Do I need a Toad Charge Kit?

[Down South]

Not sure where to post this so, Mods move it if it needs to be.

Okie Dokie. I bought a 2020 Jeep Wrangler to tow behind my MH. I have 12V power at my 7-pin on the rear of the MH. It is switched power meaning the circuit is dead when the MH is shut off.
Do I need a charger? Or can I just run a charge line to the battery of my Toad?

[rk911]

do you need to leave the ignition key ‘on’ while towing it? what does your owner’s manul say about ‘recreational towing’?

[dezolen]

Originally Posted by rk911

do you need to leave the ignition key ‘on’ while towing it? what does your owner’s manul say about ‘recreational towing’?

What’s an ignition key? They are almost obsolete now. I would install charge line.

[rk911]

Originally Posted by dezolen

What’s an ignition key? They are almost obsolete now. I would install charge line.

so Jeep went to the dark side, too, eh? if nothing needs to be on while towing then no need for a charge line.

[Down South]

No key. Push button start.
I've been researching this to death and can't seem to come up with a concrete answer.

It looks like a fused charge wire would do the trick to me.

[rk911]

Originally Posted by Down South

No key. Push button start.
I've been researching this to death and can't seem to come up with a concrete answer.

It looks like a fused charge wire would do the trick to me.

well, it won't hurt. what does your Jeep's owner's manual say in the Recreational Towing section?

[RayandWendy]

You do not need a charge line since the ignition is off. The 12volt line in my harness is used to switch light control from Jeep to RV while towing.

Later ...
Ray

[Down South]

Originally Posted by RayandWendy

You do not need a charge line since the ignition is off. The 12volt line in my harness is used to switch light control from Jeep to RV while towing.

Later ...
Ray

I'm using the Stay-IN-Play DUO Supplemental Braking System and it runs off the toad battery. How much juice it will draw is in question. Brake and tail lights will have power supplied from the MH.

[Spdracr39]

If desired you can run a charge line to the battery but it will need to have an inline fuse. The "battery chargers" for these charge lines are really only diodes that prevent the motorhome from drawing the toad battery down when parked. I do not see the need personally. Running a charge line only takes a few minutes and there is no reason not to do it.

[aether_one]

Originally Posted by Down South

I'm using the Stay-IN-Play DUO Supplemental Braking System and it runs off the toad battery. How much juice it will draw is in question. Brake and tail lights will have power supplied from the MH.

Wouldn't that depend on how much braking you do?

6 hours straight on the interstate uses much less power than 2 hours in stop-n-go traffic.

[Down South]

Originally Posted by Spdracr39

If desired you can run a charge line to the battery but it will need to have an inline fuse. The "battery chargers" for these charge lines are really only diodes that prevent the motorhome from drawing the toad battery down when parked. I do not see the need personally. Running a charge line only takes a few minutes and there is no reason not to do it.

That's my thinking. The charge wire from the MH to the 7 pole connector on the rear of the MH is on a relay or switched when the MH is shut down.
I believe that I can run a #12 wire from the center pole of the 6 pole plug that hooks to the toad straight to the battery without buying some type of charger.

[Ramrod]

I have the 12 volt and the ground wire in the 7 prong to the battery in my tow vehicle with fuses. It keeps the car battery charged. Works great.

[Jon_C]

You can do that but I would install a small circuit breaker in that line.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Down South-

A summary of many of the prior threads on iRV2:

1) A Toad Charge or similar device is not necessary.

2) A wire from the toad connector to the battery should have a fuse or circuit breaker in it, as close to the battery as is practical.

3) One fellow who installed a self-resetting circuit breaker at the toad end of the charge line had a car fire that destroyed the front end of the toad. A fuse or non-self-resetting circuit breaker should have prevented the fire.

4) On rare occasion, a diode is needed in the charge line. It prevents the toad from sending 12V to the coach. If you find you need one, you can install one.

My toad has a Duo. I installed it, along with a Toad Charge. At the time, I did not know point 1) above. Later, I found that my coach was one of the rare birds that needed a diode, point 4) above. It happens that the Toad Charge provides the diode function, so I had the answer before the question was asked- sorta like Carnac the Magnificent.

Either the charge line works well, or the Duo draws less current than one might think, because my toad's tiny 340CCA "motorcycle" battery has never been dead after more than 20,000 miles of towing.