Brake controller

Any creative ways to hide the standard universal trailer brake controller so that it looks factory?
2019 TRD Sport. Has the pocket on the left but controller is too long. Or..am I being lied to that the dealer cannot install a flush one like they can on fords in one of the knock out panels.
Thanks!

 

Like the install and having really good heavy tows with this Redarc.

 

What/where did you get for the front panel? Looks good

 

Does anyone have any experience with the Curt Echo Bluetooth Brake controller?
Looks like you just plug it into your 7 way connector and download an app and use your phone as the remote. I’m really thinking of going this way l only tow occasionally. Would use a old phone without cell service for Bluetooth connection. I would link to controller but don’t know how to.

 

Curt brake controller.

 

I am drawing a blank on the maker of the switch panel. A number of designs are available. Will see if i can find the paypal transaction.

Shapeways Inc, 29.00

 

Which model curt controller did you use and which panel? That looks nice.

 

I have a Redarc.



The panel is a Meso custom. I tow this:





It works very well.

 

Looks nice! Right now I have a Tekonsha P3 in my cubby, but even with the adapter panel to hold it in place in there it still sticks out a whole lot. I'm probably going to upgrade to a 2020 Tacoma when they come out and think I might switch over to the Redarc when I do. It looks really nice, almost OEM with the switch plate you can get, and is nice and compact.

What other custom switches you have there in your top row?

 

Brake controller and adapter from eTrailer and the cubby panel from Shapeway.

I’m very happy with the quality, and look. I mounted the controller to the left thinking I could add a switch on the right and it’s easier to see around the steering wheel.

The details are in the pics.

 

Top row is Light in Scoop, Redarc, Arc Audio Sub knob, Gentec garage door opener.

 

I really like that setup. One of these days when I'm not sinking all of my mod money into the trailer, I'll upgrade my controller. I mounted my cheap tekonsha below the dash, so it isn't sticking out of the cubby like a rejected 8-track tape. I don't like how it looks, but It's the only place I could find where I can tolerate it.

Downside is that if I scoot my seat forward due to rear seat passengers, I bang my knee on it. That's a pretty rare occurrence though.

 

I had a Tekonsha P3 in my last truck. When I went to install it in the Taco, I was like, nope. Not even with the adapter plate. Stuck out way too much. I'm not tall, but I could plainly see I was going to whack my knee on the thing every time I got in the truck.

 

Found the shapeways site for the person that does the blank cubby panel you show there and they actually make a whole line of the panels for that spot, including ones already designed for the Redarc controller. Nice! Will have to bookmark that so I can get one when I switch over to the Redarc.

 

I'm looking at that myself... did you ever get a response?

 

Not sure if it was that one, but I remember TFL Truck on YT reviewed/looked at a bluetooth brake controller on their channel before. Might have been Tekonsha's instead of Curt's, but guessing the tech is similar.

 

I already owned a Primus IQ from my previous vehicle and didn't feel the need to purchase a new $200 unit just to get it to a more factory look like the redarc. I only tow maybe half a dozen times a year and didn't want something too crazy, nor did I want to put holes in my dash. I ultimately decided to use double sided gorilla tape and neodymium magnets to mount the controller, I can easily tuck the wires under the dash when not in use and there's just a few small magnets left after taking off the controller. It's worked great and I haven't had any issues with the magnets or tape holding so far.

 

I have a couple questions:

I'm about to pull the trigger on a '20 TRD Sport, and I want to install a Curt Spectrum with the kind of dash setup that Inferno! used above - the Shapeways pocket cover with the Curt rotary mounted to the left and room for a switch to the right. Here's my issue - according to a lot of reviews of the Spectrum, even at its dimmest setting, the LED's that light up when you brake without a trailer in tow are pretty bright, to the point of being almost distracting. I have some light sensitivity/night vision issues, so that could be problematic.

First question: At first look, I can't see any problem with installing an SPST on the white ground wire so that I can just turn the controller completely off whenever I don't have a trailer in tow - am I missing anything?

Second question: If it *is* okay to drop a switch into the system, I want that switch to both look OEM *and* have a safety cover so that my clumsy ass doesn't accidentally cut my controller off while I'm pulling a load. I've hunted far and wide; this is the closest thing I can find (https://www.amazon.com/Button-Switch-Safety-Cover-Light/dp/B079S6JMVW) to what I'm looking for, but that's still not quite right. Does anyone know of an OEM-look pushbutton switch that has a safety cover and fits a standard Toyota dash cutout?

 

I want her blond, beautiful, smart, rich, and to love camping. You’re looking for a bit of a unicorn in that switch.

Maybe the easier way to go about it would be to wire the switch into the overhead console. It’s just wires after all? That would let you keep the oem look, and remove the switch from the usual temptations.

 

Or if you wanted to do super cool, you could get a momentary switch connected to a latching relay that took about 4-5 seconds of contact to latch or unlatch. But that puts a failure point in your power circuit.