newbee to flat tow need advice

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Sailorkane

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2015
Posts
290
Location
Tampa, Florida
Hi, newbee to motorhome here (1 year).  Been towing a Saturn on tow dolly.  After a long trip, not happy with tow dolly and ready for flat tow.  It was way too hard to connect and disconnect with the dolly.  Our Saturn will flat tow as is, just pull 2 fuses and ready to go.  I'm doing the install myself.  The mechanical is pretty easy.  Now making choices for wiring and ergonomics in attaching toad.  Need some advice on how to do it.  I would like to take more time in the install to make it easier and foolproof each time I connect. Would rather not have to open the hood to connect or disconnect.  Or have to sit on the ground (as I did with the tow dolly).
1.  Installed the Roadmaster baseplate on the Saturn.  Local charges would have been $500-700 and we did it easily in two days.  I already have a Roadmaster Falcon 2 tow bar, so mechanically I'm ready to tow.  The baseplate has easily removable arms, so the car looks normal with them off.  Installing the baseplate arms is trivial and can be done standing up at the front of the Saturn.
2.  Need braking system and have purchased Invisibrake and "2nd vehicle brake kit" with all new parts.  This brake system requires no intervention to tow or drive--its all automatic.  Interesting thing is it needs connection to motorhome to Saturn wiring since it activates from the brake wire of the motorhome.
3.  Need to pull 2 fuses.  I'm thinking to put in either a fuse bypass switch or relay activiated when the Saturn is plugged into the motorhome and motorhome ignition is turned on, to make "pulling the fuses" automatic or very easy.
4.  Need to run wire from motorhome to Saturn for the 4 taillight wires.  I am using diodes to existing Saturn tail/turn lights.

Questions and needed advice are:
1.  What is best way to run the wire from motorhome to Toad?  I have a 7-conductor socket on the motorhome I used for the tow dolly with 4 taillight wires and electric brake wire (electric brake wire no longer needed for Saturn). There is a connector for 12V charging wire from motorhome, but no charging wire is currently connected.  The connecting wire should be coiled or straight? 
Do I install a socket into the bumper of the Saturn?  All that is accessible near the baseplate is flimsy plastic bumper.  Do I stick a wire with connector through the grill?  Install a socket inside the hood, so I have to raise the hood each time I connect?
2.  I asked this in a previous post, but where should the fuse bypass switch be?  I've seen a poster talk about a push-pull switch on front of car somewhere.  OR inside the hood near the fuse box.  OR installed on the dash of the car near steering wheel, labeled "tow" and "drive".
3.  Do I need to charge the toad battery?  I.e. do I need to run a 12V line from motorhome to toad?  Or is pulling the fuses enough to eliminate parasitic loads from the battery?

 
1.You should be able to use an adapter on that 7-pin to use a standard cable to the toad. Since you need a brake line and may want a charge line, you want a 7--> 6-pin adapter and a 5 or 6 wire cable. You may have to make the cable, but the connectors are readily available. Coiled or straight is up top you and a matter of convenience. We always used straight and took one wrap around the tow bar arm so it didn't drag. We also mounted a little bracket for a fixed 4-pin receptacle in the front of the toad.  Use your creativity and judgement. Sometimes its just as easy to pop the hood and make the connection inside.

2. Again, your call based on your convenience. In 2007 we mounted ours under the hood until I got a chance to route wires to the dash area. When I sold the car in 2016 the switch was still under the hood after towing 60k miles and hooking up innumerable times. Popping the hood was trivial and it was never worth the effort to move the switch.

3. My guess is that your Invisibrake needs 12v power and might run the toad battery down after a long day. A charge line might be wise.
 
Not really familiar with the Saturn, so not sure of where you can mount the receptacle, but on my first two hookups I was using the Blue Ox brand base plates, and they had a mounting place for the receptacle. I went from the 7 conductor receptacle up on the MH to a 6 conductor for the toad. That allows me to have the 12 volt hot line for the brakes. I made up the 6 conductor wire after buying some cable from Napa. I also do a wrap around the towbar with the cable.
I ran a 12 volt line and a ground to the drivers seat area for the Brake Buddy that I use, along with a set of 2 wires for the breakaway feature.
First two I did I ran the 4 flat wire under the vehicles to the rear and used diodes at the back of the lights so no pulling fuses or switching any switches etc. Current vehicle is a Jeep and I had the wiring ran thru the vehicle by a technician when he was running some other stuff for me.
Jeep now has an after market front bumper with Blue Ox tabs welded on bumper and I mounted the lighting receptacle right in the bumper.
Still using the diodes at the tailights. Newer Jeeps do not have steering locking so no need to have key in ignition or doors unlocked.
 

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