Recreational Towing (behind a motor home)

[z32k12]

I just spoke to the folks at LSL who make the Toad Charge and he said I was the first person who had called about installing their product on the CMAX.  He doesn't believe there would be an issue since we're only supplying power to the 12 volt side the same as an alternator would.  He also said if I had any problems with the product he would give me a full refund and I didn't need to return the kit.

 

I think I'm going to give this a try.

[alanstri]

Whoops, I just had a really scary thought.  If the cooling pump needs to run when being towed, then what happens after the battery pukes after 150 miles.  No pump after that.  If it's really needed, then my trans is probably already trash since it has been towed probably 1,000 miles with the battery dead.

 

Second that... 

 

I was reviewing the owner's manual last light.  The listings of fuses, relays etc.  lists a transmission lube pump, but it notes that it is only for the Energi and not the Hybrid.

 

I'm thinking with all the reports of towing with a dead battery, someone would have toasted a transmission by now if battery power was necessary to keep things from melting down.

 

I will stay tuned, but I'm going to try towing with the key off & trans interlock manually overriden to get to "N".  I have a 400 mile trip planed towards the end of next month - Will report back.

[wab]

Second that... 

 

I was reviewing the owner's manual last light.  The listings of fuses, relays etc.  lists a transmission lube pump, but it notes that it is only for the Energi and not the Hybrid.

 

I'm thinking with all the reports of towing with a dead battery, someone would have toasted a transmission by now if battery power was necessary to keep things from melting down.

 

I will stay tuned, but I'm going to try towing with the key off & trans interlock manually overriden to get to "N".  I have a 400 mile trip planed towards the end of next month - Will report back.

 

Get a infrared thermometer.

 

here's one for $36 at Harbor Freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/infrared-thermometer-with-laser-targeting-non-contact-69465.html

 

After you drive a while, stop open the hood and test.

If you find any heat then you know you have a problem.

 

ab&jb

[Craig]

Is anybody using a brake buddy in their c max hybrid to tow it behind their motorhome? Do you plug

It into the c max electrical system for power or from the motorhome electrical system?

I am concerned about the battery going dead quickly , so would like all power to come from motor home.

Or would it be possible to charge the battery in the c max from the motorhome, I understand there are

Connections to hook up jumper cables.

Will be using a blueox base plate and tow bar . They have a wiring kit for the rear lights but I am not

Sure if there is room in the tail light assembly for the extra tail lights using power from the motorhome

This way you avoid having to using diodes for the c max tail lights to work and no need to tie into

The c max electrical system.

[jmckinley]

I installed new bulbs in the outer taillights   Plenty of room in there for the socket of your choice.  I used 3157 which seemed to fit the best of the ones I looked at.

 

I'm going to install a charge line before next trip.  Too much hassle recharging the battery every day and it's too hard on the 12v battery.

[air463]

Just finished a 2600 mile trip and I lost count how many times I jump started the car.  I too will be installing a charge line, can't wait for the Ford people to come up with a fix for this problem of the battery going dead.  I have opened a customer complaint about this issue and all I get told is the check is in the mail.

[wab]

Is anybody using a brake buddy in their c max hybrid to tow it behind their motorhome? Do you plug

It into the c max electrical system for power or from the motorhome electrical system?

I am concerned about the battery going dead quickly , so would like all power to come from motor home.

Or would it be possible to charge the battery in the c max from the motorhome, I understand there are

Connections to hook up jumper cables.

Will be using a blueox base plate and tow bar . They have a wiring kit for the rear lights but I am not

Sure if there is room in the tail light assembly for the extra tail lights using power from the motorhome

This way you avoid having to using diodes for the c max tail lights to work and no need to tie into

The c max electrical system.

 

I read somewhere that "Brake Buddy" systems don't work with hybrid cars.

So I googled "brake Buddy" hybrid and got 101,000 hits.

https://www.google.com/search?as_q=%22brake+buddy%22+hybrid&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=

 

Then I went to the Brake Buddy web site, looks like their "Vantage Select™ Boost™" is OK for hybrids.

http://www.brakebuddy.com/Products/BrakeBuddy-Vantage-Select-Boost

 

I'm still looking.

 

Currently looking at Unified Tow Brake TVH-1000K for motor coaches pre-wired and towed vehicles equipped with electric hydro-boost power brakes ???

Edited March 23, 2013 by wab

[z32k12]

Brake buddy has a unit for hybrids with electric brakes; I just traded the conventional one we've been using for years. Unfortunately the plugs in the car aren't hot when the ignition is off so I'm either going to install a plug wired directly to the battery or buy a booster. I only plan to use for emergency stopping if the car breaks away. I'm also installing Toad Charge and plan to connect to the jumper wire connections under the hood.

[z32k12]

Towed our C-Max for the first time this weekend and everything was fine.  Only went 120 miles so no battery issues but I plan to install a Toad Charge before our next trip.  Also need to get a hot socket for the brake buddy. 

 

I have the Roadmaster hidden tow bracket and also had the light kit installed with diodes.

[z32k12]

One other thing I found out...I can't leave the removable tow bar attached to the car because of the proximity sensor setting off the alarm chime.  Oh well...it's ugly anyway!

[wab]

"One other thing I found out...I can't leave the removable tow bar attached to the car because of the proximity sensor setting off the alarm chime. Oh well...it's ugly anyway!"

 

Try turning the sensors off.

If it works (on the front) you'll have to turn them off every time you start the car.

Edited March 28, 2013 by wab

[stonekeepers]

We had the Blue Ox tow bar installed on our C-Max SE at the etrailer.com facility near St. Louis, MO last month.  The folks there were incredible and I cannot say enough about their knowledge and helpful staff.  They even spent an hour showing us how to hook up and gave us time to practice and made sure we really understood how to use the towing equipment.

 

We have been towing the C-Max behind our motorhome for several trips now.  We use the Patriot Brake system and on our last trip (Hattiesburg, MS to Tuscaloosa, AL) we got a "low battery" error on the brake control just as we were pulling into the campground.  I think this was about 180-200 miles for this trip.  We didn't drive the C-Max that evening so the next morning I drove it about an hour through Birmingham, just in case the battery was really low.  We hooked up outside Birmingham and towed it to our home in middle Tennessee without issues.

 

Our car does not have the remote entry option, just a regular key, so it is very easy to make sure it is in accessory mode.  

 

That day, we were stuck in traffic for quite a while just before we got to the campground and the brake was used often, so I figured that was the reason for the low battery indicator.  Note...the low battery was on the Patriot system, not the C-Max.  The car started and ran just fine.  We have had no issues so far, but we haven't towed more than about five hours at one time.  

 

Thanks for all the suggestions about the towing equipment, installation, etc.  

 

One thing I have had an issue with is my iPhone.  I can turn off the radio and climate systems, but I keep forgetting to disconnect my phone.  :-)

[air463]

Just got finsihed having the Cmax looked at by my local dealer since we are home now for the summer.  I mentioned the dead battery issue every time I tow the car, the service advisor had me repeat it again to the service manager.  After that the service manager told me without even thinking about it to install a charge wire directly to the battery.  He says they have been telling Escape, and other ford owners that tow to do that and it solves the dead batter problem.  So I am getting the LSL system for mine, and we will see if that fixes it.

[VirginiaRick]

I posted this photo over on the Jus A CMax sighting... forum, but since this thread is all about everything 'toad', thought I'd post it here too.  Anybody else thinking of doing this?

 

 

[wab]

I posted this photo over on the Jus A CMax sighting... forum, but since this thread is all about everything 'toad', thought I'd post it here too.  Anybody else thinking of doing this?

 

Looks heavy.

Hopefully it's a Roadmaster "Hidden" bracket.

 

Here some pictures of our Blue Ox

 

wab

Edited March 31, 2013 by wab

[jmckinley]

I experimented with alanstri's ideal of manually overriding the shift interlock to get the trans in neutral without turning the vehicle on.  I seems to work just fine and isn't difficult to do once you ignore the owner's manual which seems to think the override lever is on the passenger side instead of really on the driver's side. This could be because the C Max was orginally produced in England and the Owner's Manual just didn't get fixed.

 

To make it easier to override the interlock, I tied a nylon string to the white lever so I can just pull on it.  Later I may drill a hole in the console and lead the string outside the console just above the parking brake.  For now, I think I will just lift off the shifter boot plate and yank on the string.  If towing a lot, I'll probably secure the string to hold the override lever back full time. 

 

My compliments to alanstri for figuring out where the lever was.

 

[VirginiaRick]

Looks heavy.

Hopefully it's a Roadmaster "Hidden" bracket.

 

...then I suppose driving around town like this would be considered sacrilegious! :drool:

 

I opted for the Roadmaster Tracker hitch (the basic one).

[VirginiaRick]

One other thing I found out...I can't leave the removable tow bar attached to the car because of the proximity sensor setting off the alarm chime.  Oh well...it's ugly anyway!

 

There's a proximity sensor in the front?  Whereabouts?  I've got the Roadmaster Tracker hitch on mine, and the crossbar piece hasn't caused any alarms to go off.

[jmckinley]

Towed Max yesterday using alanstri's suggestion to manually override the shift interlock to get the trans in neutral without turning the ignition on. A word of caution here - you need to be very careful that you have actually placed it in neutral.  With the ignition off, the dash indicator is dark so you have to find neutral by feel.  Not rocket science, just pull the shifter back two clicks and it should work but there is a huge penalty for getting it wrong.

 

Seemed to work just fine, although I only towed about ten miles.

 

I was towing it to the dealership, by the way, for some routine service and to get the 12V battery replaced.  They put in a new battery under warranty.  I forgot to mention to the dealer that the car had run the battery down about 20 times while I was towing it on our trip through the Southeast. I don't feel guilty about this because I religiously followed the Owner's Manual every time I towed.  If there is residual battery drain, Lord Motor Company should have warned me to either pull the appropriate fuse or run a charge line from the motor home. Most other flat towable cars include such a warning in their manuals.

 

Service Manager did mention, however, that they were seeing an unusual rate of battery failures in new cars, not just the C Max.

[z32k12]

Received my toad charge kit in the mail today and plan to install this weekend.  I also was able to reach a regional service manager with Ford and he highly recommended some kind of charge line rather than disconnecting the battery.  Didn't ask about manually putting the transmission in neutral.

 

Question for those considering a Toad Charge...are you going to connect to the jump terminals under the hood and if so how?  I'm considering clamps like you would see on a battery charger but was wondering what everyone else is doing.

[wab]

Received my toad charge kit in the mail today and plan to install this weekend.  I also was able to reach a regional service manager with Ford and he highly recommended some kind of charge line rather than disconnecting the battery.  Didn't ask about manually putting the transmission in neutral.

 

Question for those considering a Toad Charge...are you going to connect to the jump terminals under the hood and if so how?  I'm considering clamps like you would see on a battery charger but was wondering what everyone else is doing.

 

 

At first I'll use a small clamp, looks like a battery charger clamp but 1/2 the size.

Not sure where I got it???

 

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/IDEAL-Battery-Clamp-Set-1XWN9?Pid=search

 

I'll probably use a small hose clamp for a more permanent connection.

[ScooterS]

At first I'll use a small clamp, looks like a battery charger clamp but 1/2 the size.

Not sure where I got it???

 

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/IDEAL-Battery-Clamp-Set-1XWN9?Pid=search

 

I'll probably use a small hose clamp for a more permanent connection.

wab-  I'd be kind of careful using that type of alligator clip.  As I recall, they tend to "jump" off of the post with little provocation.  If you hit a bump while towing, you could have a hot 12 VDC floating around your engine compartment.  That could cause some serious problems until the circuit breaker kicks in.

[wab]

wab-  I'd be kind of careful using that type of alligator clip.  As I recall, they tend to "jump" off of the post with little provocation.  If you hit a bump while towing, you could have a hot 12 VDC floating around your engine compartment.  That could cause some serious problems until the circuit breaker kicks in.

 

Thanks

The alligator clamp was just for testing, I've already installed the hose clamp.

 

Todays THE BIG DAY, we're going to hook the car to the MH :happy feet: .

[VirginiaRick]

In a few days I'm going to be towing my C-Max behind my motor home for the very first time.  I've got it all rigged - hardware-wise, and electrically, for the lights.  Exactly what is the step-by-step procedure to get it into 'tow-ready' mode?  I don't want to go digging into the emergency brake slot to do any gerry-rigging, as far as shifting it out of Park.  I tried starting it, shifting to neutral, and then turning it off, but that leaves a "Shift to Park" message on the display, along with the 'P-R-N-D-L' display lit.

 

I'll be taking it to a campground only about 20 miles away, so there shouldn't be any 'dead battery' issue to worry about, right?  And do you have to cycle it through the gears before it's ready to go?  :headscratch:

 

Thanks for any replies from 'seasoned' tow-ers!

 

VR

[jmckinley]

If you "don't want to go digging into the emergency brake slot to do any gerry-rigging, as far as shifting it out of Park" and you don't have a charge line from the motor home, the battery will run down after about two hours towing, the first time.

 

Over the next few tows, the time to dead battery will get shorter and shorter as the battery is destroyed. Then it will start dying at other, non towing times, like overnight. The problem, as you described, is that the thing is never turned off.  Stuff is still running in there despite your having pushed the off button.

 

You'll be fine on your 20 mile trip.  Longer trips will be problematic.  If you don't use a charge line or override the brake shift interlock, carry a Stanley Simple Start or similar device.