Toad battery low after being towed?

[ctpres]

I see this comment often. Might be toad alarm draining battery? We accidently learned our toad alarm was going off almost constantly on the road. Now we manually lock doors so alarm is not set.

[dan-nickie]

I can't help with what is running down the battery, but I wonder why lock the toad when towing?
Not saying you are wrong, just wondering why.

[bdickson]

Modern cars have all kinds of parasitic drains on the battery. The most effective fix for towing is to run a 12v charge line from the coach to the toad battery through the umbilical. Most coaches with a 7 pin connector have a 12v line prewired. it's a good idea to put an inline fuse at each end of the wire.

[Libero]

RE the battery drain. Does it drain when you are not connected to the coach? One can put a clamp on ammeter on and see any drain and then disconnect things until the drain is gone and you have found the source. Security systems will cause a slight drain but not likely enough to drain a battery and most activated alarms shut down after a while of flashing lights and beeping horns - I think?

Do you need to leave the ignition on while towing? That will drain the battery. That circuit can usually be disabled by pulling a fuse.

Cannot understand why the toad alarm would go off while towing it. Perhaps there is a bad connection somewhere, or your remote inadvertently activates it while in your pocket or purse etc. However some alarms can go off by having someone just touch you vehicle or with motion sensors. Is yours this type? Just wondering. The answer might be just to manually lock it and not set the alarm as you presently do.

In response to the question: Why Lock the toad?

I am not concerned about anyone sneaking up beside me while I am rolling down the road, but when we stop to sleep, rest or just walk the dog or go shopping, we like to keep our things secure. If I did not keep it locked all the time I would likely forget to lock it every time I stop.

I do keep the toad remote handy when hooked up at places like Walmart. The alarm provides an additional safety alerting mechanism that can be set off if I see someone lurking about at night near our stuff or I get unwanted visitors, I am prepared to use it as a first line of deterence. Crooks do not like noise and flashing lights.

I have remote entry locks for my RV but no alarm. I thought about getting an alarm that could be activated by providing a high resistive path to ground therefore if anyone touched my coach or car when the alarm is set I would know about it. So might all our neighbors so I would want to think about the alerting device I might use.

As I noted, some alarms are activated with motion sensors. Yours might be one of those. Just a thought.

Hope you find the answer.

[LeeRevell]

Why not disconect the toad's battery when being towed? You'd need to reet the clock and the radio presets, but that's minor.

[Libero]

Originally Posted by LeeRevell

Why not disconect the toad's battery when being towed? You'd need to reet the clock and the radio presets, but that's minor.

Some of us like to have the toad brake lights activate when the toad brakes come on. This is in addition to the RV fed brake light signals and some brake visual feedback systems use the toad brake light signal. Some box type toad brakes require local power also.

Most often the higher center brake light on the towed vehicle is not wired to the RV circuits, but it will come on when the toad brake pedal is pushed. Just more safety.

Of course it is a PITA to have to reset clocks and some vehicle computers have to reset after the battery is disconnected.

Better to run a wire to keep the toad battery charged if the drain is necessary IMHO as noted above also.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Libero

Cannot understand why the toad alarm would go off while towing it.

Many alarm systems include a motion detector - I'm sure that could easily be activated when the car is rolling down the road...

[Libero]

X2 Alan

I agree, as I noted further in my post., if that one has a motion alarm trigger, it would go off and if there was no auto shutdown after a while that beeping horn and flashing lights might run a battery down. Don't know how much current that draws.

[ctpres]

Originally Posted by dan-nickie

I can't help with what is running down the battery, but I wonder why lock the toad when towing?
Not saying you are wrong, just wondering why.

I keep expensive bike stuff in it.

[targaboat]

I have towed three different Jeep Cherokees and a Nissan and could answer your question is detail. However, every auto is different and would not attempt to answer you question. Keeping this in mind, beware of answers on this Forum and test them on your specific toad.

[wa8yxm]

Another possible battery drain is the aux-braking system.. These fall into many types.

Of them all the M&G air/hydraulic brake system does NOT use ANY power from the towed's battery.. ALL others may.. Even the Ready Brake (Which has no electrical parts) may use towed battery power.. (You are wondering how it does that.. Well read on.

Braking systems come in basically 3 types.
1: The M&G system, I know of none other like it, fits between the brake booster and the brake master cylinder, DOES not operate the brake pedal.

2: Pedal pushers: Even brake, Brake buddy and son on, These (for the most part) are boxes that go in the driver's seat (Well in front of the seat) and eat battery power and push on the pedal.

3: Pedal Pullers: This includes the Invisible Brake, US-Gear Decelerator and the ready brake.. now the first two of these also eat electricity and provide for the motor home to replenish the towed's battery.. The 3rd does not.

BUT WHEN YOU EITHER PULL OR PUSH THE BRAKE PEDAL DOWN....

The brake lights come on.


Add to that a battery that is getting long on years and it quickly becomes a dead duck.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Libero

X2 Alan

I agree, as I noted further in my post., if that one has a motion alarm trigger, it would go off and if there was no auto shutdown after a while that beeping horn and flashing lights might run a battery down. Don't know how much current that draws.

Even if it has an automatic reset, once it's reset it will just activate again!

[Libero]

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

Even if it has an automatic reset, once it's reset it will just activate again!

Thanks, it appears that the manual lock option on vehicles that have alarms with a motion sensor feature is most likely the best way to eliminate the alarm issue while towing with the toad locked.

[Chillbilly]

Look at the RViBrake 2 and their Toad Battery Charger option. Quick easy fix.