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darealmccoy's avatar
darealmccoy
Explorer
Jun 12, 2013

Dinghy towing newbie

I am new to dinghy towing. Bought a 2013 GMC Terrain to tow behind the MH. It is set up with Blue Ox baseplate and Alpha towbar, wired with extra bulbs in the lights. I will be using the Blue Ox Patriot brake system. I know I have to pull fuse 32 (will be making a bypass switch).

I have 2 questions. 1) Does anyone using the Patriot know how long it will take to drain the toad battery to a point where the car will not start? Can I drive it 400 miles before I need to worry? The Terrain manual says to run the engine for 5 minutes every fuel stop, which in my case would be about 400 miles. Of course, I will be stopping every couple hours, but the Patriot manual indicates that the unit needs to be reset every time the car is started. Will I have sufficient battery to start the car?

2) I would like to add a charging circuit from the MH to the toad through the 7 wire outlet on the MH and into the 6 wire on the toad. Has anyone done this, and if so, what gauge wire and should it be fused? Would this eliminate pulling the fuse in the toad? IIRC from my trailer towing days, the center pin in the 7 wire outlet is the one used for 12V battery circuit.

Thanks for any advise.

Dave
  • FIRE_UP's avatar
    FIRE_UP
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2013
    darealmccoy,
    Adding a "charge wire" to the system of most toads is a great idea. It is needed in many because of a situation like yours, there is a drain on the toads battery. As far as what pin in the plug, most plugs have a diagram right on them, telling what does what. I used the largest wire I could, within reason from the pig tail all the way to the positive post on our '11 Honda CRV.

    The heck with pulling those dam fuses. The one for the CRV is so hard to get to and, you have to be standing on your head and have triple joints in order to pull it and replace it. So, the addition of the charge wire was the order of the day. It's worked flawless now for several thousand miles.

    Now, just how long would it take for and auxiliary braking system to run a toads battery down enough so the toad will not start, well that's quite variable. But, according to folks on here an other RV forums, sometimes it's rather rapidly. So, the charge wire is the answer. If you can do say, a 12 or even a 10GA wire to the positive post on the toads battery, from your pig tail between the two vehicles, you'll be way more than protected and won't have to pull any fuses. Your choice.
    Scott

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