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as title says....
it charged fine on the tow to campsite. or the batteries where fully charged and maintained on the tow out.....
now a week later...overcast sky. solar panels couldn't keep up..
lets plug in the truck and charge them....well ...lets just say the circuit just went into maintain mode.. yes set active trailer/brake pedal and yes it started to charge....but only maintain at the lower level on the trailers charge display..2hrs later...movie done....still not charged...........
disconnect...turn the truck around and used booster cables off the main battery....20 mins later batteries 3 on trailer showing 75%....
my thoughts this smart battery system/minder ......sucks.......
think I may rewire my 7 pin to the main battery just to bypass this battery minder.......k ...add in your comments/thoughts/experience......
Last edited by Steve Osborne; 05-29-2016 at 08:31 PM.
That is why I carry a Honda Eu2000i generator and a battery charger. The truck or just running the generator would take a long time to re-charge batteries especially if they drained down. I run the generator a while each day. We go dry camping for 3 weeks and have never had an issue doing this.
Are you saying you were watching a movie with the engine idling while the altenator was trying to charge the battery in the RV?
The 12-volt hot line (battery charge wire) in the trailer wiring harness is not heavy enough to charge a battery very fast. If the battery is run down, you can drive all day with the battery charging at full blast and it won't completely charge the RV battery - because not enough watts can come through the small charge wire.
The fix is to haul a small generator, such as my Honda EU2000i, to charge the battery at a faster rate. Or replace the charge wire in the trailer wiring harness with a bigger wire to the trailer plug, and from the trailer plug to the battery. That will allow more watts to come down the line and into the battery for a faster charge rate.
Or of course, your temporary fix of running battery cables from the battery posts in the TV to the battery posts in the RV will work too. Replacing the charge wire in the wiring harness is sorta the same thing.
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The 12-volt hot line (battery charge wire) in the trailer wiring harness is not heavy enough to charge a battery very fast. If the battery is run down, you can drive all day with the battery charging at full blast and it won't completely charge the RV battery - because not enough watts can come through the small charge wire....
Yes, this is my experience as well. Have driven for hours with a 1/2 charged trailer battery, and arriving at the campsite the voltage reading has barely moved. As mentioned, the alternator/wiring is intended only to maintain, not charge. Keep in mind, while driving I have the trailer refrigerator set to 12 volt.
When not using the trailer for extended periods of time I remove the battery and keep in my garage, connected to a trickle-charger.
X3 on a small inverter generator. They're very quiet and fuel efficient. I have a set of the Honda 2000's and they can do everything from battery charging (via the converter) to 15K A/C, in tandem of course. The charge wire from the truck is basically maintenance only. If you want to be generator-free plan on 4 T-105 batteries and at least 500W worth of panels. Been there done that. The inv. generator(s) is cheaper and easier. They couldn't care less about cloud cover.
P.S. As you discovered, the jumper cables are the way to get some significant amps on board quickly, with the truck running of course. I've done this in a pinch - more than once.
Are you saying you were watching a movie with the engine idling while the altenator was trying to charge the battery in the RV?
The 12-volt hot line (battery charge wire) in the trailer wiring harness is not heavy enough to charge a battery very fast. If the battery is run down, you can drive all day with the battery charging at full blast and it won't completely charge the RV battery - because not enough watts can come through the small charge wire.
The fix is to haul a small generator, such as my Honda EU2000i, to charge the battery at a faster rate. Or replace the charge wire in the trailer wiring harness with a bigger wire to the trailer plug, and from the trailer plug to the battery. That will allow more watts to come down the line and into the battery for a faster charge rate.
Or of course, your temporary fix of running battery cables from the battery posts in the TV to the battery posts in the RV will work too. Replacing the charge wire in the wiring harness is sorta the same thing.
I expected the comment of the cable not being big enough....
I brought a load in to the camp---no utility trailer for other stuff= no generator...
as for the trailer plug---I remember the 2013...pluging in the charge indicator would show a full charge--meaning I was getting amps from the alternator...with the 2016 it turned on/charged just enough to shut the beeping off on the inverter.. when using the booster cables it showed the full charge and was actually putting a charge to the batteries..
thanks...had to delete and back space abit for the sig...lol
Last edited by Steve Osborne; 05-30-2016 at 04:24 PM.
Running the refrigerator on 12V while towing really puts a strain on the battery. The refrig on 12V uses lots of power and few tow vehicles have sufficient wiring to run a refrig, let alone charge a low battery and run the refrig at the same time. For this reason, many people set their refrig on propane while towing. This works well for the refrig and does not strain the electrical system. The charge system in the truck just does not put out much power when the truck battery is full - and the truck wiring is usually of a small gauge that won't carry much current.
05-29-2016, 08:19 PM
disappointed with 2016 trailer charge
