Installation is quick and simple, with just two wires to connect in both the motorhome and towed vehicle engine compartments - The motorhome side of the harness connects to your motorhome's starting or house batteries, and the towed vehicle side connects to your vehicle's battery. Crimp-on ring terminals and mounting screws are supplied; a pair of split-bolt connectors are also included for corrosion-free connections directly to the towed vehicle's battery cables.
HOW IT WORKS: With the motorhome connected to the towed vehicle, the Charge Regulator's yellow CHARGING light will illuminate whenever a high charge is being delivered to the towed vehicle battery. As the battery approaches a full state of charge, the current will taper off until the green MAINTAINING light is illuminated instead. The red REVERSE POLARITY light will only illuminate if the unit is wired incorrectly.
When the motorhome engine is shut off, all charging will soon cease, and virtually no power will be drained from the motorhome's batteries. There is no need to disconnect the cable while the hitched motorhome/towed vehicle combination are parked overnight. When the tow bar cable is unplugged, the Charge Regulator is effectively disconnected, and virtually no current is drawn out of the towed vehicle's battery. There is no need to disconnect the Charge Regulator from the towed vehicle battery when driving this vehicle by itself.
The Charge Regulator has a built-in blocking diode that prevents reverse current flow in the event that the motorhome's starting or house batteries are discharged. This ensures that the towed vehicle can always be started, even if both battery banks on the motorhome are completely dead. This blocking diode is also used in conjunction with a thermal circuit breaker to ensure that a short circuit occurring at any point along the power cable will not cause excessive current to flow from either the motorhome or towed vehicle batteries an important safety benefit.
The TOAD-CHARGE™ kit connects between your motor home's starting (or chassis) battery(s) and the towed vehicle's battery, using the motorhome's alternator to supply up to 10 amps of charge to the towed vehicle's battery.
The TOAD-CHARGE™ kit consists of several components: A Charge regulator installed in the towed (or "Dinghy") vehicle's engine compartment monitors the charging current, and prevents reverse current flow when the motorhome engine is started. A 15 Amp circuit breaker installed near the motorhome starting battery protects against excessive current flow due to wiring faults or a dead battery. The charge regulator and circuit breaker are connected together by wire harnesses which are cut to desired lengths from 40 feet of 12 gauge dual-conductor wire. Detachable connectors on the tow bar harness allow it to be stowed along with the tow bar when not needed. The harnesses include a dedicated ground wire, thereby minimizing the voltage drop that might otherwise be present when relying on the motorhome's trailer hitch wiring.