Hopkins Towing SolutionsBrakeBuddy 39530 Stealth Braking Package

This unit is fairly easy to install and wire up. The difficulty is in the setup and testing afterwards. I installed this on a 2016 Jeep JKU. I did remove a small bracket underneath the drivers seat in order to make room for the unit. See pic of underside of drivers seat. After installing, the instructions describe how to test the unit. You may expect the unit to pull the brake pedal a few inches. It will not. It will only put it about 3/4". This is because the until needs the booster pump to help pull the brake pedal farther. To test this you will need to provide 12v power to the 7n1 plug port that puts power to the pump. The pump should only turn on for about 30 to 45 secs. If longer, check for leaks. Mine originally ran for over 2 mins, then I found a crack in the provided tee fitting. Once replaced the pump ran just fine. After that, everything else was easy to install and wire up per the instructions. Test in the driveway and used it on our recent 450 mile trip. Brake controller installed inside the motorhome worked great on the steep grades.

Once installed the unit works great and has met all my expectations for plug and go ease of use. It also works well in doing what it's supposed to which is help stop the tow vehicle. I have mine on a 2014 Honda CRV with AWD. It's being towed by a class c 3170ds from Forest River. This has the Ford E450 van front 2013 vintage. The motorhome hitch plug works with the brake buddy red cable with no rewire needed. There is however a need to connect the brain box in the cab area and you will need a special cable to tap the brain box into the Ford brake wiring. This will make it so that you don't need to cut into the motorhome wires. The connection point is behind that dash behind the coin holder at the top of that dash panel but to get to it you need to remove the entire panel(not easy).Now for the reason for 4 stars. The install of the brake buddy is not an easy thing to do and it's a job best left to a pro. Mine was installed by a friend who is a pro and his feedback was he will never do another one. Also the box inside the vehicle is large. We managed to get it to fit under the drivers seat but only after removing the seat and pulling back the carpet to bare floor. It works but it's tight and the carpet and one of the plastic covers had to be cut to fit. Again not really a problem but not an easy install.Would I buy the Brake Buddy again if I changed tow dingy? Yes I would assuming I could get it installed for a reasonable price. The reason is once installed it's incredibly easy to set and go in seconds. Super easy on disconnect too once at the camp site or if you unexpectedly get into a tight spot while towing i.e. At a gas station etc. It lives up to the claims for ease of use so if that's your number 1 interest this is the unit for you. And of course it works effectively to stop the car with no problems caused to the tow vehicle.

This system, when sorted, works pretty well. It's also extremely easy to hook up and go, requiring none of the traditional nonsense associated with braking systems. Their all-in-one connector is excellent, and really works well. That said, it's been a long road (over a month) to get it installed and at a point where it safely stops the towed car.June 9: I ordered the Brake Buddy Stealth kit for my 2017 GMC Acadia V6.July 5: I set about installing the kit, and realized that I was missing the harness and umbilical from what appeared to be an open box item. Called Hopkins tech support, and they stepped up and sent replacement parts for what was probably an unscrupulous customer's swindle. Kudos!July 12: Install attempt round two. This time the install is successful, however, the controller that mounts in the towed vehicle is acting like it's fried. I called tech support and again, Hopkins stepped up and sent a replacement controller.July 18: Receive controller and install. Appears to have fixed the problem. But now, the brake pedal is only pulling in a quarter of an inch when testing breakaway or trying to actuate it with the test button on the controller. I called tech support again and determined it's a bad main unit. I ordered a whole new kit, figuring I'll get good parts from one kit and send back the bad parts.July 21: New kit arrived. I replaced the main unit and it changed nothing. Start advanced troubleshooting. Check voltages at the main unit under varying conditions - everything checks out. Detach the cable from the brake pedal and determine that the thing actually does stroke about four inches. Turns out the overload protection in the main unit is functioning as intended because too much effort is required to move the pedal. I test the vacuum pump and it's working as designed.I then moved the cable attachment point to the very bottom of the brake pedal for leverage. This isn't what was shown in the instructions, but I was able to make it work and it did help - brake now moved about 2 inches. Then I tried testing it with the towed car idling (to provide good vacuum) and found that the pedal would move about 4 inches before the protection overload would stop it. The conclusion - not enough vacuum.I tested the car's booster line with a vacuum gauge while running, and noted that it was pulling 25 inches of mercury (inhg). Tested the vacuum with the pump doing the work (engine off), and found that it would kick on at 10inhg and shut off at 15inhg. So the reason the system only works when the car is running is because the supplied vacuum pump is inadequate, providing ~10 less inches of vacuum than the car needs for proper booster operation.Then I did some research on the Dorman vacuum pump in the kit. It's used in Ford trucks to provide accessory vacuum when starting the car for stuff like the AC controls. It's really not intended for something as significant and critical as braking. In any event, I took it apart and found that I had some wiggle room on the thresholds. I adjusted the contacts in the vacuum switch, and got it to the point where it would kick on at 15inhg and run it up to about 20inhg. Reinstalled the pump and took the car for a tow test, and it worked pretty well for well spaced braking events.However, the vacuum pump ran every time I pressed the brake, and did so for 90-120 seconds. That wasn't going to cut it for multiple braking events within a one to two minute period (think traffic). Also, it sounded like it was working really hard to build 20inhg, and I suspected that it wouldn't be lasting very long. If it were to fail, I wouldn't have towed car braking, and that's no good since I'm taking my wife and four little kids on a cross country trip next month.So rather than start over, I set about fixing the vacuum deficit at the beginning of August. For around a hundred bucks, I was able to get a Volvo brake booster vacuum pump and a multicomp vacuum switch (search Amazon). I made a mounting plate and used these two pieces with a relay to power the pump directly from the battery (picture attached). The result is that I can maintain vacuum between 19-23 inches, and the system now seems to work great. This vacuum pump is far superior, and only runs for about ten seconds between braking events.Despite the fact that I'm good to go now, the vacuum pump included with the kit is sub-par and is now sitting in my parts bin. I contacted Hopkins with all of this information, and while they were responsive and helpful throughout this adventure, their engineers' final determination was that the provided vacuum pump should get the job done. That may be true for a Honda Civic, but in practice (and in fact) is was not adequate for my Acadia. In other words, unless you're really technically competent, I'd consider other options.

System was installed on a jeep wrangler. Works very well and was relatively easy to indtal if you have any electrical and mechanical experience.

This is a 6+ hour project so set aside a full day. 4 phases of installation... 1 the harness, 2 the pulley, 3 the vacuum pump, 4 the controller. None of it is excessively difficult, just take your time and be somewhat mechanically inclined. I had to take a couple trips to the Auto Store for a smaller check valve and vacuum line. Overall it looks great and passed the ops check, will update once a have spent a few hundred miles towing.

Works great

I'm sure we'll like it but haven't installed yet.

I liked that this package is nearly invisible after installation. Mounted the main unit in the very back of the 2017 Wrangler JKU. Still had to cut some of the cable length. And hiding the cable and wiring along the drivers door required only very little disassembly. I put the external plug on the passengers side of the grill. There were already two holes perfectly spaced. All wires were perfect in length and everything you need comes with this package.