John Ford details the process for fitting a REDARC Tow-Pro Elite brake controller to his 2012 200 series LandCruiser tow vehicle.
Having just moved over to a low-milage 2012 GX Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series from my trusty old 100 Series, the first thing I noticed was the very ordinary brake controller. It was old school, and it wasn't a REDARC. But on the other hand, I was used to the proportional braking and minute adjustment of the Tow-Pro Elite in the trusty 100.
So, time to upgrade. REDARC Electronics has planted the Tow-Pro Elite as the go-to system for heavy-duty caravan towing. Introduced in 2014, I've yet to experience anything that comes close.
The beauty of the Elite is that in proportional mode, the controller senses how hard you are braking from its three-axis accelerometer and adds braking pressure as needed. The more you brake, the more the REDARC applies stopping power to the caravan.
The Tow-Pro has two modes, and they can be switched when stationary by setting the remote head to 0, holding the brake pedal and pushing the remote button twice. The colour of the head will change from blue to green. Blue is proportional auto-braking, and green is user control mode where you set the amount of braking you want for different road conditions — when offroad in soft sand conditions, for example. The override ability is also crucial because you can apply light braking to the caravan brakes by pushing the remote button to help stabilise the van if it starts to sway.
REDARC offers universal wiring kits to suit various vehicles. We chose the Universal Extended Wiring Kit with the Tow-Pro Elite and a universal loom to connect back to the existing trailer plug and the battery. REDARC has instructions on its website, and with the kits, so I was confident I could fit the brake controller successfully.
The product bundle comes with the main controller, the remote head and the wiring looms for connecting them. The main controller needs to be mounted securely inside the vehicle cabin, as its movement sensors must be calibrated to learn its orientation and which way is up. I started by removing the facia under the LandCruiser’s steering wheel and a higher panel to the right. This gave access to a spare blank to fit the remote head and an easily accessible space for the controller. It's possible to install the remote control knob closer to the centre of the vehicle dashboard where it’s easier to see and where the passenger might use the manual override in an emergency. But you may need to drill a hole in the facia to fit the control knob.
Next, I fed the long loom back through a rubber grommet in the firewall and plugged the three colour-coded wires into the main controller. The black wire goes to the start battery, and the red and blue cables lead back along the chassis rail to the trailer plug.
To make the connection to the existing brake light wire very secure and foolproof, REDARC includes a waterproof wago push-in terminal to connect the new loom to the brake light circuit. It makes sense when you follow the instructions, but in essence, you remove the red lead to the existing trailer plug for the brake light, plug it into the connector and then run the red lead from the new loom to the trailer plug and connect it to position 6. This process solves the issue of trying to screw two wires into the slot in the trailer plug where there is only space for one. Next, remove the blue wire, tape it off and insert the new loom blue wire into the trailer plug at position five for the service brakes (on a round or flat seven-pin plug).
The final step is to connect the black wire to the positive terminal on your start battery. The Tow-Pro Elite automatically calibrates without having the van connected. You need to drive around in a secluded location and safely apply the trailer brakes 10–15 times to a complete stop.
The install
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Step 1: Remove the left side dash panel |
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Step 2: The lower dash removed |
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Step 3: The remote control |
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Step 4: The remote control installed |
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Step 5: Bolt the controller to the firewall |
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Step 6: Click the wires into the controller plug |
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Step 7: The trailer plug rewired |
The REDARC Tow-Pro brake controller kit with the remote, main controller and basic wiring retails for $399. The Extended Wiring kit comes complete at $593.
For more information, head to the REDARC website.
THE NEXT STEP
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