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Power for the towed.

July 23, 2010, 12:31:58 am

Hi,
We just finished our first trip(1000 miles prox) in our new to us 2003 U320 40'.  Everything went well (it's a learning experiece every day) except the Even Brake system would drain the battery on the the Grand Cherokee in about 45 minutes!  After a while I just stopped plugging it in!  When I bought it, the installer suggested I have a power line from the coach to the toad.  Says he puts them in about 90% of the installs. I didn't have time to deal with it ,so I put it off.
Now, I've brought the issue up to couple of Even Brake dealers in the Reno area.  One said " put in the power line", another said " the system is incorrectly installed-a power line will boil the toad battery".  Even Brake tech said that I shouldn't be draining the batterys that fast, I shouldn't need a power line.
I'd appreciate any feed back/ suggestions.
Thanks
Larry Boyd
2003 U320 /08 Grand Cherokee

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Re: Power for the towed.

Reply #1 – July 23, 2010, 12:44:55 am

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One said " put in the power line"

There is an easy way to charge the tow vehicle battery
http://beamalarm.com/Documents/charging_your_tow_vehicle_battery.html

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Re: Power for the towed.

Reply #2 – July 23, 2010, 11:01:46 am

Having the same issues, I installed a Toad Charge on my 06 Honda Pilot/08 Nimbus and solved the problem.  The device includes a charge controller which protects your toads battery from over charging. I am now a happy toad puller.

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Re: Power for the towed.

Reply #3 – July 23, 2010, 07:43:39 pm

Barry and Pat,
Thanks for the info, I had never heard of Toad Charge.  I'm going to check it out.

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Re: Power for the towed.

Reply #4 – July 23, 2010, 11:07:57 pm

Lloyd,
 
I am not as electrically inclined as Barry (Beam), so I purchased a "Toad Charge" from LSL Products (Barry has a link to it at the bottom of his page on toad charging) in San Antonio by going to their website.  It is now $125 (including shipping), but it is well worth it; the instructions were so clear, the kit comes witth everything you need, that I was able to install it myself.  That was 4 years ago and haven't had a batttery issue since.  We use a Brake Buddy, which is similar to the Even Brake.  We never pull a fuse or anything else.  We just plug in the power line when we connect the tow bar.
 
It should solve your battery issue.
 
Don Hay '92 U-280, The Hayfever Express

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