Battery Question

[NSTS1470]

Leaving Sat for Florida and plan on sleeping in walmart lot or truck stop for the night. What I'm not sure of is what exactly the 12 volt battery operates. I've had my TT for 2 years and should know this but I've always had full hook-ups. I'm not concerned about the fridge and I know some of my lights work, water pump works, hot water is LP and needs 12v to light, same with stove. I'm more curious about the furnace, tv, outlets. My camper is stored about an hour away so don't really have a chance to go check till travel time. We r just concerned that we may need heat in the evening. Any input would be great. I know some things are on the breakers like microwave, A/C GFI outlets, Electric water heater, converter and a few other things. Also, should I unplug the TT from my truck for the evening so I don't kill my truck battery?

[Tim&Patty]

My 5er on battery + lp will run furnace, water heater, ref and lights. None of my 120v outlets are functional (no TV, microwave, etc). Leaving it connected to the TV is your call (age of battery and state of charge), me I'd rather wake up in the morning a little cold and not have to worry about getting to my destination without getting a jump or buying a new battery for the TV, so I unhook!

[msp2jxr]

You will be able to use the furnace but if it is really cold the battery probably will not last the night. I did the same thing a few years ago going to Virginia and my battery would not run the furnace fan through the entire night without being recharged. You will not have a TV or micro wave unless you plug your trailer into A/C or run a generator. Jay

[SteveC7010]

Check your fridge for the infamous heater strip/condensation controller. If it is on, it will suck your battery down faster than the furnace.

In this pic, the freezer door is open and my finger is pointing at the switch.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_33448_0_8744c2f38a4076503cd7bccc36dda677.jpg

Newer fridges may or may not have this feature, and the switch may not be in the same location. Consult the manual to be sure.

[heavyj]

The things I check when i want to maximize battery life over night is:

Your TV(s) may or may not be 12v. I'd have them both ways so check that.

For sure your TV AMP is 12v and you should check that for unnecessary power draw.

You'll want to triple check that no unnecessary exterior lights are left on (as I've done this many times) to maximize whatever life you'll get our of your battery that night.

My 2010 Silverado has a battery disconnect feature where it will disconnect any external power draws to preserve enough battery to start the motor in the morning. If I didn't have that I'd disconnect from truck.

Walmart is a good idea because there is a possibility that your battery might need to be replaced. I suppose walmart would have something you could use.

[hankaye]

NSTS1470, Howdy;

Best advise I can offer is to avoid the rest areas for overnights. A lot of not so good folks like to used and abuse the targets of oppourtunity they find there...
Wal-Marts are good and so are Truck Stops. At the latter ask at the fuel desk
about the if's and where's You can generally get under an overhead light (good), and sometimes if you get a spot at the edge you may even be able to run the slide out.. (better!).

hankaye

PS. Sometimes there is a 15 or 20 amp. outlet near the base of some of those overhead lights. With the proper use of an adapter one might be able to 'save' one's batteries.....
just sayin' ....

[NSTS1470]

thanks for all the info. I will be disconnecting the TV for the night. If I kill the trailer battery overnight am I correct in saying that I will be able to hook up and go and the battery will recharge from the truck on the rest of the trip

[f6bits]

When hooked up for towing, it’ll take forever to charge up a dead battery.

[Festus2]

If you somehow "kill the battery overnight", you will be in for a bit of a shock in the morning when you go to retract your slide - if it has been put out. The slide runs off your RV battery which needs to be charged in order for your slide to operate properly. You should be able to get through one night without completely discharging your battery. If you can't then either your battery needs replacing or you are using too many things for too long a time which are causing excessive drains on your battery. Rather than completely discharging your battery through overuse, I would recommend that you try to be "stingy" with what you are using - lights, furnace, water pump, stereo, etc. so that when you wake up in the morning, you have enough juice left to get you going.

I always plug the truck into the RV while operating the slide and the front jacks.

If your battery does get low, several hours of driving should be sufficient to recharge it - not forever - but longer than you might think.

[Laredo291OH]

Make sure your truck is wired to charge the battery on your trailer, I don't believe those wires and fuses are all hooked up from the factory. Just bought a used 2010 GMC Sierra 2500 HD with trailer package and integrated trailer brake. Still had to hookup the wire under the hood and put in the 40 amp fuse in order to get the battery feed in the 7 wire plug to work. The wire was laying between the big electrical box on the left side and the fender, the wire gets connected to one of the studs in the box. There are 2 studs but different sizes, so it will only fit one of them. Then had to put a 40 amp fuse in the electrical box. It's not a standard blade fuse either, had to go buy one at the auto parts store, so I bought a couple of extra.