Elecbrakes: The Portable Electric Brake Controller Revolutionising The Way We Tow

Traditionally electric brake controllers had to be hard-wired into your tow vehicle. That meant every time you wanted to change cars, let a friend borrow your caravan, or trailer, or hire out your caravan or trailer, the tow vehicle had to have a brake controller fitted as well. Well not any more.

Designed for Australian Conditions, the Elecbrakes Bluetooth electric brake controller is waterproof, dustproof and housed inside a fully sealed vibration-resistant housing, making it a full go anywhere solution for all types of caravans and trailers. Elecbrakes utilises long range Bluetooth 4.0 modules, allowing Elecbrakes to be used with smartphones Apps or dedicated remote controls. Elecbrakes utilises a high-speed digital signal processor, allowing brake response to be calculated and adjusted over 1,000 times per second.

The latest innovation in the category of electric brake controllers, Elecbrakes is a remote mount electric trailer brake controller. Australian designed and assembled, it is installed on the trailer rather than the car: a simple solution for any trailer that gets towed by more than one vehicle. Launched in 2017, this Bluetooth electric trailer brake controller allows you to configure and monitor brake response with precision either from your smartphone, or via the remote control.

You can create and save up to 5 favourite settings as well as keep an eye on key performance indicators, such as overall braking time, which may help you keep abreast of your trailer’s service needs. The best bit? Because Elecbrakes is installed on the trailer, this device enables you to employ virtually any vehicle to tow your trailer—as long as the vehicle has the appropriate towing capacity.

This is a revolution for hire company owners. Lots of hirers who are reluctant to go to the effort and expense of permanently fitting a brake controller to their vehicle. Because of this, hire businesses can miss out on around 20-25% of hire bookings. This is why Elecbrakes suits hire customers perfectly. We also think it ‘s great for anyone out there who wants the flexibility of allowing their trailer to be towed by anybody with the right car.

What is a brake controller?

Brake Controllers are devices that operate brakes on a trailer, they come in many forms, from simple fixed output device through to more advanced systems which provide variable output in response to an input such as deceleration. Generally, brake controllers are either electric or electric / hydraulic.

Why do I need an electric brake controller?

The requirement for an electric brake controller depends on the brake system fitted to the trailer. All trailers over 750Kg GTM require some sort of brakes either mechanical or electric. As the GTM of the trailer exceeds 2000 The trailer manufacturer chooses which brake type they fit depending on trailer design and its intended use. Trailers over 2000kg GTM require brakes that can be adjusted or “tuned” from the normal driving position, therefore electric brakes are fitted to the trailer. A trailer with electric brakes needs an electric brake controller to operate the trailer’s brake system.

Are they legally required in all states?

In all states of Australia trailers over 750Kg GTM must comply with ADR38, which states that the trailer must be fitted with an efficient Services Brake System which, with the exception of trailers equipped with an ‘Over-run Braking System”, must be designed so that brake response can be progressively controlled by a control signal from the towing vehicle in normal operation. There are additional requirements in ADR38, however, the requirement of a control signal from the towing vehicle is what tells us that if your trailer has electric brakes you will need “an electric brake controller”.

How are electric brake controllers installed now?

Traditionally brake controllers also referred to as In-Car Controllers, are installed aftermarket into the intended tow vehicle. Typically, the controller is mounted within arm’s reach of the driver with holes drilled into the dashboard and attached by mounting brackets affixed with screws. The Wiring is then spliced into the vehicle’s wiring loom and ran to the rear of the vehicle, terminating at the vehicle’s trailer plug.

Why is Elecbrakes so different?

Elecbrakes is a new design that takes all the good parts of traditional Electric Brake controllers plus some new ones and mounts them on the trailer utilizing a Bluetooth connection to conform with ADR38 requirements allowing the driver to proportionally increase or decrease brake response on the trailer braking system from the driver’s seat. Being mounted on the trailer provides key advantages such as any suitably sized tow vehicle can tow the trailer, brake response is set and stored in the unit on the trailer. Multiple power supply circuits reduce the load on any one circuit and provide redundancy for bad connectors or faulty circuits.

What are the benefits of having the brakes installed on the trailer and not in the car?

The main benefit is the trailer can be towed by any vehicle that has sufficient towing capacity, and a towbar. Additionally, any adjustments made to the brake response programs are stored within the Elecbrakes meaning the owner/operator can fine tune the brake response knowing it’s saved into the units’ memory for anyone else that uses the trailer in future. Furthermore, as the Elecbrakes unit is installed on the trailer the dashboard of that new vehicle doesn’t get drilled and tampered with.

Why is Elecbrakes bluetooth brake controller better than a portable brake controller?

In most states of Australia portable brake controllers are actually illegal. Elecbrakes is fully certified by the Roads and Maritime service and has the tick of approval from all states and territories. There have also been reports of some portable electric brake controllers catching fire while in use, not only does this present a huge risk to the family of those using the brake controller it may void your insurance.