Factory Trailer Brake Controller releases ...EDIT: STILL WAITING

[tampahoosier]

You guys are making the HUGE assumption that the brake controller was supposed to be on the truck from the start, which I know for a fact it was not supposed to. From the very beginning it was slated as late 2020 availability, which could obviously slide back into the spring time frame where covid started its impact.

Everyone complains with no real idea of what goes on behind the scenes and they just assume they know everything. What I told you is straight from the horses mouth. One of the managers over planning for the Wrangler and Gladiator. He’s got no reason to lie.

Buck up or shut up and buy a 3rd party controller ladies and gents. I’ll be waiting for my mopar brake controller into 2021 because I like the factory look.

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[danielspivey]

You guys are making the HUGE assumption that the brake controller was supposed to be on the truck from the start, which I know for a fact it was not supposed to. From the very beginning it was slated as late 2020 availability, which could obviously slide back into the spring time frame where covid started its impact.

Everyone complains with no real idea of what goes on behind the scenes and they just assume they know everything. What I told you is straight from the horses mouth. One of the managers over planning for the Wrangler and Gladiator. He’s got no reason to lie.

Buck up or shut up and buy a 3rd party controller ladies and gents. I’ll be waiting for my mopar brake controller into 2021 because I like the factory look.

You are making lots of assumptions, I’m just stating the facts that they announced the max tow capacity AND brake controller... in many, many, documented instances

Show me in the beginning, from nov 2019 to present day where they formally announced the brake controller was “not available”. I have haven’t seen this yet, please provide your proof.

Only until recently they took down their false propaganda about the availability.

 

[danielspivey]

Any discussion of COVID-19 does not account for the time between November 29, 2018 (The date shown on my picture of the announced Mopar trailer brake controller at the LA auto show unveiling ) and the first Covid case in early 2020. Whatever the excuse is, Covid has been irrelevant for most of the time frame in question.

Right now COVID-19 is a convenient excuse for those who have no perspective of the history of this issue.

Totally agree, couldn’t have said it better.

 

[danielspivey]

November 29, 2018. Los Angeles. I know there are many on this forum who remember that day.!!

“Best in class towing.… The available trailer brake controller will… “

Yes. Sign me up.........… Hello?

Yes and they still continue the same, misleading, false advertising even today! Here is from there website, quote: “the available integrated brake controller...”

https://www.jeep.com/gladiator/utility.html

Still completely misleading and not owning it. Why not say soon to be available in feb 2021...? Oh wait that hurt sales...

 

[ShadowsPapa]

All this anger and faulty logic, the anger and mad over this is dripping off the screens.
It was NOT stated anywhere it WAS available. Even the DEALERS told me "late 2020", one said so much as December 2020. It was never stated when.

Further - those claiming it invalidates the tow ratings are simply full of BS. No way. And sue? Seriously HAHA - good freakin luck.
I've been towing trailers since before many were born - in the 1980s (and prior without trailer brakes on lighter loads)
Laws say "brakes" - the don't specifiy the type or sort of controller. Only that trailers over x,xxx pounds must have brakes. There are multiple types, not just surge or electric.

Now - if Jeep is in legal trouble, so is Ford, Chevy and other companies - why? Because I bought my F250 with a TOW RATING - and there was NO brake controller even hinted. You went out and bought a brake controller matched to your needs, your trailer.
My silverado - I had the dealer add one. Yet it had an advertised tow rating (that is more than the JT has - and yet no controller in it)
Grand Cherokee for years has had tow rating in excess of 6,000 pounds - gee, no trailer controller! We add our own.
The 2020 is rated at 6200 pounds with the 6.2 - gee, MORE than the JT Overland!! Cool! My wife can tow more than I can - oops, no brake controller - guess we'll install one.
And if you get the GC with a V8 - the tow capacity shoots up to, get this - 7,200 pounds - oops, no brake controller.
Tow ratings are NOT subject to brake controllers, period. Double-period. They never ever have been.
For years and years you bought a truck with a specified tow capacity and added the controller IF needed, of the type YOU needed for your trailer.
The controller is OPTIONAL - even on other trucks - Chevy - it's an OPTION. It's never part of a tow package. The company does NOT rate towing ability based on brake controller or not because that rating is for the ability of the truck to pull a load a certain sustained distance without overheating, etc. etc. NOT ON stopping.
STOPPING ability is SOLELY a function of the TRAILER, the weight of the trailer, the type of brakes on the trailer, the number of axles and much more.
So with the JT, I could haul a Uhaul trailer with a JEEP ON it and approach the 6,000 pound limit of my truck - and not need a brake controller because the trailer handles that just fine. I've hauled uhaul trailers more than once and never needed any other brakes - and I've hauled Grand Cherokees on 'em, too. Those come in at about 4800-5000 pounds depending on the year, etc.

Tow rating CANNOT include the trailer BRAKES because if they did and your trailer brakes were not up to the load you hauled - then what?

Sorry, you can't sue, you can't blame them - only if you tow a load below their numbers and have trouble PULLING it.
And court will tell you as the attorney laughs - you can spend less than 200 bucks and get a very nice controller like hundreds of other Jeep owners have and a good attorney will show the videos of WXman and others installing them - then ask why you did not, knowing that you needed trailer brakes.
They'll laugh you out of court.
Get real.

If I would have had troub,e with my Silverado or my F250, I guess I could have sued Ford or GM basee on the silliness here. Or I can sue Jeep over every Grand Cherokee we've owned because there was no brake controller and yet they advertised a 6200 pound trailer rating.

They can't include brakes because - despite their best effort, some idiot will hook up a trailer with defective brakes, or a triple axle trailer when the controller may handle only 2 and kill someone.

Sorry, it's up to the person towing to know their state laws, get a FREE Good Sam book on trailer towing or better yet - hit Google. And then buy the controller you need.

I wonder - of all of the owners of JT who have installed a brake controller from Curt, Redarc or others - how many are dissatisfied with them and will take them out if Jeep releases one next year?

Jeep has no control over trailer brakes and STOPPING, only what that truck will PULL.
IF Jeep is in trouble, so are many other auto makers who have tow packages - and they aren't, believe me.

I just don't get the ANGER over this - I'm upset a bit, more like DISAPPOINTED, but then there are other more important things to get upset over - steering, burning clutches, blown engines - someone heading to an early grave, high blood pressure, a stroke.......... and I thought _I_ was the hyper one.

Everyone guessing, speculating, and NO ONE KNOWS why the delay, what happened to the original plans, why it failed, why they had to let a new contract (and if the company that was going to release it in 2019 had troubles, Jeep has to go out for BIDS again, taking weeks or months - and then they are into early 2020 and then they find a company get a contract and guess what hit - it was here in January folks, then March all heck broke loose. And CHINA is LIKELY where it was to be made. What happened with Chinese products sent to the US? Yeah.

All the SPECULATING, GUESSING, and hate and ANGER over a stupid lame brake controller that is almost exactly like what Redarc offers? - whew. Arguing over something no one has any FACTS on.

 

[danielspivey]

All this anger and faulty logic, the anger and mad over this is dripping off the screens.
It was NOT stated anywhere it WAS available. Even the DEALERS told me "late 2020", one said so much as December 2020. It was never stated when.

Further - those claiming it invalidates the tow ratings are simply full of BS. No way. And sue? Seriously HAHA - good freakin luck.
I've been towing trailers since before many were born - in the 1980s (and prior without trailer brakes on lighter loads)
Laws say "brakes" - the don't specifiy the type or sort of controller. Only that trailers over x,xxx pounds must have brakes. There are multiple types, not just surge or electric.

Now - if Jeep is in legal trouble, so is Ford, Chevy and other companies - why? Because I bought my F250 with a TOW RATING - and there was NO brake controller even hinted. You went out and bought a brake controller matched to your needs, your trailer.
My silverado - I had the dealer add one. Yet it had an advertised tow rating (that is more than the JT has - and yet no controller in it)
Grand Cherokee for years has had tow rating in excess of 6,000 pounds - gee, no trailer controller! We add our own.
The 2020 is rated at 6200 pounds with the 6.2 - gee, MORE than the JT Overland!! Cool! My wife can tow more than I can - oops, no brake controller - guess we'll install one.
And if you get the GC with a V8 - the tow capacity shoots up to, get this - 7,200 pounds - oops, no brake controller.
Tow ratings are NOT subject to brake controllers, period. Double-period. They never ever have been.
For years and years you bought a truck with a specified tow capacity and added the controller IF needed, of the type YOU needed for your trailer.
The controller is OPTIONAL - even on other trucks - Chevy - it's an OPTION. It's never part of a tow package. The company does NOT rate towing ability based on brake controller or not because that rating is for the ability of the truck to pull a load a certain sustained distance without overheating, etc. etc. NOT ON stopping.
STOPPING ability is SOLELY a function of the TRAILER, the weight of the trailer, the type of brakes on the trailer, the number of axles and much more.
So with the JT, I could haul a Uhaul trailer with a JEEP ON it and approach the 6,000 pound limit of my truck - and not need a brake controller because the trailer handles that just fine. I've hauled uhaul trailers more than once and never needed any other brakes - and I've hauled Grand Cherokees on 'em, too. Those come in at about 4800-5000 pounds depending on the year, etc.

Tow rating CANNOT include the trailer BRAKES because if they did and your trailer brakes were not up to the load you hauled - then what?

Sorry, you can't sue, you can't blame them - only if you tow a load below their numbers and have trouble PULLING it.
And court will tell you as the attorney laughs - you can spend less than 200 bucks and get a very nice controller like hundreds of other Jeep owners have and a good attorney will show the videos of WXman and others installing them - then ask why you did not, knowing that you needed trailer brakes.
They'll laugh you out of court.
Get real.

If I would have had troub,e with my Silverado or my F250, I guess I could have sued Ford or GM basee on the silliness here. Or I can sue Jeep over every Grand Cherokee we've owned because there was no brake controller and yet they advertised a 6200 pound trailer rating.

They can't include brakes because - despite their best effort, some idiot will hook up a trailer with defective brakes, or a triple axle trailer when the controller may handle only 2 and kill someone.

Sorry, it's up to the person towing to know their state laws, get a FREE Good Sam book on trailer towing or better yet - hit Google. And then buy the controller you need.

I wonder - of all of the owners of JT who have installed a brake controller from Curt, Redarc or others - how many are dissatisfied with them and will take them out if Jeep releases one next year?

Jeep has no control over trailer brakes and STOPPING, only what that truck will PULL.
IF Jeep is in trouble, so are many other auto makers who have tow packages - and they aren't, believe me.

I just don't get the ANGER over this - I'm upset a bit, more like DISAPPOINTED, but then there are other more important things to get upset over - steering, burning clutches, blown engines - someone heading to an early grave, high blood pressure, a stroke.......... and I thought _I_ was the hyper one.

Everyone guessing, speculating, and NO ONE KNOWS why the delay, what happened to the original plans, why it failed, why they had to let a new contract (and if the company that was going to release it in 2019 had troubles, Jeep has to go out for BIDS again, taking weeks or months - and then they are into early 2020 and then they find a company get a contract and guess what hit - it was here in January folks, then March all heck broke loose. And CHINA is LIKELY where it was to be made. What happened with Chinese products sent to the US? Yeah.

All the SPECULATING, GUESSING, and hate and ANGER over a stupid lame brake controller that is almost exactly like what Redarc offers? - whew. Arguing over something no one has any FACTS on.

That was too much, seriously work on consolidating and people would have time to read your posts.

Bottom line, SEE MY POST ABOVE with attached picture, on jeeps website it still states “the available integrated Brake controller...”. That sir is fact, your above post is mostly speculation.

Jeep should own it, say their brake controller is not available and quit the falsehoods. Take down that verbiage by the brake controller picture. How many people have bought a gladiator, read their specs on their website, saw the info about a brake controller and assumed they could get it, but then couldn’t..?

At least your Chevy dealer offered to install one, Jeep dealers won’t touch a brake controller install.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

HA - the web bunch is NOT the main marketing people. In companies like this, they post copy given to them. Sometimes even with mistakes and mis-spelling.
Go to "build your Jeep" and show me where it's listed as even an option.
It's never been included in any package, nor would it ever be.

And I don't expect you to read that far - you don't care to learn or see things differently, your mind is ALWAYS already made up and no one, not even God, could change it.
Doesn't matter what logic anyone presents, you will never care, you are set on this.
I could show the options or availablity for any truck ever made since 1990 and show the tow ratings and prove there was no trailer brake controller, you wouldn't care.
My son being a web developer and manager, and developing content for CARS DOT COM - even he knows that those are not the marketing or sales people posting that - it's some web person sitting in a corner reading what they are told to post - funny thing - they get told what to post, but rarely ever told to TAKE SOMETHING DOWN.
I have family in that business....... Jeep ain't the only one, and somewhere there's a disclaimer stating that packages, availabilty and pricing may change without notice - SEE YOUR DEALER FOR DETAILS.
And that is the short of it. You are believing something even Jeep says may not be accurate.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

One step at a time so someone can keep up with my ADHD mind working double-overtime.......
My speculation comment was aimed that the speculation as to why the brake controller wasn't here - and referring to the fact that any time someone came up with a plausible explanation, someone else called BS -not knowing but still calling all else BS.

Speculating at how easy it must be and how it's FCA's fault, this is easy, what's their bloody excuse, why don't I have a Jeep brake controller - along comes explanations - along comes a "BS, there's no excuse".

That's explaining my "speculation" comment. NO ONE KNOWS, but there's plenty guessing and placing blame but not knowing - they are speculating. Everyone on the internet is an engineer, lawyer, contract expert, expert on export rules and laws, manufacturing outside of the USA (which this would surely be, being electronic) and other experts.
No one knows the whole story, the whole chain of events, companies involved, etc. so placing blame is all speculation.

 

[danielspivey]

One step at a time so someone can keep up with my ADHD mind working double-overtime.......
My speculation comment was aimed that the speculation as to why the brake controller wasn't here - and referring to the fact that any time someone came up with a plausible explanation, someone else called BS -not knowing but still calling all else BS.

Speculating at how easy it must be and how it's FCA's fault, this is easy, what's their bloody excuse, why don't I have a Jeep brake controller - along comes explanations - along comes a "BS, there's no excuse".

That's explaining my "speculation" comment. NO ONE KNOWS, but there's plenty guessing and placing blame but not knowing - they are speculating. Everyone on the internet is an engineer, lawyer, contract expert, expert on export rules and laws, manufacturing outside of the USA (which this would surely be, being electronic) and other experts.
No one knows the whole story, the whole chain of events, companies involved, etc. so placing blame is all speculation.

Oh look, the Jeep website says the brake controller is available !!

Go ahead and order!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

"Why doesn't Jeep just buy from Redarc" or similar wording.
Well, if only it was that simple. Then you're importing a product, electronic product, for use in a USA made vehicle. Testing testing testing.
Does Redarc manufacture their own, or do they do like many electronics firms do - contract with a company that already makes the PC boards, etc.?
Redarc likely couldn't keep up with demand as an OEM supplier! Think of the numbers.
So it would have to pass all sorts of testing as a product integrated into a truck sold on dealer lots, as well as the licensing agreements and more.
I worked in a global electronics company. We sold systems worth anywhere from a few hundred thousand dollars to over a million if you included the engineering for a specific customer (such as GAZPROM, Exxon, GM, and others)
And - believe it or not, we did not make our own PCBs! No, we had another company do that due to the extreme expenses involved (and the EPA and others) So each time there was a rev requiring a board change - we had massive hoops to jump through and work with that other company to make the next rev boards, send them back, so we could build and test the control systems.
And there's packaging to develop and more.

Here's something I bet the people suggesting "why not just have Redarc make them"
Maybe they didn't know that Redarc controllers won't pass California laws when installed in a Jeep vehicle without spending about another $100 to make them compliant - because CA law requires your trailer brake lights to come on when you manually trigger the trailer brakes! Redarc and other controllers can't do that without an add-on circuit at the back (at least at this point as far as I know)
In short, if I lived in CA, with the Redarc controller in my JT, pulling a trailer in CA and hit the trailer brake controller to pull out of a sway or something - CA could ticket me. It won't trigger the lights.
Tons of troubles getting 3rd parties involved that already sell their own to the after-market. A lot of logistics, legal things going on, not to mention capacity.
And if said trailer brake controller companies have theirs made in China - there's another mess to sort through.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Obviously someone still doesn't get it - ask your dealer, that web site as I SAID EARIER, is wrong and you simply don't bother to read disclaimers! Go ahead, hit the build your jeep site and order it - go for it!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

OK, on suing Jeep over the JT brake controller.
Good luck. Nowhere is there any liability for a vehicle maker not having such a thing available.
Grand Cherokee able to tow 7200 pounds - no brake controller.
I am going to SUE because they say it will tow 7200 pounds and yet they give me no way stop it! Time to sue! That's totally dumb that they would advertise such a thing and yet not have a brake controller.
My F250 - 10,000 pounds worth of trailer, no brake controller.
Tow ratings never ever take braking into account. It would be stupid, it would be suicide, because they can't control what you tow, how you tow it, and if you even bother hooking up the brakes. Moving the load is up to them - stopping it is completely up to you. No one else.
It's truly that simple!

And all the argument the captain of the other debate team can come up with is "it's still showing" on a web site?
A site that's not even the order guide, a site that says "specifications and prices may change without notice" and a site that Jeep marketing themselves doesn't even fully control?
Hey, we ordered a 2021 GC and yet Jeep still had ONLY the 2020 Jeeps listed! I think I will sue because we wanted to order a 2020 and not a 2021 because the web site said we COULD! We could even build it, and yet the dealers said no, they couldn't order them for over 2 months when we went in and thought we could because the Jeep site showed them! Time to sue Jeep because their site said we could order a 2020! They LIED!

So that's it? This is all based on a web site? (I could ask - and you believe anything you see on a web site) - even though Jeep says "see dealer for details" right in the disclaimer on that site?

 

[danielspivey]

Obviously someone still doesn't get it - ask your dealer, that web site as I SAID EARIER, is wrong and you simply don't bother to read disclaimers! Go ahead, hit the build your jeep site and order it - go for it!

Oh wait so the website is wrong and the brake controller isn’t available? Dang it, I was about to order one

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Oh wait so the website is wrong and the brake controller isn’t available? Dang it, I was about to order one

Right - go ahead. I told you hit the build your Jeep site and give it a try. Good luck. Geesh.

And you can drive your jeep up to the top of this big tall rock like they show in the TV ads - go for it!

I'd bet if they ever actually do come out with a controller, it will be in the $300 range, knowing Jeep... unless it really integrates fully into the whole system AND they finally find a way to trigger the trailer brake lights in manual mode - is it worth 100 more than some of the more expensive controllers out there? Doubt they sell many unless installed in the JT from the factory at Jeep prices.

 

[TheHime]

Right - go ahead. I told you hit the build your Jeep site and give it a try. Good luck. Geesh.

And you can drive your jeep up to the top of this big tall rock like they show in the TV ads - go for it!

I'd bet if they ever actually do come out with a controller, it will be in the $300 range, knowing Jeep... unless it really integrates fully into the whole system AND they finally find a way to trigger the trailer brake lights in manual mode - is it worth 100 more than some of the more expensive controllers out there? Doubt they sell many unless installed in the JT from the factory at Jeep prices.

You Sir must be a master typer! I always wonder how you put so much down on each post. Good for you on those skills lol. I always have trouble typing on my phone.

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