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Telluride—Proving u can’t always get what you want
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Successfully towing my 3822lb Camper this weekend
- Thread author mattnh55
- Start date
Based on this site:
Rockwood Roo 19 - Forest River RV
Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the Roo 19 Roo Expandable Travel Trailers.
forestriverinc.com
Your dry hitch weight is 448lbs. That leaves you with 520lbs of cargo in the trailer before you hit the Telluride's 500lb tongue weight and 10% of 5,000 max for towing. You can't go by the 1,009 lbs max cargo note on your Roo because the max tongue weight on your towing vehicle will be exceeded, so you have to remain under the lowest common denominator. As previous stated the lower the better, so to be at 4,000lb towing weight you could tow your Roo and 408lbs of cargo (4,000 - 3,592) , then your tongue weight would be 489lbs (448 + (10% of 408)).
| Trailer cargo weight | Trailer total weight (keep under 5,000) | Trailer tongue weight (dry hitch + 10% of trailer cargo) | Vehicle hitch weight (keep under 500) |
| 520 | 3592 + 520 = 4,112 | 448 + 52 | 500 (10% of 5,000) |
| 460 | 3592 + 460 = 4,052 | 448 + 46 | 494 (9.9% of 5,000) |
| 408 | 3592 + 408 = 4,000 | 448 + 41 | 489 (9.8% of 5,000) |
So you may want to carefully pack your trailer and once you hit that limit try the roof rack of the Telluride or the trunk space. Unfortunately popups and small hybrid travel trailers have a higher tongue weight than the hardsided travel trailers. There are some hardsided travel trailers that have a hitch weight as low as 305lbs that will let you add 1,950lbs of cargo weight in the trailer (of course evenly distributed to keep the hitch level).
It doesn't mean your Telluride can't pull your Roo, it just means you have to pack light. To continue to remain on the safe side you should pay attention to your GVWR of your EX and subtract your curb weight and try to not to overload the Telluride itself beyond the GVWR minus the hitch weight. So for example, If you have the EX AWD 8-passenger, the GVWR might be 5,917, subtract curb weight of 4,354, subtract 520 hitch weight that leaves you with 1,043lbs in and on the Telluride for passengers and cargo. So towing your Roo and adding cargo you can carry total of 1,563 lbs of passengers and cargo. If you have the EX FWD and/or the new EX 7-passenger option, your cargo capacity will be higher because the curb weight is lower without AWD and with captains chairs.
HOWEVER, other websites report the 2010 Forest River Rockwood Roo 19 has a dry hitch is 239lbs. That changes many things. If that is the true number, then you are looking at 1,009 lbs of cargo on the trailer being your limit as that would make the total trailer towing weight 3592 + 1009 = 4,601 (well under the max of 5,000) and bring your tongue weight to 340 (well under the max of 500). Which could bring your Telluride cargo to 1,223lbs or more and your total cargo up over 2,000.
I would try to figure out what the actual dry hitch weight is of your trailer before you panic. You may also have to subtract fresh water (~257lbs) and a propane (~41lbs) from the GVWR. So 4639-3592-257-41= 749 lbs. I'm not sure how that compares to the 1,009lbs on your sticker. The most accurate measurement is to have it empty with no cargo and either go to CAT scale station to get weight at the tongue or look online for the wood, pipe, cinder block and bathroom scale measurement and do the calculation.
This post has some information on the Curt Echo.
Coachmen Apex Nano 185bh RV for Telluride
I often see advice to set a vehicle to towing mode when towing. Any advice on what is the best mode to drive a Telly in when towing? (IS there a towing mode??). Also, what do people use when converting to a 7 pin with a Curt Echo when their trailer has electric brakes? I am seeing "RV" adapters...
tellurideforum.org
To get your brakes working it's a safe option. Most of the negative reviews are for people that think that the Echo needs to be connected to your bluetooth app all the time and their phones lose connection or they didn't properly set the hitch height and WDS so the accelerometer gets triggered at the wrong time. You can use your phone to monitor it all the time, but you don't have to. Once you set it, the controller should work standalone. It (combined with, load management, the weight distribution system and sway bars) is a very easy way to add electric brake controls.
This post also has some notes on a suggested way to configure, connect and load your cargo.
Basically, if you just have the tow option (no tow package), then load the cargo in the Telluride, connect your trailer and add the cargo to the trailer, then try to get the hitch and trailer level with your WDS.
If you have the tow package with the Nivomat self-leveling suspension, it's not impossible, but requires a few more steps with load management and setting up the WDS to make sure after the shocks lift the backend, the hitch and trailer remain level.
My advice, if you have the tow package, then go to Uhaul or a reputable camper dealer to get a traditional brake controller installed. If you don't have the tow package (just tow option), then go with the Curt Echo, you just need to add a wire to the battery that can run under the car and put a 40Amp inline fuse there. You can probably even have Uhaul or a reputable camper dealer install the wire needed to make the Curt Echo work.
It's also important to check and keep your trailer tire PSI at or near the max and monitor the Telluride's tire pressure. You don't want added weight to blow a tire because of improper load management.
Lastly, if you don't have the tow package and you plan to pull your travel trailer a lot, think about getting air bag helper springs ($150-400 depending on DIY or paid install) or air bag suspension system ($400-1,000 depending on kit and installation). It will make life a lot easier because you can adjust the height to whatever you need to.
Last edited:
@NCTelly This is an awesome write-up! There is a lot of great data in there for folks looking to properly tow a loaded trailer. Kudos for that.
I wanted to add that when I purchased my equalizer hitch (WDS) the manual came with some calculations of vehicle "squat" to help determine if the spring bars were correctly loaded and adjusted. I took a few measurement before and after getting the bars right just to see how the Telluride would take the ~400 pounds of tongue weight:
As you can see, the squat before using an equalizer hitch was well beyond what anyone should feel comfortable driving with. But simply adding the spring bars and loading them down solves the problem.
I do not have the factory towing package with the rear leveling shocks. Personally, I don't have a need for additional leveling beyond the equalizer hitch, but I am wondering what Kia is really saying when they list the tongue weight maximum at 500 pounds.
I wanted to add that when I purchased my equalizer hitch (WDS) the manual came with some calculations of vehicle "squat" to help determine if the spring bars were correctly loaded and adjusted. I took a few measurement before and after getting the bars right just to see how the Telluride would take the ~400 pounds of tongue weight:
| Rear Squat | 1.25" | Without equalizer hitch |
| Front Squat | -0.50" |
| Rear Squat | 0.56" | With equalizer hitch |
| Front Squat | 0.06" |
As you can see, the squat before using an equalizer hitch was well beyond what anyone should feel comfortable driving with. But simply adding the spring bars and loading them down solves the problem.
I do not have the factory towing package with the rear leveling shocks. Personally, I don't have a need for additional leveling beyond the equalizer hitch, but I am wondering what Kia is really saying when they list the tongue weight maximum at 500 pounds.
Sportshot2
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Based on this site:
Rockwood Roo 19 - Forest River RV
Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the Roo 19 Roo Expandable Travel Trailers.forestriverinc.com
Your dry hitch weight is 448lbs. That leaves you with 520lbs of cargo in the trailer before you hit the Telluride's 500lb tongue weight and 10% of 5,000 max for towing. You can't go by the 1,009 lbs max cargo note on your Roo because the max tongue weight on your towing vehicle will be exceeded, so you have to remain under the lowest common denominator. As previous stated the lower the better, so to be at 4,000lb towing weight you could tow your Roo and 408lbs of cargo (4,000 - 3,592) , then your tongue weight would be 489lbs (448 + (10% of 408)).
Trailer cargo weight Trailer total weight (keep under 5,000) Trailer tongue weight (dry hitch + 10% of trailer cargo) Vehicle hitch weight (keep under 500) 520 3592 + 520 = 4,112 448 + 52 500 (10% of 5,000) 460 3592 + 460 = 4,052 448 + 46 494 (9.9% of 5,000) 408 3592 + 408 = 4,000 448 + 41 489 (9.8% of 5,000)
So you may want to carefully pack your trailer and once you hit that limit try the roof rack of the Telluride or the trunk space. Unfortunately popups and small hybrid travel trailers have a higher tongue weight than the hardsided travel trailers. There are some hardsided travel trailers that have a hitch weight as low as 305lbs that will let you add 1,950lbs of cargo weight in the trailer (of course evenly distributed to keep the hitch level).
View attachment 8350
It doesn't mean your Telluride can't pull your Roo, it just means you have to pack light. To continue to remain on the safe side you should pay attention to your GVWR of your EX and subtract your curb weight and try to not to overload the Telluride itself beyond the GVWR minus the hitch weight. So for example, If you have the EX AWD 8-passenger, the GVWR might be 5,917, subtract curb weight of 4,354, subtract 520 hitch weight that leaves you with 1,043lbs in and on the Telluride for passengers and cargo. So towing your Roo and adding cargo you can carry total of 1,563 lbs of passengers and cargo. If you have the EX FWD and/or the new EX 7-passenger option, your cargo capacity will be higher because the curb weight is lower without AWD and with captains chairs.
HOWEVER, other websites report the 2010 Forest River Rockwood Roo 19 has a dry hitch is 239lbs. That changes many things. If that is the true number, then you are looking at 1,009 lbs of cargo on the trailer being your limit as that would make the total trailer towing weight 3592 + 1009 = 4,601 (well under the max of 5,000) and bring your tongue weight to 340 (well under the max of 500). Which could bring your Telluride cargo to 1,223lbs or more and your total cargo up over 2,000.
I would try to figure out what the actual dry hitch weight is of your trailer before you panic. You may also have to subtract fresh water (~257lbs) and a propane (~41lbs) from the GVWR. So 4639-3592-257-41= 749 lbs. I'm not sure how that compares to the 1,009lbs on your sticker. The most accurate measurement is to have it empty with no cargo and either go to CAT scale station to get weight at the tongue or look online for the wood, pipe, cinder block and bathroom scale measurement and do the calculation.
This post has some information on the Curt Echo.
Coachmen Apex Nano 185bh RV for Telluride
I often see advice to set a vehicle to towing mode when towing. Any advice on what is the best mode to drive a Telly in when towing? (IS there a towing mode??). Also, what do people use when converting to a 7 pin with a Curt Echo when their trailer has electric brakes? I am seeing "RV" adapters...
To get your brakes working it's a safe option. Most of the negative reviews are for people that think that the Echo needs to be connected to your bluetooth app all the time and their phones lose connection or they didn't properly set the hitch height and WDS so the accelerometer gets triggered at the wrong time. You can use your phone to monitor it all the time, but you don't have to. Once you set it, the controller should work standalone. It (combined with, load management, the weight distribution system and sway bars) is a very easy way to add electric brake controls.
This post also has some notes on a suggested way to configure, connect and load your cargo.
Basically, if you just have the tow option (no tow package), then load the cargo in the Telluride, connect your trailer and add the cargo to the trailer, then try to get the hitch and trailer level with your WDS.
If you have the tow package with the Nivomat self-leveling suspension, it's not impossible, but requires a few more steps with load management and setting up the WDS to make sure after the shocks lift the backend, the hitch and trailer remain level.
My advice, if you have the tow package, then go to Uhaul or a reputable camper dealer to get a traditional brake controller installed. If you don't have the tow package (just two option), then go with the Curt Echo, you just need to add a wire to the battery that can run under the car and put a 40Amp inline fuse there. You can probably even have Uhaul or a reputable camper dealer install the wire needed to make the Curt Echo work.
It's also important to check and keep your trailer tire PSI at or near the max and monitor the Telluride's tire pressure. You don't want added weight to blow a tire because of improper load management.
Lastly, if you don't have the tow package and you plan to pull your travel trailer a lot, think about getting air bag helper springs ($150-400 depending on DIY or paid install) or air bag suspension system ($400-1,000 depending on kit and installation). It will make life a lot easier because you can adjust the height to whatever you need to.
There is a lot of good Information in your posting. However, if you are advocating that 340 lbs of tongue weight for a 4601 lb loaded trailer Is enough tongue weight, I would disagree. 10% is the minimum recommend amount of tongue weight which would be 460 lbs. Tongue weight matters because to little will create Handling issues.
______________________________
Thanks. Yes I agree 100% tongue weight still matters. I was only mentioning that if the trailer and cargo weight is 4,601 then 10% of 4,601 becomes the limiting factor and you should keep hitch weight between 340-460, you still should not get to 500. If your actual tongue weight is lower than 10% of your max tow weight then your new max tongue weight is 10% of your new tow weight not the max. But if it's higher then the number to stay under is the calculated tongue weight and your max tow weight is tongue multiplied by 10%. You only get to 500 Tongue Weight or 5,000 Tow Weight if you are pushing the max limit in both.
Last edited:
MavenMom
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FWD may do better for your towing. It is less total weight with the same power and the bulk of the weight is already distributed some over the front axle and gets better fuel efficiency. Braking should be equal between both in normal driving conditions.
Basically all the same rules apply when you are towing than when you are not towing. If you are driving in snowy or very wet conditions or on an incline when you might need traction that AWD would otherwise help with, you can counter not having AWD in your FWD by getting good tires and adding more weight over the rear axle of the Telluride when balancing your load for your trailer. In most regular conditions you would not want to engage AWD mode when towing. But if you need the traction then that's where it makes a difference. For example if you tow a boat and plan to go to a boat ramp with all four tires wet it might be nice to have better tires to make up for the back wheels not having as much traction. But if your front wheels are dry in that case and the boat ramp is not steep you might be fine. However, if you are towing a camper, I would guess most people have no problem adding passengers and more weight to the rear of the Telluride which pushes down giving more traction. You really never lose by getting good tires. The FWD Tellurides still offers the same brake based cornering control, anti-sway, engine HP/torque specs and towing capacity that the AWD offers. FWD or AWD the most important factors are good tires, braking and weight distribution and the same principles apply. When you are towing just like in bad weather you give yourself more room to brake and more room to accelerate. With FWD you can't accelerate in snow or rain as well as AWD, same applies when towing. Since higher speeds in bad weather are a bad idea because you have less traction and require much more room to brake most drivers tend to drive slower when towing anyway it may not be a major concern.
______________________________
Last edited:
Thought on pulling this trailer with brake contollerBased on this site:
Rockwood Roo 19 - Forest River RV
Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the Roo 19 Roo Expandable Travel Trailers.forestriverinc.com
Your dry hitch weight is 448lbs. That leaves you with 520lbs of cargo in the trailer before you hit the Telluride's 500lb tongue weight and 10% of 5,000 max for towing. You can't go by the 1,009 lbs max cargo note on your Roo because the max tongue weight on your towing vehicle will be exceeded, so you have to remain under the lowest common denominator. As previous stated the lower the better, so to be at 4,000lb towing weight you could tow your Roo and 408lbs of cargo (4,000 - 3,592) , then your tongue weight would be 489lbs (448 + (10% of 408)).
Trailer cargo weight Trailer total weight (keep under 5,000) Trailer tongue weight (dry hitch + 10% of trailer cargo) Vehicle hitch weight (keep under 500) 520 3592 + 520 = 4,112 448 + 52 500 (10% of 5,000) 460 3592 + 460 = 4,052 448 + 46 494 (9.9% of 5,000) 408 3592 + 408 = 4,000 448 + 41 489 (9.8% of 5,000)
So you may want to carefully pack your trailer and once you hit that limit try the roof rack of the Telluride or the trunk space. Unfortunately popups and small hybrid travel trailers have a higher tongue weight than the hardsided travel trailers. There are some hardsided travel trailers that have a hitch weight as low as 305lbs that will let you add 1,950lbs of cargo weight in the trailer (of course evenly distributed to keep the hitch level).
View attachment 8350
It doesn't mean your Telluride can't pull your Roo, it just means you have to pack light. To continue to remain on the safe side you should pay attention to your GVWR of your EX and subtract your curb weight and try to not to overload the Telluride itself beyond the GVWR minus the hitch weight. So for example, If you have the EX AWD 8-passenger, the GVWR might be 5,917, subtract curb weight of 4,354, subtract 520 hitch weight that leaves you with 1,043lbs in and on the Telluride for passengers and cargo. So towing your Roo and adding cargo you can carry total of 1,563 lbs of passengers and cargo. If you have the EX FWD and/or the new EX 7-passenger option, your cargo capacity will be higher because the curb weight is lower without AWD and with captains chairs.
HOWEVER, other websites report the 2010 Forest River Rockwood Roo 19 has a dry hitch is 239lbs. That changes many things. If that is the true number, then you are looking at 1,009 lbs of cargo on the trailer being your limit as that would make the total trailer towing weight 3592 + 1009 = 4,601 (well under the max of 5,000) and bring your tongue weight to 340 (well under the max of 500). Which could bring your Telluride cargo to 1,223lbs or more and your total cargo up over 2,000.
I would try to figure out what the actual dry hitch weight is of your trailer before you panic. You may also have to subtract fresh water (~257lbs) and a propane (~41lbs) from the GVWR. So 4639-3592-257-41= 749 lbs. I'm not sure how that compares to the 1,009lbs on your sticker. The most accurate measurement is to have it empty with no cargo and either go to CAT scale station to get weight at the tongue or look online for the wood, pipe, cinder block and bathroom scale measurement and do the calculation.
This post has some information on the Curt Echo.
Coachmen Apex Nano 185bh RV for Telluride
I often see advice to set a vehicle to towing mode when towing. Any advice on what is the best mode to drive a Telly in when towing? (IS there a towing mode??). Also, what do people use when converting to a 7 pin with a Curt Echo when their trailer has electric brakes? I am seeing "RV" adapters...
To get your brakes working it's a safe option. Most of the negative reviews are for people that think that the Echo needs to be connected to your bluetooth app all the time and their phones lose connection or they didn't properly set the hitch height and WDS so the accelerometer gets triggered at the wrong time. You can use your phone to monitor it all the time, but you don't have to. Once you set it, the controller should work standalone. It (combined with, load management, the weight distribution system and sway bars) is a very easy way to add electric brake controls.
This post also has some notes on a suggested way to configure, connect and load your cargo.
Basically, if you just have the tow option (no tow package), then load the cargo in the Telluride, connect your trailer and add the cargo to the trailer, then try to get the hitch and trailer level with your WDS.
If you have the tow package with the Nivomat self-leveling suspension, it's not impossible, but requires a few more steps with load management and setting up the WDS to make sure after the shocks lift the backend, the hitch and trailer remain level.
My advice, if you have the tow package, then go to Uhaul or a reputable camper dealer to get a traditional brake controller installed. If you don't have the tow package (just tow option), then go with the Curt Echo, you just need to add a wire to the battery that can run under the car and put a 40Amp inline fuse there. You can probably even have Uhaul or a reputable camper dealer install the wire needed to make the Curt Echo work.
It's also important to check and keep your trailer tire PSI at or near the max and monitor the Telluride's tire pressure. You don't want added weight to blow a tire because of improper load management.
Lastly, if you don't have the tow package and you plan to pull your travel trailer a lot, think about getting air bag helper springs ($150-400 depending on DIY or paid install) or air bag suspension system ($400-1,000 depending on kit and installation). It will make life a lot easier because you can adjust the height to whatever you need to.
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Alohatl
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This is really good info! Thanks for sharing. Just one question about traditional brake controller vs echo. Can you elaborate why it’s recommended to get the traditional controller (and not echo) on the vehicle with tow package installed? I have a SX with tow package and self leveling. Need some advice. Thank you!Based on this site:
Rockwood Roo 19 - Forest River RV
Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the Roo 19 Roo Expandable Travel Trailers.forestriverinc.com
Your dry hitch weight is 448lbs. That leaves you with 520lbs of cargo in the trailer before you hit the Telluride's 500lb tongue weight and 10% of 5,000 max for towing. You can't go by the 1,009 lbs max cargo note on your Roo because the max tongue weight on your towing vehicle will be exceeded, so you have to remain under the lowest common denominator. As previous stated the lower the better, so to be at 4,000lb towing weight you could tow your Roo and 408lbs of cargo (4,000 - 3,592) , then your tongue weight would be 489lbs (448 + (10% of 408)).
Trailer cargo weight Trailer total weight (keep under 5,000) Trailer tongue weight (dry hitch + 10% of trailer cargo) Vehicle hitch weight (keep under 500) 520 3592 + 520 = 4,112 448 + 52 500 (10% of 5,000) 460 3592 + 460 = 4,052 448 + 46 494 (9.9% of 5,000) 408 3592 + 408 = 4,000 448 + 41 489 (9.8% of 5,000)
So you may want to carefully pack your trailer and once you hit that limit try the roof rack of the Telluride or the trunk space. Unfortunately popups and small hybrid travel trailers have a higher tongue weight than the hardsided travel trailers. There are some hardsided travel trailers that have a hitch weight as low as 305lbs that will let you add 1,950lbs of cargo weight in the trailer (of course evenly distributed to keep the hitch level).
View attachment 8350
It doesn't mean your Telluride can't pull your Roo, it just means you have to pack light. To continue to remain on the safe side you should pay attention to your GVWR of your EX and subtract your curb weight and try to not to overload the Telluride itself beyond the GVWR minus the hitch weight. So for example, If you have the EX AWD 8-passenger, the GVWR might be 5,917, subtract curb weight of 4,354, subtract 520 hitch weight that leaves you with 1,043lbs in and on the Telluride for passengers and cargo. So towing your Roo and adding cargo you can carry total of 1,563 lbs of passengers and cargo. If you have the EX FWD and/or the new EX 7-passenger option, your cargo capacity will be higher because the curb weight is lower without AWD and with captains chairs.
HOWEVER, other websites report the 2010 Forest River Rockwood Roo 19 has a dry hitch is 239lbs. That changes many things. If that is the true number, then you are looking at 1,009 lbs of cargo on the trailer being your limit as that would make the total trailer towing weight 3592 + 1009 = 4,601 (well under the max of 5,000) and bring your tongue weight to 340 (well under the max of 500). Which could bring your Telluride cargo to 1,223lbs or more and your total cargo up over 2,000.
I would try to figure out what the actual dry hitch weight is of your trailer before you panic. You may also have to subtract fresh water (~257lbs) and a propane (~41lbs) from the GVWR. So 4639-3592-257-41= 749 lbs. I'm not sure how that compares to the 1,009lbs on your sticker. The most accurate measurement is to have it empty with no cargo and either go to CAT scale station to get weight at the tongue or look online for the wood, pipe, cinder block and bathroom scale measurement and do the calculation.
This post has some information on the Curt Echo.
Coachmen Apex Nano 185bh RV for Telluride
I often see advice to set a vehicle to towing mode when towing. Any advice on what is the best mode to drive a Telly in when towing? (IS there a towing mode??). Also, what do people use when converting to a 7 pin with a Curt Echo when their trailer has electric brakes? I am seeing "RV" adapters...
To get your brakes working it's a safe option. Most of the negative reviews are for people that think that the Echo needs to be connected to your bluetooth app all the time and their phones lose connection or they didn't properly set the hitch height and WDS so the accelerometer gets triggered at the wrong time. You can use your phone to monitor it all the time, but you don't have to. Once you set it, the controller should work standalone. It (combined with, load management, the weight distribution system and sway bars) is a very easy way to add electric brake controls.
This post also has some notes on a suggested way to configure, connect and load your cargo.
Basically, if you just have the tow option (no tow package), then load the cargo in the Telluride, connect your trailer and add the cargo to the trailer, then try to get the hitch and trailer level with your WDS.
If you have the tow package with the Nivomat self-leveling suspension, it's not impossible, but requires a few more steps with load management and setting up the WDS to make sure after the shocks lift the backend, the hitch and trailer remain level.
My advice, if you have the tow package, then go to Uhaul or a reputable camper dealer to get a traditional brake controller installed. If you don't have the tow package (just tow option), then go with the Curt Echo, you just need to add a wire to the battery that can run under the car and put a 40Amp inline fuse there. You can probably even have Uhaul or a reputable camper dealer install the wire needed to make the Curt Echo work.
It's also important to check and keep your trailer tire PSI at or near the max and monitor the Telluride's tire pressure. You don't want added weight to blow a tire because of improper load management.
Lastly, if you don't have the tow package and you plan to pull your travel trailer a lot, think about getting air bag helper springs ($150-400 depending on DIY or paid install) or air bag suspension system ($400-1,000 depending on kit and installation). It will make life a lot easier because you can adjust the height to whatever you need to.
In some of the reviews it talked about the echo losing signal and not working...would hate when going in rural areas and windy roads not to have brakes
I think this is just confusion on how it works. The brake controller has a triple-axis accelerometer that allows it to continue operating even if your phone dies or loses connection, it just remembers the setting and keeps running. The phone and app are needed when setting it up to your liking and hooking up your trailer. I don’t know how hard this is to change on the fly if you have the tow package and need to modify because of the self leveling shocks if they raise or lower hitch height. It should work but just may require more adjustment.
______________________________
Once the settings are set on the Echo, there is no need for your phone, unless you want to keep that big red button available to override the brake settings. Your phone can be completely dead - the Echo brakes will still work on the last setting. I am wondering what signal the brakes lost? Mine works perfectly, and the new models have a strap that secures it to the adapter cover. Otherwise, the hair bands for pony tails work great.
Stoney is correct - once it's set up the phone isn't necessary unless you need to manually activate the brakes. As far as I know the only time you would need to manually activate the brakes is to correct a sway condition. I've towed a 2200lb trailer more than 1000 miles and never had a hint of a sway problem. The Echo has worked flawlessly for me.
Martin Kodiak
Working Man
This is the Brake controller I use, and I like it very much. Easy to adjust, and a manual lever to add extra brake, or trail brake in heavy wind
How did your Telle do towing the Wildwood FSX 179DBK? I am looking at the Wildwood 178BHSK with dry weight of 3513. Do you have any advice? Thanks!
______________________________
MavenMom
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We just did this also, T-Newbie. My husband ran it through the firewall, then along a channel in the door frame then over the wheel well rear drivers side, then pushed it down into where it needed to go. There are many wires already running through there. You did what we did, also. We upgraded the 4 pin to 7pin. Then we found out we needed this kit from Etrailer. This has everything you need not only to upgrade the pins but also to run the wire from battery to back. THe important thing is that little diode thing that goes near the battery and keeps the signal going in the right direction. Be aware that on the Telluride, that black cord is JUST ENOUGH to get you from the back to the front and the diode. We then used a short jumper and some shrink connectors to get from the diode to the battery, using the terminal loops they gave us. Any 12 gauge wire would work, I would guess, but the diode and the other bits are what were very specific.
If you are doing this new, folks, buy this kit before you change your pin set up in the back. You won't have brakes without the kit, even with the echo, you will just have lights. Now we have this extra one we dont need.
| ETBC7L | 7-Way RV Upgrade Kit for Trailer Brake Controller Installation - 12 Gauge Wires |
Last edited:
MavenMom
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I just wanted to let everyone know that after a rough start, we were able to get this combo of Telluride and Travel Trailer set up to tow. We ended up going with the echo brake controller, as it was just so much simpler to install with one long wire from the battery to the back. So we have brakes working, with lots of control. Those who worry the echo will have connectivity issues with bluetooth, that is not a problem, as the interface does not need to be open and connected on your phone to work. It is more for adjusting the brakes, so if you close it or...lose connectivity, the Echo continues to work with the last settings it had.
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Nice what size is your trailer? What model? I'm shopping for my 1st one and i am overwhelmed with deciding what to pick to be sure it will work
MavenMom
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Ours is an expandable travel trailer. This gave us the most options for sleeping comfortably without having so much weight. It is a Rockwood Roo 19 with two heated, fold down queen beds on the ends. 2010 Forest River Rockwood Roo 19 Trailer : Reviews, Prices and Specs : RV Guide It has a dry weight of 3170 and a gross weight of 4639 lbs. It sleeps 8 it says, but I would say closer to 6 if you are sleeping on the dinette or the jackknife couch. We paid $6500 for it, a STEAL from a very motivated seller who was paying storage on it for 8 years!
