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ItsMrCutting

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Hey all! New to Jeeps and Gladiators, as my first truck and Jeep I have lots of questions...

Today I installed the RedArc Tow Pro Elite using the existing 12v outlet and it seems to be retaining power and is working just fine; my big question with this brake controller and the truck is: is there any indicator on the dash or display showing that a trailer is connected and everything is good? My fiancée and I are moving in a few weeks towing a UHaul and I want to be sure everything is working successfully and without issue


Let me know your thoughts, please and thank you!
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Benbean66

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I have the same controller, and I wondered the same thing. There really won't be any indication that it's working until you hook a 7-pin trailer up to the truck, and at that time the knob will glow blue. The knob will then fade to red as you apply the trailer brakes. I towed a '69 Pontiac from PA to GA with it, and it worked perfectly.
 
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ItsMrCutting

ItsMrCutting

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I have the same controller, and I wondered the same thing. There really won't be any indication that it's working until you hook a 7-pin trailer up to the truck, and at that time the knob will glow blue. The knob will then fade to red as you apply the trailer brakes. I towed a '69 Pontiac from PA to GA with it, and it worked perfectly.
Excellent thank you! So if I'm understanding the unit correctly, there's obviously no + or - knobs to press to adjust the braking when this unit reacts in proportion to the trucks braking, right? Also... What is a recommended # to keep on the dial or are you able to adjust it freely as you travel?
 

Killroy Was Here

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UHaul rental trailers usually have hydraulic surge brakes.
So you shouldn't have to worry about settings for an electronic brake control for that trip.
 

ShadowsPapa

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Excellent thank you! So if I'm understanding the unit correctly, there's obviously no + or - knobs to press to adjust the braking when this unit reacts in proportion to the trucks braking, right? Also... What is a recommended # to keep on the dial or are you able to adjust it freely as you travel?
What setting you have the dial at depends on:
Weight of the trailer
The size and power of the brakes on the trailer.
You may set it at 5 for one trailer and 6 for another and 4 for a different trailer.
No one can tell you where it should be set - but I tend to start at 5 and go up or down after braking a few times to see how it responds. You can press the button while moving at a fairly slow speed and see how much "pull" the trailer brakes have at that setting.
I've found I needed to "tweak" my controller a time or two after I hit the road and once set, it was smooth braking as if there was no trailer behind me. Truck stopped great.

And in addition -

UHaul rental trailers usually have hydraulic surge brakes.
So you shouldn't have to worry about settings for an electronic brake control for that trip.
Yeah, what he said............

My son moved his family to Florida from Iowa (they had stayed with me for a while here in Iowa) He pulled a u-haul with his Jeep Compass - no problems.
 

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paloaltan

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Any reason you went with this brake controller vs. the Mopar unit? How was installation? Need to get a trailer brake controller soon and trying to figure out which one is best for my needs.
 

Benbean66

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Any reason you went with this brake controller vs. the Mopar unit? How was installation? Need to get a trailer brake controller soon and trying to figure out which one is best for my needs.
I chose this one because of price and availability. Reviews were very positive as well.
 

ShadowsPapa

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Any reason you went with this brake controller vs. the Mopar unit? How was installation? Need to get a trailer brake controller soon and trying to figure out which one is best for my needs.
I've had both - I kept the MOPAR controller installed but if I had known then what I know now......... and I can use the REDARD on my wife's Grand Cherokee so no loss, really.
The REDARC controller, even their dual mode version, is a lot cheaper than the mopar controller. The single mode REDARC is $100 less than their dual mode making it a LOT cheaper. The MOPAR controller is single mode.
The Redarc interface, or knob/dial, can be installed any place there is room, not just the 12v outlet location, MOPAR pretty much must be installed there.
The MOPAR control box interferes with some dead pedals, the Redarc box can be tucked up under the dash very easily, the knob connects to the box with a simple CAT5 or better network cable! The MOPAR controller knob is hard-wired to the box.
The Redarc knob/dial has a better, smoother more solid feel, IMO the MOPAR dial feels cheap, doesn't have a solid detent and doesn't turn as nice and smooth.
However, the MOPAR controller dial is made to look like the other instrument controls so gives a bit of a cleaner look when installed (although the Redarc dial with an optional bezel actually looks quite good.

Electrically or operationally, neither actually interfaces with anything in the truck as far as cluster or other controls. BOTH are 3rd party brake controllers, one is just made for MOPAR and branded MOPAR. It makes no difference at all to your truck which one you install.
It's got to be your personal choice - do what YOU prefer or want for YOUR truck.
 
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ItsMrCutting

ItsMrCutting

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I've had both - I kept the MOPAR controller installed but if I had known then what I know now......... and I can use the REDARD on my wife's Grand Cherokee so no loss, really.
The REDARC controller, even their dual mode version, is a lot cheaper than the mopar controller. The single mode REDARC is $100 less than their dual mode making it a LOT cheaper. The MOPAR controller is single mode.
The Redarc interface, or knob/dial, can be installed any place there is room, not just the 12v outlet location, MOPAR pretty much must be installed there.
The MOPAR control box interferes with some dead pedals, the Redarc box can be tucked up under the dash very easily, the knob connects to the box with a simple CAT5 or better network cable! The MOPAR controller knob is hard-wired to the box.
The Redarc knob/dial has a better, smoother more solid feel, IMO the MOPAR dial feels cheap, doesn't have a solid detent and doesn't turn as nice and smooth.
However, the MOPAR controller dial is made to look like the other instrument controls so gives a bit of a cleaner look when installed (although the Redarc dial with an optional bezel actually looks quite good.

Electrically or operationally, neither actually interfaces with anything in the truck as far as cluster or other controls. BOTH are 3rd party brake controllers, one is just made for MOPAR and branded MOPAR. It makes no difference at all to your truck which one you install.
It's got to be your personal choice - do what YOU prefer or want for YOUR truck.
100% agree with all of this. I'm on a time crunch, too because I'm moving to PA in 2 weeks lol but I chose this one because I do want to invest in an off-grid trailer in the future and I prefer to quite literally be off the grid so this unit allowed for that and I wasn't just tied to highway driving. I also chose this because, again, this controller can be mounted anywhere. I'm currently leasing my Gladiator as it's my first Jeep ever (and I wanted some things covered by the dealership) so I opted not to drill into anything to begin with. The install was super simple, minus pulling the steel cylinder out of the existing 12v assembly.
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