Community Forums

dfwm_newf · 04-03-2015, 10:47 AM

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on these products. I am thinking about purchasing for my 2007 CRV toad. i purchased a BlueOx braking system that when hooked up tells me my battery is weak.

dennis45 · 04-03-2015, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfwm_newf

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on these products. I am thinking about purchasing for my 2007 CRV toad. i purchased a BlueOx braking system that when hooked up tells me my battery is weak.

It is fairly well known that the CRV Battery is undersized when using it with an electric braking system such as the Patriot.
I suggest you investigate changing the battery to a larger size with a higher amp hour rating. I'm not familiar with the 2007 model, but on my 2013, it was fairly simple. I purchased the battery tray for a Honda Odessy which fit in place of the OEM CRV tray which now accommodates the larger Group 24 battery.

The other mod is to add a Charge Line from the MH Battery to the toad battery. It is an easy task on a DP but not sure what would be involved with a Gasser.
Attached is a post on the subject that might answer some of your questions. See my post #12 on changing batteries. Like I said, mine is a 13 and not sure how it relates to the 07.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/the-...ug-240459.html

CarlAda · 04-03-2015, 02:19 PM

I use a Toad Charger and it's effective. I thought the connectors (between coach/toad) were a bit on the cheesy side. Have thought about putting better connectors, but so far have not done so.

You could well have a charge line already running and would be worth taking a look to see if there is. Otherwise, it's a relatively simple procedure to run a line back to your towing connections.

ShapeShifter · 04-04-2015, 07:53 AM

Adding a toad charge line is simple. All you really need is a couple inexpensive 20 or 30 amp circuit breakers (rating depending on the wire size you use.)

The circuit is simply: Battery -- CircuitBreaker -- umbilical -- CircuitBreaker -- Battery

You need the circuit breaker on both ends, because the wire could be powered from both ends. Any short on the umbilical or connectors could be powered by either battery.

On the toad end, it's easy to connect to the battery or an always live stud on the fuse box -- put the circuit breaker as close to the battery or power stud as possible.

On the coach end, if you have a standard 7 pin trailer plug on the back, you can use the battery charge line from that connector, that's why it's there.

If you just have a 4-pin lighting umbilical between the coach and toad, you will have to rig up another umbilical for the charge line. I went with a 6-pin umbilical on my toad, and combined the four light wires, the toad charge, and the brake system control into a single umbilical using standard wiring conventions.

I'm sure those two products will work, but they seem like expensive overkill to me. It's not that complicated.

R2Home · 04-04-2015, 02:22 PM

We have a 'Pro series' jump battery that we plug the braking system for the toad into. It works good, last several days if not re-charged. When we does stop for the night and we use the generator, I plug the jump battery into the AC power for a few hours. If we stay at a RV camp ground, then it is plugged in for the night. By using this system, there is NO draw on the toads battery.

ChasA · 04-04-2015, 02:54 PM

I would avoid a braking system that says it charges the toad battery. That is misleading. Read the instructions and they will tell you to turn on the motor home lights. All those devices are doing is connecting the motor home lights to the towed battery. Put a toad-charge on it and forget turning the motor home lights.

ShapeShifter · 04-04-2015, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChasA

I would avoid a braking system that says it charges the toad battery.

That's kind of a misleading statement there, and overly general. It would be better to warn people to check how it charges the battery and avoid it if it requires turning on the headlights.

There are braking systems that genuinely do charge the toad battery using a dedicated charge line. The US Gear Unified Tow Brake is one such system with a true toad charging line.

lre01 · 04-04-2015, 05:36 PM

RVI charger is separate component, it charges the toad battery, good company to work with. There braking system is good to.

Rich-n-Linda · 04-06-2015, 05:22 PM

You don't need a special box, toad charger or anything else to keep the towed battery charged when towing. All you need is a wire from pin 4 of the 7-pin connector (+12 volt line) to the + terminal of the towed battery. Put a 10-amp fuse in the line near the battery and you're done. Your towed battery will be charged from the motor home.

I've done it this way for years and never had a dead battery in the towed, or a blown fuse.