CRV TOAD - Travel Time w/o pulling fuse

Charge line is definitely the way to go. We are towing a 2013 CRV with navigation. This is the 5th Honda that we have towed over the years and the first one that I've had the charge line installed on. We just returned from a coast-to-coast 5500 mile round trip with no battery problems in the CRV whatsoever. I wish that I had known about this idea years ago. I requested the charge line be installed when Camping World installed our Roadmaster baseplate and wiring harness. They were very familiar with the charge line installation and wondered why more people didn't do it. Now that I know about it, I wonder the same thing.
Happy travels.......

http://www.rv.net/Forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26852543/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm

Check out this thread.

I built one of these in about 45 minutes not counting the time it took to go to get parts at Autozone for $12.67
It works like a charm.
I just flip the switch which connects/disconnects the fuse Honda recommends you pull for towing and save the battery.
On my 2004 Honda I had previously, I have a 2013 CRV and have not changed my profile yet. I did not have to do this, however the newer models have more background electrical loads than previous versions.


edit. FYI-A fuse puller is located in the fuse box that is located under the hood and just to the rear of the battery.
Pop off the plastic lid and under the lid is a little fuse puller that Honda conveniently supplies. (2013-2012) CRv perhaps others.

want-a-be wrote:

willald wrote:

lanerd wrote:
A simple fix is to install a simple on/off switch in place of the fuse.

Ron

..Or, install a charge line between MH and the CRV, and never have to worry about the toad's battery again, nor have to reset clocks or radio settings or have to flip any switch or pull any fuse.

Even if you don't totally 'kill' the battery during 250 miles of travel or whatever distance...Towing with a constant drain on the battery like that is not good for the battery. Won't happen right away, but eventually doing that will shorten the battery's life, and you'll get to replace it sooner than you would have otherwise. Thats why I went with a charge line, and prefer that

$10 for various parts needed to run a charge line (fuse, #10 wire, connectors, etc.) is MUCH cheaper than a car battery that'll run you $80-100 when you have to replace it before its time.

Was wondering if you used a diode in the charge line?

No, I didn't, but seriously been thinking about adding one. There was another thread recently discussing this, and the fact that without the diode, current can 'back-feed' to the MH from the toad under certain conditions, which can cause issues. Hasn't been a problem for us yet, though.

Will

willald wrote:

lanerd wrote:
A simple fix is to install a simple on/off switch in place of the fuse.

Ron

..Or, install a charge line between MH and the CRV, and never have to worry about the toad's battery again, nor have to reset clocks or radio settings or have to flip any switch or pull any fuse.

Even if you don't totally 'kill' the battery during 250 miles of travel or whatever distance...Towing with a constant drain on the battery like that is not good for the battery. Won't happen right away, but eventually doing that will shorten the battery's life, and you'll get to replace it sooner than you would have otherwise. Thats why I went with a charge line, and prefer that

$10 for various parts needed to run a charge line (fuse, #10 wire, connectors, etc.) is MUCH cheaper than a car battery that'll run you $80-100 when you have to replace it before its time.

Was wondering if you used a diode in the charge line?

On our 12 CRV, no navi, the battery would be dead after 6hrs of towing, with the HVAC and radio turned OFF without pulling the acc. fuse. The I-mid screen was still operating, blue tooth etc. Installed the charge line from the MH and not having any problems now.

Beverley and Ken

dbs944 wrote:

willald wrote:

lanerd wrote:
A simple fix is to install a simple on/off switch in place of the fuse.

Ron

..Or, install a charge line between MH and the CRV, and never have to worry about the toad's battery again, nor have to reset clocks or radio settings or have to flip any switch or pull any fuse.

. . .

$10 for various parts needed to run a charge line (fuse, #10 wire, connectors, etc.) is MUCH cheaper than a car battery that'll run you $80-100 when you have to replace it before its time.

Is it just a POS to POS connection between the MH and TOAD batteries (with a fuse on each end)? Is it a perminent setup or do you have a middle section that plugs the two vehicles together that can be removed when not towing?

You have to also have a ground to ground connection between both vehicles which doesn't need protection because you have the fuses by the batteries. The assumption is that your umbilical for your tail lights and turn signals provides the ground to ground connectivity so you don't have to worry about that.

I put the Roadmaster fused switch in and don't regret it. I just flip the switch. There are cheaper ways to do it though

willald wrote:

lanerd wrote:
A simple fix is to install a simple on/off switch in place of the fuse.

Ron

..Or, install a charge line between MH and the CRV, and never have to worry about the toad's battery again, nor have to reset clocks or radio settings or have to flip any switch or pull any fuse.

. . .

$10 for various parts needed to run a charge line (fuse, #10 wire, connectors, etc.) is MUCH cheaper than a car battery that'll run you $80-100 when you have to replace it before its time.

Is it just a POS to POS connection between the MH and TOAD batteries (with a fuse on each end)? Is it a perminent setup or do you have a middle section that plugs the two vehicles together that can be removed when not towing?

Popsie wrote:

willald wrote:

lanerd wrote:
A simple fix is to install a simple on/off switch in place of the fuse.

Ron

..Or, install a charge line between MH and the CRV, and never have to worry about the toad's battery again, nor have to reset clocks or radio settings or have to flip any switch or pull any fuse.

Even if you don't totally 'kill' the battery during 250 miles of travel or whatever distance...Towing with a constant drain on the battery like that is not good for the battery. Won't happen right away, but eventually doing that will shorten the battery's life, and you'll get to replace it sooner than you would have otherwise. Thats why I went with a charge line, and prefer that solution.

$10 for various parts needed to run a charge line (fuse, #10 wire, connectors, etc.) is MUCH cheaper than a car battery that'll run you $80-100 when you have to replace it before its time.

It would be good to fuse the charge wire at both ends as close to the RV and toad batteries as practical.

Absolutely! Thats why I mentioned fuse in the parts needed for a charge line. In our case, the charge wire was/is already fused on MH side, so I only had to add one fuse, just before the wire goes to the TOAD battery.

Will

I agree with the battery wearing out before it's time when towing a lot of miles. I just had to replace an Interstate battery that was only 21 months old. At least with the warranty and prorated rate it was only $31 for a new one.