Review on Hopkins 47297 INSIGHT Simplified Brake Control Plug-in by Michael Robinson

I wanted to wait until I could use this controller for heavy towing before writing a review. I had this chance last weekend. I have a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Eco Diesel and used it to tow a 7000 lb load in about 6 hours of driving. The trailer brakes and controls worked perfectly. The controller was easy to set up and worked very proportionally. The actuation of the brake was very linear. That doesn't mean everything is perfect. I am very satisfied with the service. The facility itself isn't bad either. My only problem is the remote display and handbrake remote control. Both are more than I would like, especially when it comes to manual brake control. When trying to find a place for both, their size caused some problems. It's not that they're so big that they don't fit, it's that they're big enough that it's difficult to make them invisible once they're installed rather than being used. It's much better with the display after removing the rubber frame and swivel mount. It would have been nice although it had a lot less depth. To the point where the back of the device can be taped to a flat surface facing the driver. It's deep enough that the only real choice is to mount it somewhere high on the dash. I put it on the dash just in front of the A-pillar. When not in use it's a little more noticeable than I'd like, but not terrible. Without a ball mount that only hooks up to the top of the dash with Velcro, it's not perfectly tilted toward the driver. The ball mount lets you tilt it any way you like, but the ball mount was too bulky for me. At least it works. For the manual brake actuation, it is much bulkier and therefore more difficult to find an inconspicuous place for it. I ended up attaching it to the knee roll as low as possible and outside of the cab. It's quite big. I would prefer it to be at least 1/2 its size. The whole idea of separating the three parts of this setup instead of a single unit is to allow for a flexible and "custom" setup. If you take their bulkiness and then add some pretty heavy duty cables, a true custom or integrated look becomes very difficult. Despite these difficulties, I give this product 5 stars, albeit barely. The reason is that when it comes to downsizing, it still does better than the stock brake control unit and works very well. Just be prepared to spend some time setting it up the way you want it, and be aware that it's going to be very difficult to get a truly integrated look and feel.