Bought a toad today, need some advice.

[Socaltoolguy]

Well, today we bit the bullet and bought a very nice almost new 2019 Equinox 1.5L FWD. It's only got 11,400 miles on it and looks and drives like a brand new car. Not sure why it was on the lot but it was. So, with that said now comes the fun part. I'm going to order a Blue Ox tow plate for it and hopefully I can install it myself. The part where I get confused is in the wiring that will need to be done. So, if anybody here has a similar car and has first hand experience with the necessary wiring, I'd sure appreciate any help you may offer. I read the entry in the Motor Home magazine regarding the Equinox's towability but I'm not sure about a charging wire and any wiring that needs to be added for the stop/turn/tail lights. I really hate to pay somebody to do something that I should be able to do myself. Thanks in advance,

Ray

P.S. I forgot to include that I also have a Ready Brute Elite tow bar and surge brake system. It went with our last motorhome but I bought it back from that guy who never used it. So, I have to wire for it also. If I'm not wrong, I need to wire a charge line, wiring for the stop/tail/turn lights and the wiring to the motor home that lets me know that the surge brake is working as it should. At least this time I won't need to wire for a Remco pump system.

[Newmar2856]

Check out Roadmaster’s Fitmaster site for suggested components to outfit your rig for towing.

https://fitmaster.roadmasterinc.com/...LT&type=direct

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Socaltoolguy

Well, today we bit the bullet and bought a very nice almost new 2019 Equinox 1.5L FWD. It's only got 11,400 miles on it and looks and drives like a brand new car. Not sure why it was on the lot but it was. So, with that said now comes the fun part. I'm going to order a Blue Ox tow plate for it and hopefully I can install it myself. The part where I get confused is in the wiring that will need to be done. So, if anybody here has a similar car and has first hand experience with the necessary wiring, I'd sure appreciate any help you may offer. I read the entry in the Motor Home magazine regarding the Equinox's towability but I'm not sure about a charging wire and any wiring that needs to be added for the stop/turn/tail lights. I really hate to pay somebody to do something that I should be able to do myself. Thanks in advance,



Ray

Nice. I just got a used 2020 2.0L AWD Equinox on Thursday. I’m going with the Roadmaster EZ5 baseplate, the Nighthawk towbar, and the Stay-IN-Play braking system myself. A friend just put all of those on his 2019 Equinox 1.5L FWD and he did it himself with assistance from a friend. He said it took about twelve hours because his friend is a perfectionist.

Yes, you will need a charge line. If you haven’t already, go over to eTrailer.com and they will have articles on everything you need as well as very detailed videos on how to do it on the Equinox. Their videos are also on YouTube.

The lighting wiring can either be done with a diode kit or by installing separate LED lights in the same housing, which is not near as difficult as it sounds. Again, eTrailer is your friend on projects like this.

Good luck,

Ray

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Ray-

Before you work on the toad, it's important to know how the coach is wired and working correctly.

According to the owner's manual for your coach (link here, page 47), your coach came from the factory with separate wires for turn and brake signals. The manual does not say what kind of tow plug Monaco used.

Questions:

1) What type of tow plug is installed on the coach?
2) Do the signals match the "standard" trailer signals (link here) for that type of tow plug?
3) Is a converter (link here) installed upstream of the coach tow plug?
4) Are there any "extra" wires run from the tow plug, that is, wires other than the 5 listed on the manual?

On that last question: A prior owner may have installed a wire from the tow plug to the dashboard for a trailer electric brake controller. If that is the case, you can use that wire for your "brake activation" signal from the Ready Brute Elite towbar. I use that wire on our coach (which is built into the tow plug on a 2008) for an activation LED. Saved me running a separate wire from back to front.

Your coach has a Workhorse chassis, doesn't it? You might want to add that to your signature (see mine for an example).

Even though you don't have a powered braking system you may want a charge line (I have no idea- different toad, different system). That's another reason to scout the tow plug and see if one's already been run.

I installed the braking system in our toad, and our mechanic installed the baseplate and taillight wiring. Through no fault of his, the taillight system wiring failed and I rewired it. So, I ended up doing both wiring jobs.

[Roy-c]

Look on e-trailer to see if there is a plug and play wiring harness available. Did that to our 2015 Wrangler. Easy install and doesn't use the toad elec system for lights. You would need to have the steering column lock on the toad removed ( Jeep doesn't have one ) so that you can leave ign key off or pull a fuse when towing to prevent batt discharge.

[oldecmech]

We have a 2019 Equinox 2.0 FWD. I installed a Roadmaster baseplate and standalone wiring harness. We use the Ready Brute tow bar and brake system. Very happy with the result.

I did encounter interference between the baseplate and the cars intercooler when installing the baseplate. With concurrence from Roadmaster, I elongated the base plate mounting holes to allow it to be moved forward about a quarter inch.

The wiring kit was a easy install. Installed an extra bulb socket in each tail light. I like not having to break into the factory wiring on a new car. I installed a self resetting circuit breaker next to the battery and ran a charge wire through it from the motor home. We have had no toad battery problems so far.

The hardest part of the job was installing the brake cable.

With it all set up, hookup is very easy. Follow the instructions in the owners manual and you will be good to go. Good luck and safe travels.

[Socaltoolguy]

Originally Posted by oldecmech

We have a 2019 Equinox 2.0 FWD. I installed a Roadmaster baseplate and standalone wiring harness. We use the Ready Brute tow bar and brake system. Very happy with the result.

I did encounter interference between the baseplate and the cars intercooler when installing the baseplate. With concurrence from Roadmaster, I elongated the base plate mounting holes to allow it to be moved forward about a quarter inch.

The wiring kit was a easy install. Installed an extra bulb socket in each tail light. I like not having to break into the factory wiring on a new car. I installed a self resetting circuit breaker next to the battery and ran a charge wire through it from the motor home. We have had no toad battery problems so far.

The hardest part of the job was installing the brake cable.

With it all set up, hookup is very easy. Follow the instructions in the owners manual and you will be good to go. Good luck and safe travels.

That all sounds very interesting seeing as how we will also be using a Ready Brute Elite tow bar/ brake system. I'd like to know more about how you ran the wiring to your stoplights and everything that you did to ensure that it would be charging as you went down the highway. I'm sure I can figure it all out but it might be easier just to ask how you did it. The motor home has a standard 7 wire connector along side of the hitch. The original owner used a Falcon All Terrain towbar but I have no idea what he used as a braking system. Thanks for your help in advance. And for your input this far too.

[oldecmech]

Ray, for the lights, I used a Roadmaster RM 155 tail light wiring kit. Etrailer.com is a good source and they have an excellent detailed video of the Equinox installation on their web site. You will need to replace the flat 4 pin connector at the front with a round 6 wire trailer connector, RM 910030-7 or equivalent. Use a standard 7 blade to 6 pin cable to connect the coach to the toad. I have a RM 146-7 706 which works well. Installation of the wiring kit will require you to get the car high enough off the ground to be able to work underneath it from front to back.

If you're not sure of the coach wiring, check each pin in the round connector with a digital volt meter. You can Google trailer connector wiring and find lots of diagrams showing the correct wire positions. The center pin should give you 12 volts. You may need the key on, or engine running, depending on how it's wired. This is the pin that will supply charge voltage to the toad battery.

For the toad charge line, connect a wire to the center pin of the 6 pin connector on the car. I like 12 gauge wire for this. Install a common DC automatic circuit breaker near the battery. 15 amp seems to be most recommended. Run the wire from the 6 pin to the circuit breaker, then another wire from the circuit breaker to the positive post of the car battery. If you don't want to piece this together, RM 156-25 is a battery charge line kit.

Now, all that said, I am not an expert. All I know is what has worked for me,, so please take it as that.

[Socaltoolguy]

Originally Posted by oldecmech

Ray, for the lights, I used a Roadmaster RM 155 tail light wiring kit. Etrailer.com is a good source and they have an excellent detailed video of the Equinox installation on their web site. You will need to replace the flat 4 pin connector at the front with a round 6 wire trailer connector, RM 910030-7 or equivalent. Use a standard 7 blade to 6 pin cable to connect the coach to the toad. I have a RM 146-7 706 which works well. Installation of the wiring kit will require you to get the car high enough off the ground to be able to work underneath it from front to back.

If you're not sure of the coach wiring, check each pin in the round connector with a digital volt meter. You can Google trailer connector wiring and find lots of diagrams showing the correct wire positions. The center pin should give you 12 volts. You may need the key on, or engine running, depending on how it's wired. This is the pin that will supply charge voltage to the toad battery.

For the toad charge line, connect a wire to the center pin of the 6 pin connector on the car. I like 12 gauge wire for this. Install a common DC automatic circuit breaker near the battery. 15 amp seems to be most recommended. Run the wire from the 6 pin to the circuit breaker, then another wire from the circuit breaker to the positive post of the car battery. If you don't want to piece this together, RM 156-25 is a battery charge line kit.

Now, all that said, I am not an expert. All I know is what has worked for me,, so please take it as that.

Thank you so very much for all that info and the pics. It looks like a fairly easy install for someone with the ability to lift the car. I'm 77, I live in a mobile home and no longer own a floor jack or stands. So, I guess I will have to PAY somebody to do all this for me. I hate paying someone when I could do it myself with the right situation. Anyway, I'm going to go with the Blue Ox tow plate but I will be ordering all the wiring/lighting kits from etrailer.com. I have yet to read the owner's manual regarding towing our car. I hope ours being the 1.5 will be the same as yours. Ours is a 2019.

[Spdracr39]

I know that my 2020 2.0 premier has all LED lights and there is not plug and play light harness so I had to actually cut and patch into the wires. As far as the charge line it was easy to install at the same time as the rest of the light wiring. The base plate install video at E-trailer is pretty good but not perfect. I did mine on ramps without a lift but a lift would have certainly been easier. The best advice I can give is measure three times and get everything exactly where it is supposed to be or it will be very difficult to get the front fascia to line up on reinstall.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by spdracr39

I know that my 2020 2.0 premier has all LED lights and there is not plug and play light harness so I had to actually cut and patch into the wires. As far as the charge line it was easy to install at the same time as the rest of the light wiring. The base plate install at E-trailer is pretty good but not perfect. I did mine on ramps without a lift but a lift would have certainly been easier. The best advice I can give is measure three times and get everything exactly where it is supposed to be or it will be very difficult to get the front fascia to line up on reinstall.

I’m about to do this on my 2020 Premier 2.0 with LED lights as well. Which baseplate did you go with and why do you think getting the car elevated was necessary?

I know it would make it easier to run the lighting wires and remove that one panel underneath but are there any other reasons?

What did you have to re-measure?

I’m probably going to go with the Demco baseplate because it just looks like a better install than the Roadmaster and it has safety cables. I really didn’t like how you have to hammer the frame and bend it a bit to get the Blue Ox baseplate to fit. That tells me that they made it the wrong size.

Ray

[Spdracr39]

Originally Posted by NXR

I’m about to do this on my 2020 Premier 2.0 with LED lights as well. Which baseplate did you go with and why do you think getting the car elevated was necessary?

I know it would make it easier to run the lighting wires and remove that one panel underneath but are there any other reasons?

What did you have to re-measure?

I’m probably going to go with the Demco baseplate because it just looks like a better install than the Roadmaster and it has safety cables. I really didn’t like how you have to hammer the frame and bend it a bit to get the Blue Ox baseplate to fit. That tells me that they made it the wrong size.

Ray

I used the Blue Ox base plate. My ramps gave me access to get under the front to easily remove all the screws and such holding the plastic guards and it raised the mounting points up where it was easier to reach everything without laying on the floor (I sat on a milk crate for most of it). The hammering part isn't a big deal but again would be more difficult to do with the car on the ground. The way this one mounts actually measuring isn't a factor but making sure the bar ends are all the way in position after hammering is very important. I have some pictures of the install on my blog listed in my signature. It isn't detailed but will give an idea of the intensity. The one thing I don't like about the base plate is the distance the connections stick out. They are probably out 2-3 inches further than the install on my 2015 and are a shin hazard if you forget in the garage.

[NXR]

Thanks. I did look at your pictures.

I'm still trying to get estimates to do mine so I'll probably end up doing it myself to save the money. I do like how the Blue Ox baseplate does not require that the fascia be cut and I did notice how far those safety cable pieces-parts do stick out.

I've watched videos on the Blue Ox, the Roadmaster, and the Demco baseplate installs from Etrailer. Each one did the same thing in slightly different ways, which I thought was odd because I figured that Etrailer would be pretty standardized.

Was there anything in particular that was a "gotcha" moment or a "This is not what the video showed!" moment? I'll buy new drill bits and new torx bits (and ramps) but I should have everything else.

Ray

[Winemaker2]

While you are at it add a charge line.
I like resettable circle unit breaker instead of a fuse. Dont usecan auto reset breaker as I've read reports of an owner that lost a toad from a fire that was due to a breaker resetting repeatedly.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/20-Amp-In-L....m46890.l49292