Bendix launches Australian-made Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller

With its clever ‘Plug ‘n’ Play’ design and simple self-installation, Bendix’s new Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller makes it easy and fast for drivers to move between tow vehicles, trailers and caravans.

Rather than being limited to a single tow vehicle with a fixed brake controller, the portable controller’s flexibility allows any vehicle equipped with a towbar to be used with any trailer fitted with electric brakes. Be it at work or home, if the regular tow vehicle is already committed, the Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller is the solution being ‘ready to tow’ in just a few minutes.

Bendix's Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller makes it easy and fast for drivers to move between tow vehicles, trailers and caravans, and is ready to use in minutes.

Install – remove – install. It’s easy
The controller can be self-installed with no holes in the dash or additional wiring needed thanks to its ‘Plug ‘n’ Play’ design, which includes a patch harness that easily mounts between vehicles’ existing seven and/or 12-pin trailer / caravan plugs, which then secures to the ‘A’ frame with reusable heavy-duty straps.

Power is fed to the trailer mounted controller in one of two ways. For tow vehicles with 12 pin trailer plugs, power is drawn from a permanent 12V source from the vehicle. With vehicles using seven pin trailer plugs, power is taken from existing lighting and power circuits via the cable and plug. Inside the cabin, the control interface is USB-powered (either USB A or USB C) or via the lighter socket adaptor provided, and connects to the trailer unit via RF link.

The user interface is mounted using the included commercially available phone style mounts, allowing it to be easily positioned on widely available mobile phone car mounts. The kit comes with magnetic mounting options for a vent, or a 3M backed mount as well.

The Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller keeps drivers on the right side of the law and offers considerable cost saving compared to  equipping multiple vehicles with standard brake controllers. Legally, all trailers with a gross trailer mass (the weight of the trailer with everything in it) of between 750kg and 2,000kg need to be fitted with either a mechanical or electrical braking system. And anything over 2,000kg requires an electric, or electric over hydraulic brake and an electric break-away controller.

The controller's 'Plug ‘n’ Play’ design ensures fast installation using the supplied patch harness; there's also no need for dash modifications.

Complete braking control
Controlling the braking effort is easy thanks to a simple user interface – with a twist of a dial (clockwise increases braking effort while anticlockwise reduces it), drivers have complete control. Most systems only offer 12 levels of braking, while the Bendix Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller features 30 levels of fine digital force adjustment, allowing users to closely modulate their braking over a range of towing conditions.

Also helping to ensure smooth and consistent braking performance is ‘Cushion Stop Technology’ which rounds off braking signals for a more controlled stopping motion.

Another benefit of the controller is that a mobile phone isn’t required for operation, as in most states it’s illegal to touch your mobile device while driving. Instead, the kit’s in-vehicle remote is fully self-sufficient. It features a built-in colour screen, with a brake force and override button so that everything can be controlled from the driver’s seat with ease. This means users can leave the mobile device exclusively for GPS or communication.

Users can also rest assured that the Ultimate Tow™ Portable Electric Brake Controller will be durable and reliable, as it was developed and manufactured in Australia for demanding local applications and conditions, and features an IP67-rated trailer plug module, making it suitable for river crossings and beach driving.

Bendix Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller features 30 levels of fine digital force adjustment, allowing users to closely modulate their braking over a range of towing conditions.

Safety features
The new Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller features several safeguards including a fault monitoring system that alerts the driver in real time through both visual and audible alarms if power to the brake controller is lost or if the trailer plug comes undone while driving. Also, the unit warns the driver of signal loss as well as disconnected brake lines.

Additionally, the system utilises fail safe braking methods so that even if the signal drops out or the in-cabin controller is disconnected, the trailer brakes will still be activated at the last used settings, in tandem with the vehicle brake pedal. A secure, encrypted re-pairing function allows a single remote to be used with multiple trailers and ensures no interference between trailers with similar systems nearby. Real-time encrypted data transmission prevents replay attacks, ensuring secure and reliable operation.

There are also override capabilities in-built, allowing the driver to independently brake the trailer at the touch of a button, without braking the vehicle, allowing a safe stop should trailer sway occur.

Bendix’s Ultimate Tow+™ Portable Electric Brake Controller is backed by a comprehensive 5-year warranty and is available from leading automotive aftermarket outlets throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The user interface is mounted using the included commercially available phone style mounts, allowing it to be easily positioned on widely available mobile phone car mounts.

Key benefits summary

• Easy interchangeability, going from any tow vehicle to any electric braked trailer in under 15 minutes
• Fast to install – be ready to tow in a few short minutes
• Power from a standard trailer plug
• IP67-rated trailer module that’s suitable for river crossings and beach driving
• Allows drivers to comply with towing legal requirements
• 30 levels of digital brake modulation to suit application / conditions
• Press for brake override
• Extensive built in safety features
• Secure and reliable rolling code security encrypted RF pairing
• User-centric control interface with multiple mounting options
• 5-year warranty

The controller's patch harness that easily mounts between vehicles’ existing seven and/or 12-pin trailer / caravan plugs, which then secures to the ‘A’ frame with reusable heavy-duty straps.