Toad battery

[debigd]

we are towing a 2011 Ford Edge on all four FWD with a 2013 Fleetwood Discovery 40X.
The Edge owners manual says to tow in neutral with accessory power on.
The battery goes dead after four hours of towing.
Any suggestions?

[doc_brown]

kdk wrote:
LSL products makes a "Toad Charge" which is a separate charge line to your toad keeping it fully charged while traveling. I have used one for years and am satisfied with it. kdk

Ditto!

[Crespro]

I use the RVI battery charger. I had an extra pin on my six pin plug for the M&G brake.

Clicky

[Bumpyroad]

wallynm wrote:
I know this is all caps but I copied from another forum and I am not going to retype it

Do not read it if you do not like all caps.

i also have the 2011 ford edge 2wheel dr and push button start.
my dealer north-side ford effingham il installed a momentary switch
located on console green wire pin 8 to ground . you start car in park
then shift transmission to neutral then push the start/stop button to kill engine then a light on dash says shift to park push new momentary switch and the car thinks it is in park but is in neutral ready to tow after a few seconds all power to dash and lights
'go to sleep' as if you departed your car with headlights on and watch them go to sleep. careful car will roll if not hooked to motor home. also no mileage will show while towed. to stop battery drain
installed extra tail / brake light socket in edge tail light and ran wires to motor home light plug. so only a very small drain is on battery to keep edge computer power on so it won't lose memory
i still need to start edge for 5 minutes while hooking to tow and at fuel stops i also remove key fob from edge so doors will lock.

debigd wrote:
we are towing a 2011 Ford Edge on all four FWD with a 2013 Fleetwood Discovery 40X.
The Edge owners manual says to tow in neutral with accessory power on.
The battery goes dead after four hours of towing.
Any suggestions?

don't know if it is easier to read in lower case?
bumpy

[down_home]

We have a 13 Edge awd. We follow the instructions of running it through gears, before putting it in neutral, putting the ac in recirculate mode, to keep dirt from possible getting in and cutting the engine off. With foot off the brake hit the start button, twice I think until it shows accessory mode. close the doors and lock. We have a charge wire from Mh to the Edge. I turn the headlights off too, and the radio, though it doesn't say anything about that in the manual.
We have only towed it once this year but most of it was after dark. The tail lights, brakes worked fine off the power from the coach. It started right up after several hours ,of being towed. On our 10 Edge we did drain the battery a couple ,of time because we didn't turn the key all the way back. No key on 13 though.

[wallynm]

I know this is all caps but I copied from another forum and I am not going to retype it

Do not read it if you do not like all caps.

I ALSO HAVE THE 2011 FORD EDGE 2WHEEL DR AND PUSH BUTTON START.
MY DEALER NORTH-SIDE FORD EFFINGHAM IL INSTALLED A MOMENTARY SWITCH
LOCATED ON CONSOLE GREEN WIRE PIN 8 TO GROUND . YOU START CAR IN PARK
THEN SHIFT TRANSMISSION TO NEUTRAL THEN PUSH THE START/STOP BUTTON TO KILL ENGINE THEN A LIGHT ON DASH SAYS SHIFT TO PARK PUSH NEW MOMENTARY SWITCH AND THE CAR THINKS IT IS IN PARK BUT IS IN NEUTRAL READY TO TOW AFTER A FEW SECONDS ALL POWER TO DASH AND LIGHTS
'GO TO SLEEP' AS IF YOU DEPARTED YOUR CAR WITH HEADLIGHTS ON AND WATCH THEM GO TO SLEEP. CAREFUL CAR WILL ROLL IF NOT HOOKED TO MOTOR HOME. ALSO NO MILEAGE WILL SHOW WHILE TOWED. TO STOP BATTERY DRAIN
INSTALLED EXTRA TAIL / BRAKE LIGHT SOCKET IN EDGE TAIL LIGHT AND RAN WIRES TO MOTOR HOME LIGHT PLUG. SO ONLY A VERY SMALL DRAIN IS ON BATTERY TO KEEP EDGE COMPUTER POWER ON SO IT WON'T LOSE MEMORY
I STILL NEED TO START EDGE FOR 5 MINUTES WHILE HOOKING TO TOW AND AT FUEL STOPS I ALSO REMOVE KEY FOB FROM EDGE SO DOORS WILL LOCK.

debigd wrote:
we are towing a 2011 Ford Edge on all four FWD with a 2013 Fleetwood Discovery 40X.
The Edge owners manual says to tow in neutral with accessory power on.
The battery goes dead after four hours of towing.
Any suggestions?

[EckE]

We do as Bumpy said. Got it at HF.

[J-Rooster]

Fishinghat wrote:
I only know of two modifications that seem to work for most people. One is to pull the fuse that powers the accessories. The other is to run a charging line from your coach to the toad's battery to keep it charged up. If you use a braking system that uses the toad's battery, this would be the preferred method of keeping the battery charged up. If you pull the fuse, the electrical plug may not be powered, so the charging line may be your only good solution.

Finally, you could stop every few hours and run the toad's engine to recharge the battery.

X-2, on the charged line!

[Bumpyroad]

Fishinghat wrote:
I only know of two modifications that seem to work for most people. One is to pull the fuse that powers the accessories. The other is to run a charging line from your coach to the toad's battery to keep it charged up. If you use a braking system that uses the toad's battery, this would be the preferred method of keeping the battery charged up. If you pull the fuse, the electrical plug may not be powered, so the charging line may be your only good solution.

Finally, you could stop every few hours and run the toad's engine to recharge the battery.

what parasitic loads do you have?
for the braking system I solved that problem a third way. I carried a small jumper battery jobby that I wanted to have along anyway and plug the brake system into that.
bumpy

[kdk]

LSL products makes a "Toad Charge" which is a separate charge line to your toad keeping it fully charged while traveling. I have used one for years and am satisfied with it. kdk

[viajante]

I tow a Ford Flex. When I hook up I just put the transmission in neutral and turn the key as far to the left as it will go. On my vehicle, that turns off all accessories (including the radio and A/C), but leaves the 12v plug active. The steering is still unlocked and I have never had a problem with the battery, even towing as long as eight hours. My son in law has a Ford Escape and follows the same procedure and has never had a problem either.

You might give that a try before adding a charge line.

Please let me know if it works for you

[Fishinghat]

I only know of two modifications that seem to work for most people. One is to pull the fuse that powers the accessories. The other is to run a charging line from your coach to the toad's battery to keep it charged up. If you use a braking system that uses the toad's battery, this would be the preferred method of keeping the battery charged up. If you pull the fuse, the electrical plug may not be powered, so the charging line may be your only good solution.

Finally, you could stop every few hours and run the toad's engine to recharge the battery.