New charge line in my Tundra

**Joesjunk** · 08-22-2007, 02:16 PM

I'm getting ready to install the #10 wire from the truck battery to the trailer connector. This will allow the battery to be fresh, if I run the frig on 12VDC while towing.

How do I attach the wire to the trailer connector? I'm assuming that I will need some sort of special connector. I will also install a fuse and isolator to keep the TM from discharging the truck battery. Can I order all this from the same place? Do the shops that specialize in towing have these available?

Thanks for the help,

08-22-2007, 02:46 PM

Usually the Bargman has screw connectors that take stripped wire. A battery isolator or relay system that only operates when the TV is running is a good idea. Hard to answer your other questions because we don't know where you are getting your items.

I'm able to run the fridge and fan off the TV thru the Bargman with such a setup without draining the batteries on the TM.

**Bill** · 08-22-2007, 03:37 PM

Joe -

Are you sure you need to do this at all? As I recall, Rocky Mtn Ray (our Tundra guru) didn't have a problem running his refrig on DC while towing. See his comments in the thread at
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=4909

As for attaching the new wire to the Bargman connector. I'm not sure it is as easy as it sounds. Many (most?) OEM Bargman connectors are molded, not screwed together. This is good, because it makes them rugged and waterproof. But there is no way to open a molded connector - the best you can do is splice the new wire into the old one, before it gets to the connector. And when you splice it, you open it up to moisture penetration, corrosion, and failure.

I installed a new #10 circuit in my Explorer, just as you are contemplating. I really didn't want to break into the Bargman and risk moisture-related failure, so I installed a separate connector beside the Bargman, and ran the new wire all the way through to the TM battery. Overkill? Almost certainly. But the cost of the overkill was small, whereas the cost of doing it wrong would have been large. It made sense to me to overkill. See the result, further down in the same thread referenced above.

Bottom line, I really needed the new charging wire, so I was willing to pay the cost. But if your Tundra doesn't really need it, that's a different story.

Bill

08-22-2007, 04:59 PM

A lot of Bargeman plugs are like larsdennert said above. You undo a screw and insert the new wire. I know mine is that way because I wired it. Some jerk had stolen the original plug off my Jimmy. If your plug came stock on your vehicle, you may have to splice it in, if it's after-market, you can probably undo a screw and push the wire into the hole.

**rtcassel** · 08-22-2007, 05:11 PM

If you have the factory installed tow package you do not need an isolator.

**grill-n-go** · 08-22-2007, 05:46 PM

Joe,

You really want to check the condition of your battery before you do anything else. Read my posts on the link Bill provided. Once I changed the battery on my TM my DOA battery issues were solved.

**Joesjunk** · 08-23-2007, 07:12 AM

Check my post under appliances.

**rtcassel** · 08-23-2007, 08:18 AM

Have you checked the Tundra fuse marked SUB BAT (p.300 in manual)? I blew that fuse once when I partially inserted the Bargman plug upside down under rainy conditions. When I got to my next stop, the TM battery was dead and the fridge was warm. If the fuse is OK, have you checked if you are getting power at the approriate Bargman terminal when the Tundra key is on?