could do on short notice despite their efforts. We decided to go to plan B and buy a brake controller as a temporary fix to get us through the trip. That's how I ended up with the Curt Echo. It was the only controller locally available that wouldn't require me to wire up and bypass my factory controller. The last thing I wanted to do was mess with the factory truck wiring on travel day.

To say I was skeptical of this little device is an understatement, but it surprised me. It simply plugs in between the 7-way connector and the trailer pigtail and then uses the brake light feed as a signal to lightly brake the vehicle and then lets the triple-axis accelerometer adjust the brake pressure based on how hard you stop the tow vehicle. You download the OneControl Auto app to your cellphone and connect it via Bluetooth to adjust the settings. You can also manually actuate the trailer brakes using your phone. To have that function available you'll need to leave the app open and the phone within easy reach of the driver. A phone holder would help with this. The app was stable the whole time I used it and was surprisingly user friendly. I never had it drop the connection or crash the phone. I was also still able to run Android Auto for mapping functions on my truck's screen along with Apple Music playing without any issues. I noticed some reviews online saying that users had issues with the app change in 2024, but I didn't experience any issues. I'm assuming whatever bugs the first edition of the new app had must have been worked since those complaints originally surfaced.

The Curt Echo worked flawlessly for braking the trailer. I did have to do some adjustments to the gain and sensitivity to get it dialed in right, but every time I hit the brakes it worked just like it should. That includes braking hard to avoid those awesome drivers that like to cut-off trucks towing 5th wheels to make their exit. Lucky for them, the accelerometer picked right up and put the brakes on hard enough to avoid a becoming a hood ornament. I will admit that it's not quite as smooth as a wired brake controller that can sense how much pressure you're putting on the actual brake pedal, but it is more than sufficient. I think this is inherent in the design since the accelerometer will always be playing catch up to the tow vehicles actions. You can adjust the sensitivity up to prevent this, but I found that doing that makes slow speed braking kind of jerky. It is a setting you'll have to play with to suit your setup and preference.

The Curt Echo was simple to setup for use. You simply plug it in between your trailer cable and 7-pin connector. It works no matter which direction it is oriented (in a rear facing 7-way plug or the side facing plug in the bed of the truck. Then download the app and follow the prompts to setup the controller. You will need to sign up for an account when first accessing the app. I will give one tip on connecting to the controller via Bluetooth which was my only point of frustration. The app had me click a button to search for the controller so I could put in the pin number, but repeatedly said it couldn't find the device. The work around: I went directly to my phone's Bluetooth and found the controller first and connected to it with just the phone. Then when I went back to the app it would find it to finish setup.

All things considered; I think this is a pretty good brake controller. For a device that doesn't require any wiring and can be swapped between tow vehicles it does far better than I would have expected. I think that a person that is only going to tow occasionally will find this one of the better and more affordable options available. For frequent towing, I'd still opt for a more expensive wired controller that senses brake pedal pressure, but even after I get my truck fixed I'll hang on to this controller as a back-up.

Curt ECHO Brake Controller

Recommended Products From This Article

Related Posts