Issues with flat towing?

[Donald]

Thank you. Where did you connect the wire that is meant to go to the battery -ve terminal? Can you see the info on the RVi command center from the battery charger?

The negative terminal is on the fender well.

Sponsored

 

[keef033]

The negative terminal is on the fender well.

Thanks. Are you using the RVi towed battery charger?

 

[Donald]

Thanks. Are you using the RVi towed battery charger?

Mine is an older version. After market charger.

 

[Mills Maverick]

Just towed my 2023 Maverick Hybrid 800 miles. 400 each stop. No issues at all with battery. I did run a 12 volt wire from my motorhome to the jumper post in the engine compartment. Tows great.

What brake system are you using for the toad? Ours drained out battery in the Maverick in 2 hours. Dead. Nothing works but even a lock

 

[BradnChristine]

What brake system are you using for the toad? Ours drained out battery in the Maverick in 2 hours. Dead. Nothing works but even a lock

My Brake Buddy (in my C-Max Hybrid) only needs power to initially raise its pressure, and if you lock up your brakes, it needs battery to re-pressurize. I have only had the BrakeBuddy actually apply the brakes one time in over 100,000 miles of RV towing because some jerk pulled out in front of me. Normally, I can anticipate stops and never need the supplemental braking for anything but to keep things legal. So there is VERY minimal battery use, but a charge-wire like my "Toad-Charge" from LSL Industries keeps the towed battery charged through the light cable.

One time before I had the Toad-Charge, I deadened the battery in my old Chevy by placing the BrakeBuddy too tight and it kept my brake lights on for 250 miles.

 

[Donald]

What brake system are you using for the toad? Ours drained out battery in the Maverick in 2 hours. Dead. Nothing works but even a lock

RVi system. Like was posted here, the only time I’ve had my brake system activate, is when some jerk pulled out in front of me so very little 12 volt power needed.

 

[Amieuxse]

Sorry for the long story here….tried to post on the towing sub-forum but no eyes so posting again on general.

Just got off the phone with a tech at my RV repair shop (they don‘t sell RVs, just work on them) about getting a Blue Ox tow bar setup for my Mav hybrid and was given some info thats gotten me concerned about flat towing.

The mechanic said they do Blue Ox setups frequently and are a dealer for that company…so far, so good. However, when I told him it was a Mav hybrid he said he had concerns because they had a customer with a 22 Escape hybrid try to flat tow (last April) but the lithium battery kept dying on him. Shop checked everything on their end with no issues and customer was doing the tow setup on the Escape as Ford told them to but still the car was dying when towed. Customer called Ford but got no help so shop (they do Ford RV chassis warranty work) called Ford on their end but shop also got nowhere with Ford.

Tech told me they think it is the regen braking draining the battery. The tech said when the car was put into tow mode there was an error popping up on the screen that was along the lines that there was a severe battery drain. The Escape was using the Patriot braking system. FYI, he said they don’t see this happening on other manufacturer‘s hybrids like Toyota.

For those that are already flat towing the Mav behind your RV are y’all seeing any issues? I know there are general battery issues apparently from the cable connection and perhaps that’s the real issue for the Escape customer or maybe it’s a software issue, but I want to get “real life” feedback on the towing aspect from Mav owners.
thx Peach

I also have been having issues with my patriot braking system giving me an alarm because it indicates that the towed vehicle battery is low. I believe I have isolated the problem to the 12v outlet that I plug into is only live for 30 minutes after turning the car off. Am going to have an additional 12v outlet installed that will be live at all times. Have already installed an RVI towed battery charger.
As for the severe battery drain I suspect that the car may not have been turned off after putting into neutral tow mode.

 

[Amieuxse]

I also have been having issues with my patriot braking system giving me an alarm because it indicates that the towed vehicle battery is low. I believe I have isolated the problem to the 12v outlet that I plug into is only live for 30 minutes after turning the car off. Am going to have an additional 12v outlet installed that will be live at all times. Have already installed an RVI towed battery charger.
As for the severe battery drain I suspect that the car may not have been turned off after putting into neutral tow mode.

Just got back from a 110 mile trial run after installing a 12v port that is wired live as opposed to the one in the maverick that goes to sleep after a short period of time. All worked well! Been a miserable time trying to isolate the problem.

 

[realshelby]

Just completed about 2500 miles from Houston to Moab with the Maverick in flat tow. One instance of the the "neutral tow" being grey and not allowing me to select it....but I think I was the problem. I think I had it in run instead of the proper accessory mode. Had an issue with the ready brake sticking a bit keeping the brake lights on, which made the Big Mav think I had MY foot on the brake pedal.
Otherwise it worked like it should. No dead battery at any time. I do have coach power to the positive post under the hood ( with a diode just in case).

 

[Amieuxse]

Just got back from a 110 mile trial run after installing a 12v port that is wired live as opposed to the one in the maverick that goes to sleep after a short period of time. All worked well! Been a miserable time trying to isolate the problem.

Another update on towing our Maverick Lariat. We just completed the first 460 miles of our trip south for the winter with zero trouble with the Mav. Seems that the answer to our issues was indeed the 12v port that goes to sleep after a short period of time. Once we had a dedicated 12v port added, we have had no issues. The trucklet towed beautifully once we did this. Now on to the sun in the morning. Happy motoring/towing to all!

 

[Amieuxse]

Sorry for the long story here….tried to post on the towing sub-forum but no eyes so posting again on general.

Just got off the phone with a tech at my RV repair shop (they don‘t sell RVs, just work on them) about getting a Blue Ox tow bar setup for my Mav hybrid and was given some info thats gotten me concerned about flat towing.

The mechanic said they do Blue Ox setups frequently and are a dealer for that company…so far, so good. However, when I told him it was a Mav hybrid he said he had concerns because they had a customer with a 22 Escape hybrid try to flat tow (last April) but the lithium battery kept dying on him. Shop checked everything on their end with no issues and customer was doing the tow setup on the Escape as Ford told them to but still the car was dying when towed. Customer called Ford but got no help so shop (they do Ford RV chassis warranty work) called Ford on their end but shop also got nowhere with Ford.

Tech told me they think it is the regen braking draining the battery. The tech said when the car was put into tow mode there was an error popping up on the screen that was along the lines that there was a severe battery drain. The Escape was using the Patriot braking system. FYI, he said they don’t see this happening on other manufacturer‘s hybrids like Toyota.

For those that are already flat towing the Mav behind your RV are y’all seeing any issues? I know there are general battery issues apparently from the cable connection and perhaps that’s the real issue for the Escape customer or maybe it’s a software issue, but I want to get “real life” feedback on the towing aspect from Mav owners.
thx Peach

We had many issues when we first started flat towing our lariat hybrid this past summer. Turned out our issue was the 12v port in the pickup. It goes to sleep after about 30 minutes leaving the brake unit in the pickup with no power. We had a dedicated 12v port installed that is live all the time. No issues at all since.

Sponsored