2000 Journey toad question

[zagguy]

I have a 2008 Honda Crv that I want to set up as my toad and I also have a small trailer to pull my 4 wheeler with. The previous coach owner removed the electrical plug in from the back of the coach for the toad. (Just wires there now.) I didn't notice it was missing until after I bought the mh. My questions are:
1. What kind of plug in do toads use? I want to wire a new plug in but I am wondering what kind of plug to buy?
2. There is what appears to be a small round 4 pole electrical plug on the back of the coach. Thought I could buy an adapter to fit it and adapt to the 4 pole flat adapter on my wheeler trailer, but the adapters I found are too big to fit in the hole. Anybody have an idea what the plug in is for or if there is an adapter?i
3. What brand of toad tow bar do mh owners recommend, and what brand of braking system?

[JayLodge]

My MH had the large round electric connection. An adapter brings it down to the smaller round that you probably are talking about.
I've loaded a photo of my Blue Oxe and Brake buddy connection (red coil that you might not notice is the "breakaway" that would activate the BBuddy if the toad separates) Takes me less than 5 minutes to either connect or disconnect. I even had a hardware store key cut for my Jeep Liberty; won't allow it to run, but allows the steering wheel to stay in the unlocked position while towing.

Blue Oxe dingie connection - iRV2.com RV Photo Gallery

[Cheryl Bisson]

We have a Blue Ox Alladdin Tow Bar and Toad Stop II accessory brake that has been used for over four years and 43,000 miles of towing and have been thoroughly happy with it. Blue Ox stands behind their products, too, with a great warranty. We had an "issue" and they readily stepped up to the plate on just our word and at no cost to us other than shipping charges.

After you have decided on a tow bar determine the towing height. Blue Ox recommends that the RV receiver hitch is not more than 4" higher than the base plate attachment points. If needed, Blue Ox has a line of drop receivers in 2" increments which can also be inverted in case the base plate is higher than the receiver.

As for the safety cable hookup, our cables are crossed under the tow bar as shown in the Blue Ox'x operator's manual, and the electrical "umbilical cord" lies beneath the tow bar but on top of the crossed cables.

What we really like about the brake accessory system is that nothing has to be put in or taken out when we hookup/unhook. We have never had the engine battery run down and have towed as long as 10 hours.

At the beginning of hookup with its parking brake on, the CRV engine is started and the gear shift lever is run through the gears exactly according to Honda's procedure. Total time to hookup the tow bar, safety cables, electrical cord, and brake accessory cable is then about 3 minutes and another minute or so to check tail lights, brake lights, turn signals, and the accesory brake. By this time the CRV engine has run the three minutes it needs, and the key is turned to accessory and the engine goes off. After the CRV parking brake is released the RV is moved forward to lock the tow bar, and we're ready to go, all within 5 minutes.

There is a wealth of information on Blue Ox's website including installation, operation, and parts manuals for their various tow bars and braking systems. We bought our systems at an RV show in 2005 and at that time there was a 10% discount show price. This may not be the case in today's economy.

If it's convenient for you the factory in Pender, NE, still provides installation, I believe, for the systems you choose at your cost. They have an RV park there at the factory which is free to anyone who has a Blue Ox product on their RV, even if you're just passing through. Tours of the factory are also provided.

Safe towing miles....

[skigramp]

The connector that is on our 2004 journey is a

TAP 7-pole RV Connector

Available Here (and other places too)

the plug is available there too ...

There is an adaptor that plugs into the 7 pole connector and provides a connector for a 4 pin cable.