Another rookie question

[Bonerep2013]

Hope this isn't a stupid question ( which I'm sure it is :)). But I've had my camper plugged in to my outlet at home overnight , and disconnected this am. Question is this : how do I pull power now from the battery? Is there a disconnect switch I need to locate? Sorry I have a 2010 245RB.
Sorry for the dumb question. Appreciate the help. :). I have mastered the pontoon , but am a true camper newbie. Thanks

[SteveC7010]

There are two types of electrical items in your trailer. Those that run on 110vac and those that run on 12vdc. The air conditioner(s) and the electric heating element in the water heater are the only purely 110vac items. Everything else runs on or needs 12vdc to operate.

(At this point, I am going to say that you need all the manuals for all the appliances in your trailer. Get the make and model number off each one and go to the manufacturer's website and download the appropriate manual. I am also going to say that you should find and read as many threads here that relate to this as possible. Many of your questions are already answered in great detail.)

If everything is installed and working properly, when you unplug the shore line, it all ought to just keep on working with the exception of the 110vac only items.

Your water heater has a separate switch for the gas side operation. That has to be turned on along with the gas for the water heater to operate without 110vac.

Your fridge, if it's an LP model, has two settings: Gas or Auto. If it is in the Auto position, it should just keep on working. The Check light will tell you if there is a problem.

Edit to add: You really should not turn the batteries off when the shoreline is connected. They get charged from the converter and they act as a buffer when you use a lot of 12vdc (evening - lots of lights on, etc.) If you unplug the trailer and everything goes dark, then the battery is likely disconnected in some way. You will have to look and determine if you have a battery switch as not all rigs come with one from the factory. If you don't have a battery switch, then check to see if the battery is connected. A word of caution: in the RV world BLACK is hot and WHITE is ground!!!!!

[Bonerep2013]

Thanks again for the info. Yes I have a lot of reading to do. I bought from private party and he evidently didn't have many of the appropriate user manuals. I have now unplugged and evidently I don't have power , so I'm assuming battery not fully charged. Does it just trickle charge when plugged in? Thanks again.

[Bonerep2013]

Ha. Thanks Steve will remember the colors :))

[JRTJH]

To add a little more information to Steve's post, there are several exclusively 110VAC appliances. The air conditioner and electric portion of the hot water heater as he stated plus the microwave and the electric portion of the refrigerator. The battery charger portion of the converter also only works on 110VAC shore power.

When you're plugged into shore power, all the 110 appliances operate just as they would in your stick built house. When you pull the plug and disconnect shore power, the water heater and refrigerator will only work on LP (but you must have 12VDC to control that operation). Your air conditioner and microwave will not work on 12VDC and your converter will not charge your battery. All of the 110VAC outlets will be "dead" but use caution, the previous owner may have installed an inverter to change battery power to AC power at one or moe of those plugs.

There are what we call "parasitic drains" on the battery system. These include the smoke detectors (in some trailers) the LP detector and the CO detector. If you have a stereo, the backlight and the memory function will also draw from the battery as will the refrigerator LP monitoring system and the hot water heater igniter system and the furnace.

Most people find that with a single battery and no shore power, the battery will discharge to a "dead" level in a few days, Usually this is anywhere from 3 or 4 days but may be as long as 10 days in "good situations."

So, if you are going to unhook from shore power and tow your RV, leave the battery hooked up as it also powers the brakeaway device to stop your RV should it disconnect from the tow vehicle. If you're going to store your RV for several days or weeks, then you should disconnect the battery so it will stay charged rather than be drained by those "parasitic drains" Maintaining a charge on your battery and not allowing it to completely discharge will lengthen its life. Repeatedly discharging a wet cell battery below about 60% will shorten the usable life significantly. Try to keep it charged to enhance it's life cycle.

[Bonerep2013]

Great info JRTJH!!! Thanks !! Told ya I was a newbie :). This isn't the OR where i feel comfortable :)

[Bob Landry]

If you have a battery cut off switch, it's going to be mounted on the trailer tongue close to the battery. If you don't have one, it would be an inexpensive but worthwhile mod. Even when you think you have everything turned off, the mono & propane sensors still run on 12V and will discharge you in a few days. With a switch, you know noting is using battery power. I would recommend one by Blue Sea. Harbor Freight sells them and a lot of people use them because they are cheap, but I've never been a fan of cheap electrical components. With a good quality switch, you'll only have to buy one. But then, doesn't that pretty much apply to everything?

[Javi]

I pull the battery and bring it home, then use a maintence charger to keep it ready to go.... takes maybe 2 minutes to pull and two minutes to hook back up.. But my battery is on the trailer tongue and easily accessible both for me and the local thieves...

[SteveC7010]

A bit more to add to Bob's recommendation of Blue Sea battery switches.....

I heartily agree with the choice of Blue Sea products for use in our RV's. They are truly marine grade products and are very well made. They are also the first choice of automotive upfitters.

Here's the link to Blue Sea's web page for battery switches:
http://www.bluesea.com/products/category/Manual_Battery_Switches

The E, M, or HD series are fine for RV use. If you run a large battery bank or on board generator, the M's or HD's might be a better choice. Just remember that these switches are used in systems where the is a starter motor for a gas or diesel engine which pulls a very large amperage. Most of us will never pull that kind of juice from our RV batteries. I have an E series in our Cougar.

If you are not familiar with battery switches, now is a good time to look over the various features and options to understand which switch will work best for your RV. I have the 6011 Dual Circuit Plus model because I have two batteries. There are switch positions for Battery A, Battery B, Both, and Off. If you have just a single battery, this much switch may not be needed, but if you ever plan to add a second battery, it might be wise to install a Dual Circuit one upfront. Currently, you can buy the 6011 model online for around $47 including delivery.

[mhs4771]

Since you purchased from a private party, are you sure there's even a battery installed?? If they had it stored, they may have removed the battery and didn't include it with the sale. Just something to double check.

[Bonerep2013]

Ok ... Well ya. :). I'm not that rookie :). Battery is there

[tdawg]

check to make sure all of the cables are hooked up to the battery. I have seen where a cable got tucked out of sight behind battery and did not get put on battery. just a thought.

[Bonerep2013]

Will do. How many cables are we talking ? I'm assuming 2

[hankaye]

Bonerep2013, Howdy;

Number of cables & wires depends on your battery set-up.
What set-up do you have;
single 12 volt,
pair of 12 volt (parallel)
pair of 6 volt (series)
???
The more info you give us the better we can help.

hankaye

[Bonerep2013]

Single 12 volt

[JRTJH]

With a single 12 volt battery system, you will have two wires coming off the battery. The white wire will be attached to the neg terminal of the battery will go to ground and is probably be attached to the trailer frame near the battery.

The black wire will be attached to the pos terminal of the battery and will go to a bulkhead (or to the frame) where it will be wired to a 12VDC circuit breaker (usually covered in red plastic or rubber) and the other side of that CB will be directly wired to the trailer wiring, probably straight to the converter, but it will most likely be routed inside the plastic underbelly of the trailer. There may be more than one connection to the CB, one to the converter and one to the front jack/slide motor. They will have their own additional CB, so the FIRST CB is the one you want to focus on.

If you don't have power from the battery, you need to confirm whether the battery is good or bad. Take it to any auto parts store (Autozone will check it for free). If the battery is bad, I'd buy a replacement. If the battery is good, then reinstall it, check that the circuit breaker is functioning (use an ohm meter or test light). With a test light, the bulb should glow on BOTH sides of the CB to the neg side of the battery. If it does, then you've got an interior wiring problem or a problem with the converter. If it doesn't glow, on both sides, then the CB is bad. They cost about $6 at AutoZone. Make sure you buy the correct size.

If it is an interior wiring/converter problem, I am not sure how comfortable you are working on wiring and electrical components, so I'd suggest you check the above, then get back with the results.

Here's a simple schematic of what you've got. The battery you can find and know where it is located, the black wire goes to the circuit breaker (red plastic container) that is about 1" long and is screwed to the tongue or forward bulkhead of the trailer, the white wire is attached to the neg terminal and the other end is attached to the trailer frame "somewhere near the battery"

Keep in mind that this schematic is very oversimplified and there are a number of other items not depicted on the schematic, I'm just showing the basic components to help you troubleshoot the battery and the circuit breaker.

Good luck.

[hankaye]

JRTJH, Howdy;

Think you may have turned things (wire colors),
around in the diagram. You show the WHITE
going to the circutbreaker then on to the converter.
While in the written post you refer to the White as the
Ground and the Black being the HOT wire. Just trying to
keep the continuity.

hankaye

[SteveC7010]

Just trying to keep the continuity.

Good one! :D

[JRTJH]

JRTJH, Howdy;

Think you may have turned things (wire colors),
around in the diagram. hankaye

Hankaye,

Thanks for catching that. I guess sometimes things aren't as simple or as "black and white" as they seem.

I corrected the attachment and appreciate your catching the obvious mistake.

John

[hankaye]

JRTJH, Howdy;

No problem, we're here to help, not
bash others and catching an oops-dhooo,
before it becomes a problem amplifier is all
part of the process.
Hope ya'll jump on me when I jumble a detail...

hankaye

[JRTJH]

There's an issue called "dyslexia" and I guess I invented a new one: COLORLEXIA <sigh>