Trailhawk towing causes dead battery?

[rdavis0521]

I just purchased a 2021 Trailhawk, and had it setup with a BlueOx baseplate for towing. I received a phone call from a friend who is currently on a RV caravan tour, and he mentioned that two TrailHawk owners on the same caravan had devastating problems where their TrailHawk batteries ended up being completely depleated after 2-4 hours of towing. This caused issues that they ultimately couldn't get the vehicle out of the "neutral" transfer case mode.

Anyone with experience towing a recent TrailHawk heard of this issue? Manual says to completely turn off the vehicle, so the only drain should be the brake system which would be plugged in (at least theoretically). So, would this be user error, or is there perhaps an issue here?

Thanks,
Ray

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by rdavis0521

I just purchased a 2021 Trailhawk, and had it setup with a BlueOx baseplate for towing. I received a phone call from a friend who is currently on a RV caravan tour, and he mentioned that two TrailHawk owners on the same caravan had devastating problems where their TrailHawk batteries ended up being completely depleated after 2-4 hours of towing. This caused issues that they ultimately couldn't get the vehicle out of the "neutral" transfer case mode.

Anyone with experience towing a recent TrailHawk heard of this issue? Manual says to completely turn off the vehicle, so the only drain should be the brake system which would be plugged in (at least theoretically). So, would this be user error, or is there perhaps an issue here?

Thanks,
Ray

I have a 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk, I installed the Invisibrake system and also a charge line from the 7 pin to to the battery through a diode. I towed the car about 7800 miles last season including multiple days consecutively with out disconnecting or starting the car while boondocking. I had zero issues with the battery or anything else.

It sounds like the folks you have received info about may not have a charge line or are not shutting down the car completely. In order to shift the transfer case to neutral the car must be in run mode (with the engine running) I wonder if they are not putting it back into the off position.

[Mr_D]

Charge line.

[Pillbox]

Charge line, also

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by Steve-W

It sounds like the folks you have received info about may not have a charge line or are not shutting down the car completely. In order to shift the transfer case to neutral the car must be in run mode (with the engine not running) I wonder if they are not putting it back into the off position.

To late to edit my previous post, I omitted a critical word. Fixed in red.

[Isaac-1]

I agree they need a charge line kit to power the electrical draw, also don't get one of those cheap $20 Hopkins ones that only put out an amp or so. RVI makes a nice one https://rvibrake.com/products/towed-...y-charger-plus so does LSL http://www.lslproducts.net/ToadChargePage.html

[AlanTerry]

Was the cost of running a charge line reasonable? And did you DIY?

[Isaac-1]

I did mine DIY, took maybe 20 minutes, that was with routing the wire, zip ties, and taping up with friction tape. Though that was just the TOAD side, as my motorhome already had a charge line wire running to the 6 way trailer connector.


Ike



p.s. mine is the https://www.roadmasterinc.com/produc...arge_lines.php cheaper simpler roadmaster style which is just a pair of self resetting breakers and some wire. Note they sell it in 2 parts the motorhome side and the TOAD side kits, in case you need both. The roadmaster kit is just a handful of off the shelf parts which they put into a kit, you can buy the same parts separately probably for less, which is what I did. See their Amazon listing https://smile.amazon.com/Roadmaster-...dp/B01EXKV97A/ it is just a length of wire, some loom, and couple of connectors and the self resetting breaker.

[twojayhawks]

Sure get a charge line but my guess is they are leaving the TrailHawk in the on/aux key position. Towing for 2-4 hours without a charge line and using juice for a aux brake wouldn't result in a dead battery if the vehicle is turned off correctly.

[Bikinjim]

The 2014 - 2018 model year Cherokee’s require the flat tow harness be installed to prevent the death wobble. Because this harness powers up the electric steering during towing, a charge line is absolutely necessary to prevent depleting the battery during towing. Perhaps the anecdotal experience relates to pre 2019 vehicles that either didn’t have a charge line installed or had malfunctions in their charge lines. I towed a 2015 Trailhawk for thousands of miles without a charge line before installing the flat tow harness (using a Ready Brake system) and never had issues with a dead battery. I agree if the vehicles are 2019 or newer then they must not be getting them turned off.

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by AlanTerry

Was the cost of running a charge line reasonable? And did you DIY?

I did mine DIY when I was installing the complete baseplate, brake system, lighting install. The only cost was a diode and fuse holder maybe $15.

On the coach side Newmar runs wiring front to back but does not make the connections so the only parts cost on that end was the .10¢ cost of a 15 amp ATO fuse.

[rdavis0521]

Thank you for all of the responses. As you all have said, I would venture that both of these people did not have a charge line.

One thing stuck to me as I was walked through my install last week. After showing me how to operate the Patriot brake system, the installer was adamant that I walk to the rear of the toad, and double check that the brake lights were not on. If they were, then this was indicative of putting the front seat too close to the brake system, not allowing it to fully retract. Leaving at a minimum the brake lights on, and brake possibly slightly engaged?

So, I was wondering if that might also be a possibility, that their brake lights were constantly on? The lights in that circumstance would have been powered from the on-vehicle battery, and with diodes preventing back flow, it would have been only power from the vehicle.

Not sure if that would be enough to cause battery failure in several hours of towing, but seems like it wouldn't help.

According to my friends who are traveling with these TrailHawk owners, I guess both indicate that they following the checklist provided in the owners manual? Hard to know.

[Isaac-1]

I would assume the new Cherokee has LED brake lights which consume very little power (our 2017 Cherokee Overland edition has LED brake lights, I think they were only on upper trim level models then)

[rream]

Tell them to look in their owners manual,

from my 2014 Manul bet it is in theirs


• It is recommended to charge the battery of the towed
vehicle during recreational towing
• Transmission in PARK
• Power transfer unit in NEUTRAL (N)
• Tow in forward direction