Towing 2013 Honda CR-v

I added a charge line for the battery after arriving a Yosemite National Park with a dead battery. Install it once and forget it. There are several brands. Here's a link for one.

Not a Yurt! wrote:
You'll need a bright flash light, a magnifying glass, tweezers, three arms and a double jointed back, neck and left shoulder to get the fuse in and out.

So true! That's part of the reason I opted for a 2nd battery! (Having the spare battery also comes in handy when I need to jump start my various yard equipment toys after we have been out on the road for a couple of weeks.)

I started scratching my head when you started talking about the battery situation. Then, I realized, you have a gas motorhome.

Having a diesel, my air brakes on the coach activate the brakes on the Honda with the SMI Air Force One supplemental braking system. The 'emergency brake-away' is connected to the battery which will virtually never be needed (fingers crossed).

The factory battery on our Honda and the previous Honda worked fine. They lasted the normal period that a factory battery usually lasts (about 3 yrs.).

MM.

You'll need a bright flash light, a magnifying glass, tweezers, three arms and a double jointed back, neck and left shoulder to get the fuse in and out.

So true! That's part of the reason I opted for a 2nd battery! (Having the spare battery also comes in handy when I need to jump start my various yard equipment toys after we have been out on the road for a couple of weeks.)

First off, I have to assume that you are running a supplemental brake system that uses the CRV's battery for activation. If so, this will deplete the CRV's OEM battery fairly quickly, and you can't disconnect it if you want your braking system to work.

My overkill solution to the dead battery problem was to buy a deep cycle battery which I use to power up my Even Brake toad braking system. I back feed the deep cycle battery into the CRV electrical system. I have a battery cutoff switch on the CRV starting battery which I disconnect when the deep cycle "braking battery" is hooked up. The radio codes and clock stay powered up and the toad can be pulled along for hours without worrying that it won't start. After we hit the campground, we just crank down the battery cutoff, powering the CRV with the starting battery, unhook the deep cycle braking battery, and off we go.

I have a smart battery charger that I hook up when we're plugged in at a campsite to recharge the braking battery. I realize this is not as easy a solution as having a 12 volt feed from the RV to the toad, but this solution was our answer when we had a dead battery out on the road (in Nowhere USA) with no easy option to wire a 12 volt feed from the RV to the toad.

So, the upshot is, you have to power your toad braking system. You need a source of power that will still allow you to start your toad at the end of your trip. Some folks stop and start up the toad every 2 to 3 hours to charge up the battery and this works. But if you plan on longer jumps between rest stops or campsites you will need to find a way to power your braking system that doesn't deplete your toad's starting battery. A 12 volt feed from some source to the toad (from the RV or a 2nd battery) will allow you to disconnect the toad battery. Lacking that, you have to keep the toad battery connected. I do not recommend towing without a powered supplemental brake in your CRV! Good luck with finding what works best for you.

I have a 2013 that we just finished towing on a 9 week, 7000 mile trip. I installed the kill switch that kills the radio and did the upgrade to a larger battery. The upgrade requires buying the Honda Oddesy battery box ($13.00) and going with a Group 27 battery. The battery in the 2013 CRV looks like something that belongs in a motorcycle.

With the above mods, the Honda worked flawlessly for the entire trip with a couple of 450 mile days and no batteyr issues.

I also bought a non chipped key from Honda, which performs all the functions needed for towing, but won'yt start the vehicle.

What will kill the battery in a CRV is if you have the in dash NAV system which will be active with the key in to unlock the steering wheel. You can shut the radio off but not the NAV.

Page 334 and 335 of your owners manual provides detains regarding which fuse to pull. You'll need a bright flash light, a magnifying glass, tweezers, three arms and a double jointed back, neck and left shoulder to get the fuse in and out.

Nice looking Journey by the way!

We had a cut-off switch installed to cut off a fuse that controls the radio/navigation. I forgot to flip the switch once and the battery did go down. Otherwise, it works perfectly.

The installer put the switch behind a cover to the left of the steering column, looks almost factory.

With the key in the accessory position, I think the radio is active even if you don't have nav.

MM.