Wiring for 7-way, brake controller, Seattle area

[Bobbie Mayer]

I could probably get by without it and just start with full batteries but as someone said, might as well have it. And putting it in is not much more work, so whoever does the brake line, they can do that, too. Good to know about a relay to shut it off, though.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

I could probably get by without it and just start with full batteries but as someone said, might as well have it. ...

For what it's worth (and that ain't much), I do have a charge line. I did all my own wiring and when I put in the brake line I said to myself, "Self... As long as you are crawling under the vehicle and getting all dirty to run the brake wiring, you might as well add a charge line."

So that is what I did.

However it was a bit more difficult (in my case) to add the relay. There was no good place to get a 12 volt tap only when the ignition was on in the engine compartment, and a relay in the rear of the vehicle from the rear 12 volt outlet, while possible, was little extra work. So I left the charge line always on (wired straight to the tug's battery, with fuse of course) and figured I would just have to unplug the trailer before it killed my tug's battery.

At first I left the fuse out (meaning there was no power on the charge line). I did it this way for a while to see how it went. And what I found was that it worked fine for me. So I never put the fuse in.

I might use it someday if the need arises. And different styles of camping and travel might make it a very nice thing to have. But is it an absolute requirement? No.

[Raz]

Might find something useful here. I doubt your Forester is much different than my 2012.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...hed-52650.html

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by Raz

Might find something useful here. I doubt your Forester is much different than my 2012.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...hed-52650.html

Thanks. The six hours for the brake wiring is enough to convince me to have the pros do it. I think my friend knows how but for the amount of work I want someone who does it more often.

I don't know why that didn't come up when I search. Are you still towing with the Forester?

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

Thanks. The six hours for the brake wiring is enough to convince me to have the pros do it. I think my friend knows how but for the amount of work I want someone who does it more often.

I don't know why that didn't come up when I search. Are you still towing with the Forester?

No. The hillholder clutch ended that rather quickly. I went back to a pickup.

Most of the 6 hours was finding how to get past the firewall and removing plastic without breaking anything.

If you have it done remember you can get the brake signal on the input of the light converter. Trying to pick that up at the brake pedal is tough.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I haven't had any trouble with the hill holder but the most I've done is to go up a small rise from a stop (with the trailer). Are electric brakes going to affect that?

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

I haven't had any trouble with the hill holder but the most I've done is to go up a small rise from a stop (with the trailer). Are electric brakes going to affect that?

No, electric brakes should be fine. On mine, the brakes would not disengage until the clutch was completely released. Stopping on a hill was the issue. No feathering the clutch. A lower first gear would have helped.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Weird. I wonder why the difference. I can feather the brakes just fine. The first time I got a little burning smell but no problem since. But I haven't actually stopped midway up a hill with the trailer (and since I really don't trust the hill holder I try not to do it without one.) Oh, wait, I did get stopped on the up part of the Astoria Bridge (Oregon to Washington) with the trailer and had no problem but I think I used the emergency brake on that start (put on er brake, release clutch, release emergency brake) and didn't try to trust the hill holder.

[jennykatz]

We have a 07 Toyota Sequoia without a trailer package So we put in a charge line the black 12 volt 10 ga. wire . We do not have a brake( blue wire) instead we bought a tekonisha prodigy RF the 21 Escape trailer plugs into that and the RF unit plugs into the tow vehicle . So no need for brake (blue wire) line .I haven't tried it yet so no clue how it will work but there are others on the escape forum that use it .
You could also go buy a Lil Snoozy with surge brakes and then no need for elec brakes . Jim

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by jennykatz

We have a 07 Toyota Sequoia without a trailer package So we put in a charge line the black 12 volt 10 ga. wire . We do not have a brake( blue wire) instead we bought a tekonisha prodigy RF the 21 Escape trailer plugs into that and the RF unit plugs into the tow vehicle . So no need for brake (blue wire) line .I haven't tried it yet so no clue how it will work but there are others on the escape forum that use it .
You could also go buy a Lil Snoozy with surge brakes and then no need for elec brakes . Jim

As I understood it, you need the brake line to give power to the brakes. You just don't need to wire the controller in- but you still have to connect the brakes of the trailer to power somehow. Maybe the charge line does that but didn't it have to feed up to the front, too?

[redbarron55]

Personally I would add the two wires one for the brake and one for the charge line.
I would use pretty heavy wire especially for the charge line and also add the circuit breaker s for both the brake and charge line along with a relay to kill the power to the trailer when the engine is off.
I have an electric refrigerator and the current draw is not too high at around 4 amps when the compressor is running averaging about 20 watts per hour.
When we park the the rig the house battery keeps the fridge good and cold and the battery will recharge quickly on the road.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by redbarron55

Personally I would add the two wires one for the brake and one for the charge line.

That's the plan. The only question is who is going to do it.

[vintageracer]

The "Charge Line" can also provide power the to keep the trailer "Break Away" system battery charge if your trailer has electric trailer brakes.

As we all know most states require a "Trailer Break Away" system on you trailer IF your trailer is equipped with trailer brake system.

[Joe Romas]

Originally Posted by gordon2

Because "It's the cost of some wire," plus the cost of labor, plus maybe you don't need it, plus maybe your alternator can't handle the added load, etc.

I have never had one and never missed it. Just pointing out that it is a viable option to not have one.. it is not a requirement.

Well in some states that require a break away system it includes a battery that is being charged.

They have a name for that kind of thinking, "Penny wise Pound foolish"

Joe

[Darral T.]

For what it's worth, a "break away" switch is worthless if your trailer completely disconnects it'self from the tow and the trailer has no onboard battery!

I had to run the brake wire to the rear of my 99 Nissan Frontier and I used the wonderful service etrailer.com's parts to do so. They have the heavy gauge wire and make SURE you dont run anything less than 10Ga wire to the rear!

There's a whole 'nuther fuss about the alternator being able to keep both batteries charged. My 4cyl Frontier has been doing this for 6+ years WHILE I'm running my 1.9 Dometic fridge on 12v while I'm on the road. We've stopped at Cracker Barrel etc to eat breakfast or what have you and I leave it hooked up and NO problems. (May not work on the Forester or a larger fridge...just describing my setup and success).

But DO run the extra "charge line" while you're having the brake line installed. Better to have it later on if you need/want it than to have to run another. I ran mine in the same jacket (again etrailer sells this!).

Originally Posted by vintageracer

The "Charge Line" can also provide power the to keep the trailer "Break Away" system battery charge if your trailer has electric trailer brakes.

As we all know most states require a "Trailer Break Away" system on you trailer IF your trailer is equipped with trailer brake system.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Regarding charging batteries- are we talking topping them off as you run after minimal use or recharging after running them down? I don't yet have any feeling for how much power is used to keep a fridge cold while driving. If I had fully charged batteries and they were not charging, how fast would the fridge (3.0 cubic foot) run them down?

[Glenn Baglo]

When I was considering getting a 3-way fridge in my Escape, I learned from Reace ( ETI ) that if your battery is depleted when you leave camp for another, and if you have the fridge on 12V, your battery will still be depleted when you arrive. There is only enough power from the tow vehicle to run the fridge, not enough left over to charge the house battery.
I went with a larger two-way fridge and I run the fridge on propane when traveling.

[Darral T.]

Depends on the available amps your battery will have.... I know the my Dometic on 12v pulls about 13-15A So you will have to do the math.

[vintageracer]

Originally Posted by Darral T.

For what it's worth, a "break away" switch is worthless if your trailer completely disconnects it'self from the tow and the trailer has no onboard battery!

Every commercially available trailer breakaway system offered on the market for years for electric trailer brake equipped trailers and installed by ALL the trailer manufacturers on their trailers RV or otherwise that have electric trailer brakes has it's own battery dedicated to the breakaway system. That battery must be charged over time. The power to charge the dedicated trailer break away system battery comes from the 12 volt power line supplied through the 7 way "RV" plug.

A trailer with a trailer break away switch and no integral battery system is worthless, inoperable and will not meet state requirements or pass safety inspection for a break away system on a trailer equipped with electric trailer brakes.

[Barb and Alan]

I have yet to see a trailer with a dedicated breakaway battery when a house battery is present as is the case on our 2005 Bigfoot. Why would one be needed in that case? In either case, if electric brakes are on the trailer there should be a battery on the trailer and a means to charge it. I'm on the "run the wire now" side of that fence.