Battery problems when flat towing behind Motor Home

[jrlandrum]

Have towed my 2020 Jeep Gladiator Overland several times on short trips(less than 4 hours). Towed Jeep 8 hours last week and battery was dead when I arrived. Towed back home 9 hours and was dead again. Had it checked by dealer and they said all my wiring for tow connections was correct. Have any of you had this problem? Dealer said disconnecting battery as I did on my Wrangler will not work. Can I use a trickle charge from RV?

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[TJDave]

Questions: What are you using for your light set up? What are you using for a supplemental brake system and how is it powered? Are you making sure your ignition is completely in the OFF position?

I've flat towed our Gladiator all last summer. Just trips limited to 4 hours or less. I have not had any battery problems yet, but don't want any when we do take off on longer trips.

I am using a Cooltech JL/JT light harness. Comes with an isolation switch, no diodes. Power for the Jeep's lights comes from the RV. No lights are powered off the Jeep batteries.
RVi3 braking system. This is powered off the Jeep's battery with a direct fused outlet from the battery to the drivers area. Air operated, it only uses power every 3rd brake activation to run the pump for a few seconds. We have used the RVi3 on our previous JK on longer trips without battery issues. I hope we have the same good luck with the Gladiator.

 

[PaulW]

A common fix
Run a +12 wire from RV directly to the battery on the towed rig.
Usually the lighting kit connection has only 4 pins so a 5 pin has to be utilized to accommodate the +12.

 

[sarguy1941]

I have a trickle charge on both my jeeps thru the 7 way. As others asked whats your wiring and such now ? Brakes ? lights ?

 

[jrlandrum]

I have a trickle charge on both my jeeps thru the 7 way. As others asked whats your wiring and such now ? Brakes ? lights ?

Sorry for the delay in answering. I have a Roadmaster Falcon tow bar. The person that installed the towbar attachments and system used the wires etc that were in the package. In addition, I have a air brakes installed that get air from the mh. According to M & G Engineering from Athens Texas, this system has a vacuum pump on the jeep that does come on during the time I am driving the MH and using the brakes. This vacuum does require battery power and is probably the reason for my jeep battery having to be jumped off after 6 or 7 hrs of travel and lots of brae usage from the motor home.

I did try to talk with Jeep hot line and The Wave program yesterday. They can only read from the manual. Sorry jeep and wave contacts, they do not know anything except what is in the book.

Several people have suggested trickle charge from the MH to the Jeep. Looks like that is going to be my solution,unless someone has a better idea.

Thank all of you for your ideas.

 

[DocMcStuffins]

Sorry for the delay in answering. I have a Roadmaster Falcon tow bar. The person that installed the towbar attachments and system used the wires etc that were in the package. In addition, I have a air brakes installed that get air from the mh. According to M & G Engineering from Athens Texas, this system has a vacuum pump on the jeep that does come on during the time I am driving the MH and using the brakes. This vacuum does require battery power and is probably the reason for my jeep battery having to be jumped off after 6 or 7 hrs of travel and lots of brae usage from the motor home.

I did try to talk with Jeep hot line and The Wave program yesterday. They can only read from the manual. Sorry jeep and wave contacts, they do not know anything except what is in the book.

Several people have suggested trickle charge from the MH to the Jeep. Looks like that is going to be my solution,unless someone has a better idea.

Thank all of you for your ideas.

Thank you for the updates. I too have a M&G 2.0 brake system- and have a Blue Ox 7 into 6 cord which provides a hot wire for charging. I bought a Hopkins Brake buddy charger off Amazon. Hopefully it all works out for both of us! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RCXB8A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Kevin_D]

I ran a charge wire from the Aux. Power in the 7-pin plug on the RV, through a 15A circuit breaker, to the Jeep's positive battery terminal. This is exactly what the Roadmaster Charge Line Kit does.

Kevin

 

[jrlandrum]

Thank you for the updates. I too have a M&G 2.0 brake system- and have a Blue Ox 7 into 6 cord which provides a hot wire for charging. I bought a Hopkins Brake buddy charger off Amazon. Hopefully it all works out for both of us! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RCXB8A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I received this from Jeep Care.
2020 JEEP GLADIATOR OVERLAND 4X4

If there are any electrical accessories plugged into the vehicle during recreational towing or if the vehicle is being recreational towed for long periods of time, we recommend using a battery charger/maintainer to prevent complete battery drain while recreational towing.

According to available information, there is no Mopar accessory recreational towing charger/maintainer kit available. We suggest searching recreational towing charger/maintainer information online or contact a RV dealer.

Sincerely,
Joe

 

[DocMcStuffins]

I received this from Jeep Care.
2020 JEEP GLADIATOR OVERLAND 4X4

If there are any electrical accessories plugged into the vehicle during recreational towing or if the vehicle is being recreational towed for long periods of time, we recommend using a battery charger/maintainer to prevent complete battery drain while recreational towing.

According to available information, there is no Mopar accessory recreational towing charger/maintainer kit available. We suggest searching recreational towing charger/maintainer information online or contact a RV dealer.

Sincerely,
Joe

Sounds good- WE GOT THIS JOE!!!

 

[Andy29847]

Found this thread doing research. I read this on another social media souce and it was new info to me. I'm trying to verify the info and looking for info regarding the "sense" line.

I have read here that some of the new Wranglers may “wake up” while being towed depending on what method you use to lock the doors. Word is if the vehicle wakes up enough it could run the battery down after a wake ups. Hahaha

The "wake up" issue seems to be related to the newer JL/JT models with the factory-installed LED tail lights. They have an extra signal line from the light assembly to the BCM to alert the system that a light has been activated. So, when youre happily towing your vehicle and activate the vehicle's brake lights or turn signals that sense line sends a signal to the BCM to wake up the vehicle. That signal is normally used when starting the engine: you have to press the brake pedal and the "Start" button to start the engine. When the vehicle is "asleep" it constantly draws several milliamps to keep things like clocks, radio presets, etc. active. When it "wakes up" it draws several amps because when it's awake it's ready to start up and run.



As a result, if it's constantly in the "awake" state it can deplete the battery over a full day's towing. The solution is to disconnect that sense line when towing.

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