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Old 02-01-2018, 07:25 PM   #21
Aorobie
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A quick lesson I learned almost the hard way is with a 5th wheel pull the truck far enough ahead to clear the trailer not just off the hitch before you hit the auto leveling button as the first thing auto level does is retracts the front landing gear well below the height of my trucks bed sides. In this situation at least in my case the umbilical cord is too short to reach so I run the generator to level and operate the slides
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Old 02-01-2018, 07:33 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aorobie View Post
A quick lesson I learned almost the hard way is with a 5th wheel pull the truck far enough ahead to clear the trailer not just off the hitch before you hit the auto leveling button as the first thing auto level does is retracts the front landing gear well below the height of my trucks bed sides. In this situation at least in my case the umbilical cord is too short to reach so I run the generator to level and operate the slides


You must have “level up” 6 point hydraulic. I stress that point during walk through. Drops in a hurry!! You should see customers eyes when I press auto level.
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Old 02-02-2018, 03:47 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by chuckster57 View Post
You must have “level up” 6 point hydraulic. I stress that point during walk through. Drops in a hurry!! You should see customers eyes when I press auto level.
Yes, its eye opening when it drops like that but I guess that's the way its designed.
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Old 02-02-2018, 03:50 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
Wildhorse,

I understand your question and as for the "demand on the truck wiring" there is a fused circuit that protects the wiring in the truck. You can't "melt the wires" (if things are working properly) since the fuse (on Fords, it's under the hood) will open if you draw more than the wiring is designed to carry.

As for the trailer, if you have batteries connected to your DC electrical system, they serve as a "buffer" against excessive current draws during slide or leveling system operation. Without the battery, if you're on shore power or using a generator, you can place an instant (startup) load on the converter and damage it. Usually the damage is from repetitive use, not from a "oops, one time kind of use"... So, the batteries are in the system to protect the converter when it is powered by shore/generator power. When you're not on shore power and have the umbilical connected, you can't damage the wiring because the truck underhood fuse protects it from excess current draw. If, however, you did not have batteries in the trailer and plugged in the umbilical, you'd probably blow that underhood fuse from overloading the umbilical wiring with the slide motor current draw. So the batteries protect that circuit from overload as well.

What I addressed is the statement that when connected to the tow vehicle the "converter" controls XXX" As I interpret the schematics I've seen and as I understand the system, the converter is not a part of the DC charging system or the DC power distribution system when connected to the tow vehicle. The ONLY time the converter influences DC power is when it is "making DC from shore power or the generator".... In other words, when the truck is charging the trailer battery through the umbilical, the converter might as well be a brick. It's not connected to anything or even powered on.



So, in response to your last post. If you have batteries connected in your trailer, you can operate the slides/leveling system from them. If you want to "adequately recharge the batteries" you can do that with the converter by using shore power or a generator (larger wires will carry more current to recharge what was used)

If you attempt to recharge the batteries using the trailer umbilical, about the most you can get is 5 amps of DC power through the "fuse protected" wiring, so it will take significantly longer to recharge what was used during slide and leveling system operation. So from an efficiency perspective, it is not very efficient to rely on the truck to recharge the batteries. Even when towing it takes many hours to "top off a half charged battery".... You'd be better off using the generator/converter, it will recharge your batteries much faster and more efficiently. Towing all day will barely make a dent in a two 6 volt battery setup that is at 50% charge.....

I leave my truck plugged in during slide operation, not because it will "replace all the DC I use, but because it will help power the slides, preserving my battery charge (a little) so I can dry camp longer before I need to recharge the batteries....

Sort of: If I have 100 amps in my batteries and I use 20 amps deploying the slides, if I can get 5 amps from the umbilical, I'll have 5 amps more than if the truck was disconnected.... If I was on shore power, that wouldn't be necessary since I could recharge the batteries in about 30 minutes of converter operation....

Maybe you're more confused now than before, I hope not
Great info and good to know!
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Old 02-02-2018, 11:01 AM   #25
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I just received a response from WFCO regarding any influence the converter may have on charging the trailer batteries during towing. Here's the response from WFCO along with my question to them.

Fri, Feb 2, 2018 7:15 am

John Klocek [email protected]e
To JRTJH
The converter has nothing to do with charging the batteries When going down the road. It requires 110 volts AC to function. The alternator in the tow vehicle charge the battery direct through the 7 way plug.

John Klocek
WFCO Electronics
Power Pro Team Lead Technician
Phone: 574-294-8997
Email: [email protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: John Hughes [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, February 1, 2018 3:59 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Technical Support

Technical Support
Name : John Hxxxxxx
Email Address : JRTJH@xxxxxx
Address : xxxxxxxx
City : xxxxxxxxxx
State : MI
Country : USA
Zip : xxxx
Phone : xxx xxx xxxx
Converter-model-number : 8955
Comments/Questions :
I have a WFCO power center in my fifth wheel (2014 Cougar). We are having a discussion on battery charging and I have a question about how (if it does) the converter plays into charging the trailer batteries during towing. Does the convert have any influence or control over charging rates, voltage or amperage when the trailer if not plugged into shore power and all voltage is being supplied by the tow vehicle through the 7 pin umbilical? I think there is no converter control in this situation, but would like to be sure. Thanks for any explanations you can provide.
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Old 03-11-2018, 03:47 PM   #26
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Another question about battery charging while boondocking. I'm constantly checking my voltage during my stay and will start the generator when the voltage drops below 12v to recharge the batts. My question is ..would hooking up a battery trickle charger to my batteries charge up quicker than the converter does.
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:42 PM   #27
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The short answer is "No, a trickle charger (roughly 2 amps) will not charge your battery faster than the converter/charger.

To explain, most trickle chargers provide 2amps to charge the battery "very slowly". Essentially it is designed to "maintain a charged battery without overcharging or evaporating the battery acid". A WFCO 55 amp converter/charger will provide "up to 55 amps" of charge power, minus any power that is being used by the power center. So, if you are using 9 amps to power lights, 2 amps for LP/smoke/CO detectors, 3 amps for refrigerator operation, you would have 55-9-2-3 or 41 amps of available "battery charging capacity". There is some power loss in the long wires from the converter/charger to the battery, so you'll also have some "inherent loss" as well as what is consumed by powering the trailer.

Typically, most "WalMart battery chargers" provide 10 amps of charge capacity, trickle chargers provide 2 amps and your tow vehicle will provide somewhere around 4 or 5 amps. So, plugging into shore power or a generator will provide the most expedient (fastest) means to charge your battery. Remember, the more "other stuff" you turn on, the slower you'll charge your battery.
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:55 PM   #28
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Got it thanks for the reply
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Old 03-11-2018, 08:50 PM   #29
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Battery charge time will be determined by the converter and the voltage it uses to charge in bulk mode and the voltage it uses to decide when to switch from bulk to the next stage.

charging the lead acid battery

I replaced my WFCO converter with one that charges the batteries quicker, but a full charge still takes time.

-Brian
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