How to Keep Blue Ox Patriot II from Draining Battery in 2008 GMC Sierra 1500

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Question:

I purchased the Hopkins HM56101 Custom Wiring Kit for my 2008 GMC Sierra 1500 to tow it behind my 2005 Winnebago Journey 34H using the Blue Ox Avail Tow Bar. I also purchased the Blue Ox Patriot II Portable Braking system. Is there any additional wiring or kit required for rear brake lights to properly function when the Patriot system is activating the brakes. I know the Patriot III requires a power source in the towed vehicle but I am concerned about the brake lights activating from the truck battery system when the pedal is depressed and possible power feedback to the RV. Will the Patriot system drain my car battery during long tows?

asked by: Robert D

1

Helpful Expert Reply:

Since the Hopkins Custom Tail Light Wiring Kit # HM56101 has built-in diodes you will not get any feedback through the wiring. No additional wiring or kit is required to keep that from happening.

Depending on how far you are traveling and how much braking you are doing, it could be possible that the Blue Ox Patriot # BLU37TR would drain your battery, especially if the ignition key has to be left in the on position.

To help eliminate the possibility of your battery becoming drained I highly recommend installing the Roadmaster Battery Charge Line Kit # RM-156-25. This will allow the battery from your Winnebago to send a charge to the battery in your 2008 GMC Sierra 1500.

If you have a 7-Way on your RV then you can simply install the RoadMaster 7-Wire to 6-Wire Flexo-Coil Kit # RM-146-7 and connect the wire from the battery charge line kit to the middle pin on the 6-Way connector. You will just need to cut the 4-Way off of your Hopkins wiring kit and connect the Brown wire to the pin in the 12 o'clock position, the Yellow wire to the pin in the 5 o'clock position, and the Green wire to the pin in the 7 o'clock position (see attached picture "Vehicle Side 6-Way").

I have attached a few review videos for you to check out as well.

expert reply by: Jon G

1

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Answer 1

Hey Mark. The 6-Way bracket mounts on either the left or right arms where the tow bar connects on the etrailer Invisible Base Plate Kit item #e44FV. There's a couple of pre-drilled holes that the bracket will connect to. Typically people mount…

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Answer 2

Hey Jim. The Curt Custom Tail Light Wiring Kit for Towed Vehicles item #C96JR is indeed compatible with the LED lights on your 2025 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. It plugs into your factory wiring harness behind the tail lights. The only issue would be if…

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Answer 3

The red wire is supposed to be connected to the stop light switch. You'll need to use a circuit tester item #ptw2993 to find the cold side of the wire which will only have power when the brakes are applied so you can splice in the break signal.…

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Answer 4

Hey Mike, I see you found our article on best tow bars. We don't carry the NSA Ready Brute Elite II tow bar because we don't carry that brand at this time. It has nothing to do with the quality of the tow bar or anything. It's just one…

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Answer 5

Hey Jon; I was actually just talking to Furrion about heat options for the Chill Cube yesterday (1/21/2025). At this time, the only way to have heat with this unit is through a furnace on a ducted setup. The Furrion Chill Cube RV AC w/ Air…

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Answer 6

Given that your 2012 Chevy Silverado 1500 could easily get over the 5,000 pound limit of the base plates you're refering to I recommend going with a different set. The Roadmaster MX base plates, #3154-3, are generally considered more heavy duty…

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Answer 7

I spoke with my contact at Curt and sent him everything you sent me including the pictures and here is what he responded with: Typically we recommend our universal over-bed installation kit, part #C61502, compatible for the over-bed folding &…

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How to Keep Blue Ox Patriot II from Draining Battery in 2008 GMC Sierra 1500

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