Redarc Electronic Trailer Brake Controller

When we bought our 2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon with the 3.0-liter V-6 EcoDiesel, we had plans to use it to tow a small travel-trailer on-road and off. The Jeep came from the factory with the Trailer-Tow Package. That included a Class IV Receiver Hitch, extra cooling for the engine, and  Trailer-Hitch Zoom on the backup camera. One thing that it didn't include was a trailer brake controller. That's not too surprising, but it did leave us with a conundrum. First, we knew we wanted a trailer brake controller, and with such a nice new vehicle we also did not want to scab some cheap-looking brake controller under the dash where it would bang our knee and generally look ugly.

The solution was to reach out to Redarc, an Australian company with many products including inverters, power supply units, DC to DC chargers, and electronic brake controllers, all with an eye towards overlanders and on- and off-road use. With a bit more information, we settled on the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite Electronic Brake Controller. With its remote controller switch and vehicle-specific wiring and switch inserts, the resulting installation was simple and looks darn near factory. Here's how it went.

What We Got

In order to take our Gladiator to the next level of towing ability, Redarc sent us the Tow-Pro Elite Redarc Brake Controller Wiring Harness (PN: TPH-022, for Jeep Gladiator and 2018-2022 Jeep Wrangler with the tow package), and the Redarc Switch Insert (PN: TPSI-003). The Tow-Pro Elite box contains the main unit, remote switch, a wiring harness to connect the two, a universal switch mount, a universal pigtail wiring harness, instructions for installation and use, and a Redarc sticker. You won't need either the universal switch mount or the universal pigtail if you have also ordered a vehicle-specific switch mount and harness.

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Installation, Easier Than Pie

The written installation instructions included with the Tow-Pro Elite are comprehensive but somewhat generic, since they don't know what vehicle you are installing the unit into. We also found an installation video from Redarc that shows most of what you need to know to install this unit (or the Tow-Pro Liberty) into a Jeep Gladiator, which should be the same as installation on a Jeep JL with the tow package. We did not need the remote-mount bracket shown in the video. You will want to remove the negative battery terminal from your Jeep's main battery to avoid any accidental shorts.

Getting Started

We started by assembling the remote switch and the vehicle-specific switch insert (TPSI-003). We then took the main unit, remote switch, the wire to connect the switch to the main unit, and our vehicle-specific wiring harness out to the Jeep. We popped the kick panel under the steering column loose—it pries free pretty easily; we just used our hands to carefully pull it—then removed the bezel around the stop/start switch (it also pops out pretty easily). We then disconnected the two plugs from the bezel. With this removed, there was one Philips head screw in the center of the main switch stack exposed. We removed this screw and pried out the center switch-stack. Tip: You can either disconnect all the plugs to this center stack or leave them connected. We left them in place and removed the factory-included cigarette lighter port from the bezel.

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Removing the Cigarette Lighter From the Dash

To remove the lighter, unplug the pigtail from the back of the cigarette lighter port. There is a specific tool that helps remove the cigarette lighter from the dash bezel, but we simply pushed firmly on the back of the metal center of the cigarette lighter until it slid forward out of the clear plastic retainer. You can then remove the clear plastic retainer from the dash by pushing on the small retaining snap clips and sliding it out of the front of the bezel. You will need to make a notch in the top of the opening where the cigarette lighter was located for the switch insert to key into. We used a small file to make this notch. Next, we installed the Redarc remote switch and bezel and routed the wire from the switch through the dash to the area under the steering column. At this point, you can reassemble the dash parts you pulled apart, but leave the kick panel loose for mounting the main unit.

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Wiring Connections

This installation is all plug-and-play. With the remote switch mounted and the wiring harness from it routed under the steering column, you can plug that harness into the main unit of the Tow-Pro. To find the factory trailer control wiring plug you have to reach up on the left side of the kick panel opening under the steering column and find the gray plug. It was difficult for us to find at first and there were a couple other open plugs in the area, but none that connected to the Redarc vehicle specific wiring harness (PN: TPH-022). With that found and the harness installed you can plug the other end of the harness into the main unit of the Tow-Pro.

Mounting the Main Unit

The video (above) from Redarc showed a mounting bracket that we did not have. We were able to use two self-tapping screws to mount the main unit to the metal crossmember under the steering column. If your Gladiator (or Wrangler) is more heavily optioned than ours, you may need the Tow-Pro Mounting kit, PN: EBMK-001, or else you could easily duplicate the bracket with a few nuts and bolts and some steel strapping. We trimmed some unused plastic off the back of our kick panel using a razor knife just to ensure nothing was hitting the unit as installed. The last step is to reconnect the battery and, with the truck running, push the Redarc switch button. It will light up blue if it is installed correctly.

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Tow-Pro Elite vs. Tow-Pro Liberty

We chose the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite because it has the additional feature of multiple braking modes: Proportional Mode (inertia sensing) for highway conditions, and User-Controlled Mode for off-road towing. The Liberty is a bit less expensive and has the same proportional braking system as the Elite, but does not have the option of switching to User-Controlled Mode. The Elite costs a bit more, but has the added controllability for use in certain off-road conditions, whereas the Liberty is well-suited to everyday, on-road towing. Switching between modes is simple and only requires stopping, rotating the dial fully counterclockwise, and pushing the switch twice while holding the brake pedal.

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SOURCE:

• Redarc:704.247.5150, redarcelectronics.com