Help with our new Blue Ox tow and braking system

[Reinita]

In our Sunseeker 3170 right now, towing our automatic 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Drives awesome.
We're curious what "number" you guys set up your brakes at.
The steps in the Jeep manual weren't very clear. Anyone have better instructions?
Also, any tips or things to look out for? Many thanks and happy camping.

[RamblerGuy]

We tow a Pathfinder with our 3100 using a Blue Ox Patriot brake system. I set it on 9 most of the time. I back it off sometimes even to zero when in slow traffic. Also back it off to 5 in rain. I don't know if it would skid the tires at 9 but I fell better set that way.

[Brian217]

We have a 3170 and tow my wife's cr-v. I have been setting it to 3. Most of our trips are very flat so I think we could get away without having it at all.
One problem we've had is that on long trips the cr-v battery tends to die. Our last trip we had to jump start it. We use a battery box to plug the blue Ox into, so I'm assuming the drain is from when the brake lights come on. Seems a little strange to me. When we stop I check to make sure the brake lights aren't stuck on, thinking that maybe I had the blue Ox too tight to the pedal.

[abjb]

Check your Blue Ox owners manual.

Ours says to set it between 1 and 3 because we tow a hybrid.
I put a camera in the car and recorded a few stops.
After watching I changed the setting to 2 from 3.

ab&jb

[RSchleder]

We use the Blue Ox Patriot system also. We tow a 6 speed Mini behind our Sprinter based ERA (class B) MH. I set the controller on 5 as any higher setting locks the Mini tires when I apply the ERA brakes,
As far as the battery goes, I had the same issue with the battery being run down after a 2 day, 900 mile trip. To correct the problem, I ran a charge wire from the "coach" battery to the rear of the ERA with a connector on it. I also ran a charge wire from the Mini battery to the front of the car and attached a mating connector. Now when I go down the road, my Mini battery receives a charge from the ERA battery and the dead battery issue in gone. You can goggle and find a wiring kit to do this job complete with connector, fuse, etc, to do the job. I did mine a couple of years ago it it continues to work perfectly!

PS- in my opinion, the Patriot system is what runs down the battery, not the brake lights as they should run off the tow vehicle battery.

[RamblerGuy]

We've towed for two days without starting the Pathfinder that we were towing. The battery ran down late one day and I realized that we had been on the road for almost three days. I plugged the Patriot into a portable booster battery and drove on.

Since we had an electrical hookup that night and the coach's Battery Control Center connects the coach battery and convertor to the chassis battery, I just ran jumper cables from the chassis battery to the Pathfinder battery overnight and fully recharged it.

[abjb]

Originally Posted by RamblerGuy

We've towed for two days without starting the Pathfinder that we were towing. The battery ran down late one day and I realized that we had been on the road for almost three days. I plugged the Patriot into a portable booster battery and drove on.

Since we had an electrical hookup that night and the coach's Battery Control Center connects the coach battery and convertor to the chassis battery, I just ran jumper cables from the chassis battery to the Pathfinder battery overnight and fully recharged it.

Running the battery down on the Pathfinder will kill it, might take a few times.
Check the towing section in your Pathfinder Owner Manual, you should probably run the Pathfinder every couple of hours to lube the transmission which will keep your battery charged.

[RamblerGuy]

We have a driveshaft disconnect so no part of the automatic transmission turns while in tow.

[abjb]

Originally Posted by RamblerGuy

We've towed for two days without starting the Pathfinder that we were towing. The battery ran down late one day and I realized that we had been on the road for almost three days. I plugged the Patriot into a portable booster battery and drove on.

Since we had an electrical hookup that night and the coach's Battery Control Center connects the coach battery and convertor to the chassis battery, I just ran jumper cables from the chassis battery to the Pathfinder battery overnight and fully recharged it.

Originally Posted by abjb

Running the battery down on the Pathfinder will kill it, might take a few times.
Check the towing section in your Pathfinder Owner Manual, you should probably run the Pathfinder every couple of hours to lube the transmission which will keep your battery charged.

ops
I should have said Running the battery down on the Pathfinder will kill the battery, might take a few times.

[Reinita]

Thanks for all the tips. We used it all day yesterday. Works great.

[Hoglou]

sorry for coming to the party late... Been "sunseeker coaching" with a 14JK auto in toad mode. I use 5 on the patriot brake, and the battery diode box from roadmaster to keep the toad battery toasty.

[rsscully]

This is what I installed. Wired it into the 6 pin outlet on the toad. Just use a multimeter to find the hot wire coming from the TV 7-pin connector and wire to the corresponding pin on the 6-pin connector. I first wired it to the aux pin but the 12v from my sunseeker was actually coming from the blue wire, which is usually for a trailer brake controller.

BrakeBuddy 39332 Towed Vehicle Battery Maintainer by BrakeBuddy http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RCXB8A/..._8EG7tb1G959F7