Why I had to Install A Battery Tender for my 2019 Jeep Cherokee TrailHawk

Why I had to Install a Battery Tender for My Jeep

My Jeep is a 2019 Jeep Cherokee TrailHawk which is mostly towed behind my Motor Home, it is driven very little, and sits sometimes for several weeks without being driven. I would go to start the jeep after it had been sitting for a week or more. The battery was low on charge, and it would not start as the battery voltage was to low and the battery was run down. I checked, and there was no electrical short in the wiring or nothing was left on to cause the problem. I bought a new AGM Battery which is expensive and a couple of weeks later I had the same problem. Here is what I learned.

Install Towed Vehicle Battery Charger

Since often times when towing a jeep behind a motor home for any distance the battery will run down and the jeep won’t start when arriving at the camp ground. So the solution was to install a Towed Battery Charger. I choose a RVI3 12 volt Vehicle Battery Charger, Since I already had a RVI3 portable brake system it made since to get their RVI battery charger. They are not cheap $165, But I just replaced the battery in the jeep with a new AGM and did not want to take the chance of over charging and ruining the new battery in the jeep with a cheap charger or a jerry rigged system. So I bought the RVI which is a automatic 3 stage charger that runs off of the motor homes 12 volt system. I can pair it with my RVI command center tablet and see what Is going on while in my Motor Home going down the road. This is how I installed it.

Added a Brake System for my Towed Jeep

Over the years I’ve had several different Brake Systems for my Towed vehicles. I’ve had permanently installed ones and those that were portable. The permanent onesa were nice, but if I sold the vehicle or got another one then I would have to get another brake system, so a portable one would work better for me. I tried several different ones and although all of them did the job, most were a pain to install and set up. I happened to find a different one that a man had bought and never used. It was still in the box and had never been opened or used. It was a RVI3 and they sell for $1,595 He needed to sell it because he was no longer RVing and had sold his motor home. I paid cash and got it for $700 less than what I would have had to pay a dealer for it.

Here are some of the particulars on the unit that I bought from him.

Running wires through Jeep Firewall

I have been working on my 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk getting it ready to flat tow. In a previous post I told how I installed the Roadmaster Direct Base plates and the wiring harnes for the Lights and turn signals.

I purchased a RViBrake 3 for the break system. I needed to run some wires for the breakaway system to the RViBrake 3. These wires had to be run into the cab through the firewall. There is a plug below the brake pedal that can be removed to run wires through the firewall. That was not a option because of the limited space between the firewall and the brake booster and the plug on the end of the brakaway switch wires would not fit. So my only option was to drill a hole in the firewall. I studied the firewall under the dash and in the engine compartment.

Mod my Jeep to Flat Tow

A couple of weeks ago I traded my truck in and got a 2019 Jeep Cherokee TrailHawk. I got the jeep So I could flat tow behind  my motor home. Yesterday and today I installed a RoadMaster Flat tow Kit #521451-5 for Direct Connect to my tow bar, Which was the model for my Jeep.