BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit
(68 reviews)
Price: $51.05
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BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit
Item # BB54FR
Retail:$53.98
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Brake Buddy Accessories and Parts - BB54FR
- Tow Bar Braking Systems
- Battery Charge Line Kit
- Brake Buddy
Maintains the battery charge on your towed vehicle while it is being flat towed. Uses up to 15 amps from your RV's battery.
Features:
- Maintains the battery charge in your towed vehicle while it is being flat towed
- Uses up to 15 amps from your RV's battery
39339 Hopkins Brake Buddy Dinghy Vehicle Battery Charger
Video of BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Video Transcript for BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Review
Hey everybody, Ryan here at etrailer. Today we're gotta be checking out the brake buddy towed vehicle battery charge kit. So before we kinda dig in too deep about some of the details and how this has got to work and everything else. I figured I'd just kind of address one of the big questions that a lot of people are asking. And that is, you know, is this battery charged kit gotta work on towed vehicles that, you know, does not have a brake buddy braking system installed. So you may have a another type of braking system installed, for example.
And the answer is yes, you know, the the charge line kit or the battery charger rather is is gotta charge a battery regardless on what type of braking system you have. It doesn't care. All that it's doing is taking some power from your motor home when you're going down the road, transferring that energy to your battery to keep it charged up. So, regardless of what system you have, you know, you can feel confident that this is gotta get the job done. So a battery charger for a towed vehicle is a, is a pretty critical component, actually, It's, a lot of times overlooked.
And I mentioned those braking systems. And the reason really for that battery charger is the fact that every time you apply the brakes, your braking system has gotta use a little bit of your battery power to operate. Well, you know, that can be an issue when you're, when you're towing, you know, six, eight, 10 hours, multiple day trips, and you know, don't get out and separate your car and drive it around or start it up, which is a big hassle. You know, you don't want to get to where you're going on hook and really look forward to start cruising around checking things out, making your trips and you have a dead battery, you know and then you're dealing with jumper cables or jump box, and it's just, it's something you don't wanna have to deal with. And so by using a battery charger what's gotta happen is, it's going to essentially maintain or almost trickle charge your vehicles battery when you're towing it.
That way, you know, the power that the braking system uses isn't affecting your battery capacity or your battery life. That way, when you get to where you're going, you're going to have the confidence knowing when you turn the key your vehicles gotta start and you can go enjoy yourself. Not to mention to you the battery charger is going to help save or extend the life of our towed vehicle's battery. So let's say even if you only make short trips at home behind your motor home, a couple of hours whatever the case may be not enough to actually drain your battery. So you might not think it's a big deal.
Well, the problem is if you're running the battery down for a few hours and then it charges and then you run it down and then you charge it and you do that several times, you know that's going to shorten the life of your vehicle's battery. And so by constantly maintaining it it's not gotta affect it at all. You know, we all hate replacing batteries when you don't really need to. And and that would be a perfect situation that you could avoid by just using charger like this. So you might get a couple more years out of your battery and save you a trip to the store and the headache of getting it replaced. Now, one of the questions that we do get asked is if you're you know, you're, you're not towing down the road, let's say you're parked overnight or something and you leave everything hooked up which is something I would probably do. So you don't have to disconnect everything. Well, you know, will this still take power from your motor home's batteries And it really just kinda depends. If your motor home's seven way puts out power out of the seven way even with the key off, then yes, power will still be set here. But, you know, as long as your batteries are in good condition in your towed vehicle and your motor home. Is it gotta affect anything Probably not, probably not gotta hurt anything. You know, if you have a battery on the way out or something that's where you could maybe run into some issues. So what I would suggest doing, if you, if your motor home had power constantly you lift the key off and you did park it overnight, just pull out the connector at the front, pull out your six way and that solves that issue. You're not gotta be stealing power from one vehicle or the other. So, just something that I wanted to mention and I thought was worth sharing. Now, something you need to think about in order for this kit to work you are going to need a properly functioning Seven way on the back of your motor home. So you're gonna need that 12 volt auxiliary power. That way the energy can get transferred through the wiring up to the battery charger and to the battery. Now, with that said, generally speaking, the majority of of RVs or motor homes that we've had in here usually have them, especially the late model ones. They are almost all equipped with them. It's just something, you know, that I I wanted to mention that way you don't hook it up, plug in and wonder "Hey, why ain't why ain't this working right" So, something to think about. Well like I said, changes are pretty good. You already have it set up on the motor home side. With that said though, how it's gotta work is that power's gonna come out of the seven way from your 12 volt auxiliary source, run through your tail bar wiring into a six way connector which a battery charger is hooked to. And so that power is gotta get transferred through that wire to the positive side of your battery and that's how it's gotta charge. The way it's gotta charge is, whenever your motor home is running it's generating higher voltage from your alternator. And so that's gotta use some of that to trickle charge the battery. Now, it's not gotta take so much power that it's not going to charge your motor home batteries or anything like that. So, nothing to worry about there. Whenever it's running you're gotta know that the motor home is operating as it should. Charging its batteries as well as your towed vehicle's. So the kit is going to be fused. So, it's gotta be protected, you know, for short, if something like that happens on your motor home or, or wherever. You know, you're not gotta have to worry about, you know, smoking all of your electronics and everything else. It'll just pop out the fuse. With that said, I, I, I kind of would have liked to seen a bladed type fuse holder not really a huge deal. You know, this one uses the older type bus fuses. You know, people don't really have those laying around anymore, a little bit trickier to find. So that would have been cool. Just to see that the newer style fuse in there but not really a huge deal. A fuse is a fuse and it's gotta keep everything protected. So at the end of the day a component that I definitely recommend, you know, it's it's something small, but it can save you a big headache. And, and really what it's about too is just giving you the confidence knowing, whenever you're on your trip, that everything's gotta work like it should, you know, you're gotta be able to unhook your towed vehicle fired it up and not have to deal with any issues. And that'll finish up our look at of the brake buddy towed vehicle battery charge kit.
Customer Reviews
BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit - BB54FR
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (68 Customer Reviews)
Maintains the battery charge on your towed vehicle while it is being flat towed. Uses up to 15 amps from your RV's battery.by: James05/25/2022
did not know how to attach these pictures to the site you provided in your email so I am sending to you like this. First, my overall rating is five stars. Second, the installation was not hard at all and took me less than an hour. Third, the lack of instructions leave a lot to an individual's imagination but with so many different vehicles I understand why. However, a link to the general instructions in your video file would help a lot.
These pictures show my installation of the battery maintainer on my 2014 Fiat 500 L.
Picture 1 is of the mounted fuse unit on the driver's side fender firewall.
Picture 2 shows the ground wire (White wire attached to the front quarter panel attachment bolt.
Picture 3 shows the Black wire attached to the Positive terminal on the battery.
Picture 4 shows the charge unit and fuse mounted on the driver's side fender firewall together.
Picture 5 shows the vehicle taillight wiring lines being followed down to the six way plug on the front of the towed vehicle.
by: Jason05/29/2022
etrailer was a great resource when setting up my 2021 Wrangler Islander for flat towing! The BrakeBuddy works great... we haven't had any problem with the battery at all. Would highly recommend it!
by: Frank08/09/2022
Had it installed yesterday. Very well done but came with the flat connector instead of the round 6 pin connector so had to modify to include the battery charger. This company is not part of Blue Ox tow bar manufacturer which is confusing. It all checks out so think it will work good but above issues is why the 3 stars.
Comments
We are not connected to Blue Ox besides distributing their products.
-- 
Katrina B - 08/15/2022by: Stephen 09/09/2022
Very easy and straightforward on the installation. I installed this myself, no issues or problems. Checked the system before flat towing…worked without issue.
2018 Open Road 36UA, flat towing 2020 Jeep Cherokee TrailHawk, using Brake Buddy 3
by: Timothy 09/01/2022
Easy install.Followed the videos and bam!tow my f150 about 7000 miles no problem
by: Kenny06/09/2022
Haven’t installed yet, however a few pages of printed instructions would have been nice. 2ndly your tracking was not terrible good, but your follow up call was refreshing.
Comments
I recommend watching the video installation that we have on 2021 Ford Ranger. It may not be your exact vehicle however it does give an idea of what you would be looking for.
-- Jenny N - 06/11/2022BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Installation - 2021 Ford Ranger - Video
![BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Installation - 2021 Ford Ranger]()
by: Stephen04/17/2022
Arrived Quickly and was very easy to install along with the baseplate and taillight wiring
by: Carlton 09/20/2022
I received everything on time, and with the sales person help I also ordered the correct parts .
by: Mike04/30/2022
Be sure to follow instructions. The wire colors do not follow normal thought. Works awesome for many months and about 3000 miles.
by: Kenny08/04/2020
Great produce and super easy to install. would give it 5 stars if it was set up for 3 wire instead of two. I love the plug and play but since Hopkins went that far, doesn't seem like much more effort to make it 3 wire, or at lease make the additional diode kit also plug and play. Still very happy with this and etrailer is wonderful to work with. it arrived sooner than was expected.
Comments
After using the wiring kit for a oit a year and thousands of miles I am still very happy. I have had no issues and it works flawlessly.
Home - 08/06/2021by: Carlton 08/29/2022
As with all orders from you, it was as expected. Thank you for rapid shipment and correct items.
by: Michael 09/01/2022
Product was reasonably priced and came as advertised
by: Andy04/11/2022
Works great to keep our toad battery ch arged.
by: John06/29/2021
So, I purchase this kit from you and you and when asking for instructions on you say there are NO Instructions from the manufacturer". So how do you all propose I proceed? So NO wiring diagram, NOTHING???
Sure NOT the kind of service I come to expect from etrailer.
Comments
Thank you for your review. Since this part is designed to be used with the Brake Buddy supplemental braking system you can use the instructions from that part to install the charger. I have attached a helpful link for your reference.
-- Heather A - 07/02/2021
Helpful Linkby: Stephen 12/01/2021
Very stratified with the etrailer company...tech service very helpful, videos are great, fast service dedicated customer...
by: Carl 07/10/2022
Camella very helpful and friendly and her help was greatly appreciated in completing my order.
by: Rick02/10/2022
Tammie P was very helpful and knew the products. Everything I needed was available and shipped very quickly. Order arrived in 3 days.
by: Pascal09/15/2021
I called etrailer before to conclude my order on internet. Got every infos I needed. I received everything I ordered in Canada 1 day faster then expected. Very satisfied.
by: Roland 09/18/2021
Came in a timely manner in good shape. Simple to hook up and charging “toad” battery as expected. Good service as usual from Etrailer. Thanks!
by: Hans04/13/2022
Easy to install and works great.
by: Dennis04/02/2022
I was very pleased with your service, was also happy to see that your unit had the new style of fuse which is much better and easier to obtain.
by: Michael03/16/2021
Put this in my towed Chevy HHR to allow me to keep the power on so my brake lights would illuminate when the Brake-Buddy applied the brakes. Works great and install was very easy.
by: Mike03/27/2022
Fast delivery, ordered Thursday received it on Sunday
by: Paul 04/28/2021
Parts came in good condition.. Carol C was great to work with. Recommend that e trailer tell people that items ordered are not in stock up front before they pay for the order
by: Charles10/01/2020
They had the parts I needed at an affordable price. Carol was fantastic when I call to check the status of my order and offered to follow-up on the order if it wasn't going to be filled timely. While she didn't have to follow-up, her attention to customer needs and focus on my satisfaction was refreshing to say the least. Great job Carol!
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See what our Experts say about this Brake Buddy Accessories and Parts
- Drained Battery While Flat Towing A 2017 Terrain 4 Cylinder TroubleshootingIf your battery is draining in two hours you have a seriously major drain on your battery or your battery is bad. You shouldn't have to pull all these extra fuses to preserve battery life while flat towing. It also sounds like your charge line might be hooked up incorrectly or is just bad. I recommend replacing it with the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Item # BB54FR. You should not remove fuse # 16 as your brakes could lock up while towing and cause an accident. The owner's...
view full answer...
- Will the BrakeBuddy Charge Kit Back Feed to my MotorhomeThat depends on your towing vehicle. If there is constant power to the 7-way of the towing vehicle the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit part # BB54FR will try to normalize or balance the vehicles when not being towed. If it does not have constant power it will not. Either way Brake Buddy recommends unplugging it when the towing vehicle is going to be parked for an extended period of time.
view full answer... - Does BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Wire to 12 Volt Accessory Circuit of Tow VehicleThe # BB54FR that you referenced would work great in the setup you mentioned. It will connect to the 12 volt accessory circuit of your 7-way and will keep your battery topped off. The 14.6 volts you mentioned would not be an issue either.
view full answer... - Does Hopkins Brake Buddy BB54FR Toad Charger Need Ground Ran to Towed Vehicle BatteryThe BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit # BB54FR that you referenced does not need a ground wire ran to the tow vehicle's battery. The charger needs power and ground but similar to an alternator in a vehicle just the power wire from the charger would need to run to it.
view full answer... - Why Would Vehicle Battery Still Drain After Install of BrakeBuddy Tow Vehicle Charge KitThe Hopkins BrakeBuddy charger part # BB54FR that you referenced can provide up to a 15 amp hour charge. Now if there's a circuit on your Equinox that is active when you are towing that draws more than 15 amps you are going to see the battery eventually drain like you mentioned. Is the radio on in the Equinox or any extra circuits that don't need to be on like lighting?
view full answer... - Flat Towing A 4WD Chevy Colorado With Automatic TransmissionChevy Colorado 4WD with automatic transmissions from 2015 to 2021 are confirmed per the owner's manuals to be able to be flat towed. 2WD Colorado's are not flat tow capable due to the risk of damaging the drivetrain. You'll want to follow all directions in your owner's manual for flat towing. One of those directions is to disconnect the battery so you'll need to use a braking system that will wire directly to your battery and you'll want to use a battery charger like the BrakeBuddy Towed...
view full answer...
- Fixing The Death Wobble While Flat Towing A 2018 Jeep Cherokee TrailhawkNewer model Jeeps have electric power steering systems that require activation while flat towing to prevent the death wobble. You'll have to purchase the Mopar Recreational Flat Tow Wiring Kit part 68321424AB through a dealer to activate the power steering and resolve the death wobble. Activating the electric power steering will put a drain on your vehicle's battery so you'll also want the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Item # BB54FR maintain the charge level of your battery.
view full answer... - Is Brake Buddy Charge Line Kit BB54FR Compatible With Brake Buddy Classic II?The BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit # BB54FR you were looking at is indeed compatible with your brake Buddy Classic II. This kit works with any braking system and will even work if no braking system is used. I included a video of the # BB54FR being installed for you to take a look at.
view full answer... - What Battery Charge Line Kit do You Recommend for My 2022 Jeep Cherokee?For a great charge-wire kit for your flat-towed 2022 Jeep Cherokee, I recommend the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit # BB54FR. This kit will provide your battery with a continuous battery charge (up to 15 amps) on your Jeep Cherokee. I went ahead and linked an installation video that shows the installation on a 2019 model. The installation on your 2022 model will be nearly identical.
view full answer... - Amperage Rating For The BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit # BB54FRThe BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit # BB54FR is going to send up to 15amps from the motorhome to the towed vehicle.
view full answer... - Brake Buddy Classic 3 Power SourceYou would not want to power your braking system that way because if there was a disconnect between the RV and vehicle your Brake Buddy system # HM39494 would have no power running to it. The # HM39494 comes with the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Item # BB54FR to ensure you're battery stays charged while towing. Hybrid brakes don't require as much of a push because they are assisted. You'll want to match the style of brakes of the towed vehicle when choosing between the hybrid...
view full answer... - How To Wire Brake Buddy Battery Charger 39339The BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit part # BB54FR comes with a the Brake Buddy Select 3 Portable Supplemental Braking System part # HM39524. I have attached a wiring diagram of how this is setup with the Brake Buddy.
view full answer...
- Switch that Could be Used with BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Item # BB54FRIf you wanted to be able to leave the # BB54FR attached to your tow vehicle without it possibly draining your tow vehicle's battery would be to add a switch like the part # D16740 on the red wire that runs to the charger so that you could cut off the connection when you didn't want it to. Aside from that you'd have to disconnect it every time.
view full answer... - Braking system solution for 1999 Jeep Wrangler Flat Towed by 2013 Ford F150I would suggest using the Brake Buddy Select 3 Portable Supplemental Braking System # HM39524. It is a great option that requires minimal installation for power and emergency brake away cables. It is also portable so it can be moved to different vehicles very easily. It includes a remote that you can use in your Ford F150 or any other vehicle with a 12 power supply. The remote allows you to receive feedback from the unit as well as be able to adjust the sensitivity while you drive. This...
view full answer... - Brake Buddy 3 Vehicle Battery Charging CapabilitiesThe Brake Buddy Classic 3 Portable Supplemental Braking System Item # HM39494 has a charge kit # BB54FR included that will keep your battery charging while you tow. The Brake Buddy 3 will alert you if your battery ever falls to 10v.
view full answer... - Powering A Braking System For Flat Towing A 2020 GMC CanyonWhen flat towing your vehicle most owners manuals state the need to remove the negative cable from the vehicle's battery which would make your 12v plug-in non-operational. Instead I recommend the Brake Buddy Select 3 Portable Supplemental Braking System - Proportional Item # HM39524 as it wires directly to your battery will come with the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Item # BB54FR to prevent your vehicle's battery from dying while towing.
view full answer...
- Keeping Your Battery Charged While Using The Demco Stay-In-Play DUO Supplemental Braking SystemThe Demco SBS Stay-IN-Play DUO Supplemental Braking System - Proportional # SM99251 is going to be connected to your vehicle's battery to be powered which will drain your vehicle's battery. To keep the battery charged while towing you can install the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Item # BB54FR. You'll still be able to disconnect the negative battery cable like the manual indicates for flat towing.
view full answer... - Why Should You Disconnect The Battery When Flat TowingThe general reason a battery needs to be disconnected for flat towing is because there are certain functions that need to be disabled to prevent your vehicle's battery from draining. You wouldn't want to get to your destination and unhook and then have a dead battery and not be able to move your vehicle. You should always follow your vehicle's manual to the letter to prevent damage to your vehicle. If you want to install a switch to make disconnecting and reconnecting the battery simple...
view full answer... - Can BrakeBuddy Charge Line Kit Install with Tow Vehicle that has Roadmaster InvisibrakeYou can add a BrakeBuddy charge line kit part # BB54FR to your flat tow setup that is using an Invisibrake part # RM-8700 and it wouldn't interfere. It would put an additional charge on the battery like you are wanting.
view full answer... - Installing and Powering the Brake Buddy Classic 3 Portable Supplemental Braking SystemThe Brake Buddy Classic 3 Portable Supplemental Braking System, # HM39494 comes with the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit, # BB54FR. This should be used when installing the Supplemental Braking System, # HM39494. There's good chance the fuse for your power port socket is blown. Please note the linked installation video below.
view full answer... - Wire to Run from Trailer 7-Way to Charge Trailer BatteryThere is a much less expensive, easier, and more effective way to charge your trailer battery from your 7-way by just running 10 gauge wire from the 1:00 pin of the 7-way to the trailer battery. We offer 10 gauge wire as part number # 10-1-1 which is sold by the foot.
view full answer... - Keeping Your Vehicles Battery Charged While Using The Demco Stay In Play Duo Braking SystemThe # DM86VR does not come with a battery charger. You can install the # BB54FR to keep your vehicle's battery charged.
view full answer... - Installing The BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge KitSince you are using the Demco Stay-IN-Play DUO Supplemental Braking System w/ Wireless Coachlink Monitor # DM86VR you'll want to run the red wire of the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit Item # BB54FR to your 6 pin connector unlike in the two videos I've attached of brake buddy braking systems where they show the installation for the battery charge kit since we don't have a solo video for this particular item. I've also attached a picture of the installation steps. The small black...
view full answer...
- How Does The Blue Ox Patriot Charge?The Blue Ox Patriot Portable Braking System # BLU37TR will charge off of a 12v power source in your toad vehicle. I recommend installing the BrakeBuddy Towed Vehicle Battery Charge Kit # BB54FR to keep your vehicle's battery from draining when being flat towed. Additionally, Blue Ox recommends charging the Patriot once every 3 months for 8 hours. If you are using the Patriot on a daily basis for a number of day you may need to charge sooner than 3 months. Also, if you have stored the...
view full answer...
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