Battery problem

JA

jackrabbit5

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
10
Location
Iowa
We took our Towlite 17 on a 1000 mile cross country trip starting on Friday. We stopped midway to spend the night and the battery was dead. Had to manually lower tongue jack and raise the top. Even hooked up to the vehicle it didn't have enough power. We had the refer running on dc during travel. Isn't the vehicle alternator supposed to keep the battery charged during travel? The battery is only a year old and seems to be holding a charge after we reached our final destination. I've tested to confirm that there is 12v power coming from the vehicle. Anything else I should be looking for?

On a related note, how long should the battery last when camping without ac power?
 
You might not be surprised to learn that other RV owners have had this problem.

Here's a thread from this forum that explains what's going on.......

http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f28/trailer-battery-not-charging-while-traveling-4705/

It's not a generally a battery problem, but a tow vehicle wiring problem. There are a number of solutions. I don't run my refrigerator while towing. I seldom drive more than 6 hours a day and things stay cold enough. If I'm worried, I'll pack some ice inside the fridge before departing. Last year I was going to be on 2 long days and bought some dry ice and it kept things frosty cold for the necessary time.

To insure I don't have to manually operate the lift system, I've rigged a couple of short battery cables, i.e. lawnmower or ATV battery cables about 18" long, secured and insulated, from the battery to just under the battery compartment. With this I can always use my jumper cables to boost the RV battery from the tow vehicle battery and get the top raised up. I carry a trickle charger and hook it up to the RV battery while at the campsite so I always start off with a fully charged RV battery.

Others have added a second RV battery.

On your last question, some of our boondocker friends here will come along soon and let you know how they are successful at squeezing every last electron out of the system.

Good luck and welcome!
 
Those portable jump starters are great for boondocking, just in case you run your battery flat, but yeah, 9/10 the charging is related to your vehicle rather than the trailer. A regular battery charger is a great thing to have at a campground which has power as well. I boondock mostly, so the little lithium polymer charger box I have is great. Lithium batteries will hold a 70% charge for up to two years normally. And they're super small and light.
 
I think I've narrowed it down to my truck. The volt meter I have is analog. I borrowed a digital one and showed I only had 9 - 10 volts at the connector. I've since cleaned up the contacts and it now shows over 14 volts. I will also just turn the fridge off during travel.
 
Food in Refigerator while traveling.

Start out with all food chilled and frozen foods in freezer. Or pack everything in a cooler with ice. Portable ice packs can be used. When you get to your destination your food should be reasonably cold. I have frozed filtered water in a small milk jug. When the ice melts the water is drinkable. Some use dry ice.
 
we had this problem several times on our 24D. one of the main culprits was the fridge draining the battery while on DC when traveling. To help we added an extra wire going from the truck straight to the battery on the trailer but we also started to pull over about an hour before we want to stop for the night and turning the fridge off. that give the battery a chance to recharge. As long as the fridge is not opened it stays plenty cold enough for that time. and while camping if we aren't on 120v we use the propane for the fridge.
 
jackrabbit5 said:
I think I've narrowed it down to my truck. The volt meter I have is analog. I borrowed a digital one and showed I only had 9 - 10 volts at the connector. I've since cleaned up the contacts and it now shows over 14 volts. I will also just turn the fridge off during travel.
Click to expand...
It seems a number of trucks with factory tow wiring did not have a heavy enough wire to recharge the trailer batteries while towing with a refrigerator running on D/C. I know I had the same problem several years ago, but added a #10 wire from the TV to the trailer battery. I have gone from the west coast to the east coast several times with the refrig running on D/C and I no longer have an issue with dead trailer batteries.:D
 
I have also added a #12 wire to the #14 wire that was in my 7 pin connector but am concerned about the amperage drop created by the size of the pin in the 7 pin connector.

I would like to add a dedicated charge line from my TV to my trailer batteries consisting of two 6 ga. wires, positive and ground.

Do any of you guys know of a source for a two pin connector, both male and female, that could be mounted to my bumper that would accommodate this size of wire ?
 
U4ick

IIRC, 12ga wire can easily handle 15 amps (actually I think 14ga can do 15amp), so the 7pin should have no problem delivering the current the fridge/TT battery need.

The problem has often been the tow vehicle wiring not using a large enough wire *to* the 7pin. If you increase that wire size, you shouldn’t have a problem.
 
If it helps anyone, I used #10 wire from Pos post on Batt to a marine type breaker (cause it was given to me for just this task) mounted as close to the batt as possible. Ran the wire back to the 7-pin connector. With Caution, I replaced the existing wire with the 10 gage. put the plug back together and all has worked since. 254 amp alt keeps TV batt charged and I run refer the whole trip, both TT bats have a full charge upon arrival.
Tree
 
Nice Tree.

Yea, 10ga wire should easily handle that (that’s HUGE in the automotive world, btw). Other than the car starter, I can’t think of anything that would need the curent-carrying capacity of anything larger than about 12ga!

Tree- you have this running right off the battery, not on a switched circuit?
What’s the wiring gauge on the trailer at the 7-pin?

Typically, there’s a post near the underhood fusebox that’s a connection to MAIN, downstream from the MAIN relay and fusible link. That would get you a switched circuit and a fused line, so the fridge isn’t pulling from TV battery when it’s not running.
 
Knotty, It is imperative that I disconnect whenever I stop.
But, I truly do this, even when I just fuel up. I get to the pumps, hop out, disconnect, then shut the engine. It's just become habit.
I'm pretty sure the 7 pin wires are 14 gauge, much too small to carry the amps needed for the fridge.
Should see a pic of the breaker. From there, zip tied all the way to the 7 pin. It wasn't easy, but I disassembled the 7 pin, removed the 14 gauge, and using the original connector, I soldered the 10 gauge and re-assembled the 7 pin.
Amazon sells auto parts. I ordered a 254 (or 256) amp alternator years ago and a direct reading amp meter which I put in the skirt. When I arrive at my site, no matter how long the trip, the amp gauge reads 13.7 and the top goes up, refer is cold. This works for me.
Tree
 

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I just purchased a 2208t hilo and my truck needed a upgrade to keep battery charged and refrigerator running while being towed. My set up, 6gauge wire, 80 amp circuit breaker, battery isolater relay, 12 volt connector at bumper(1 side power, 1 ground to frame),trailer connector(power and ground to trailer frame) my questions, any issues with this set up and where do I hook up the 6 gauge power to on trailer, straight to battery or where? My thought on why I used 6 gauge...free I had it and might be able to use truck to charge battery while camping with out have to take a generator with me.
 
Straight on to the battery
Add a second battery if don't have it yet
But make sure you buy and replace them at the same time so they don't work against each other
My 2206t had 2 group 24 deep cycle interstate batteries
I switched to 2 group 27 's and added solar but on my trailer I had to build a larger battery box
I could have went with 2 6 volt batteries wired in series but I didnt want to lower the framing and battery box to make fit
 
campthewestcoast said:
Straight on to the battery
Add a second battery if don't have it yet
But make sure you buy and replace them at the same time so they don't work against each other
My 2206t had 2 group 24 deep cycle interstate batteries
I switched to 2 group 27 's and added solar but on my trailer I had to build a larger battery box
I could have went with 2 6 volt batteries wired in series but I didnt want to lower the framing and battery box to make fit
Click to expand...

With my setup and switching my interior light bulbs to led ( I used # 5050107 ordered off of Amazon )
I can go almost 7 days on battery power and that's using the heater too
 
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