Electric awning

[Eastham]

Hi I removed the battery from rv.now I have to have the information off the awning label and the awning has to be extended. Can I just plug the truck in for the 12volt power or does the battery have to be reinstalled.?Dealer needs info for warrantee work that was done thanks for the info.

[chuckster57]

You can plug into the truck, just make sure the positive lead from the trailer to the battery doesn’t touch anything and ground out.

[JRTJH]

I wouldn't use the 7 way connector to power anything requiring as much DC power as the awning motor. If you have jumper cables, just pull the truck up to the trailer tongue, use the jumper cables connected to your truck battery and the battery cables on the trailer. That way you won't risk blowing a fuse in your tow vehicle electrical circuit or "underpowering" the awning motor.

[chuckster57]

We run slides and awnings with the trailer plugged into the forklift, haven’t had anything bad happen yet. There was one Solitude fifth wheel that had 3 slides actuated with a single switch (hydraulic) that we had to hook up a battery.

[JRTJH]

NOTE: There may be an appearance that my post is "not in agreement" with chuckster's post. If you look at the time of each post, you'll see that we were both typing our "opinion" at the same time. I agree with him, in that if you don't have a significant "DC load" on the 7 pin umbilical, there shouldn't be a problem. For me, I just prefer to have heavier wiring on any load I put on my trailer, so I just don't use the umbilical to power anything. YMMV.....

[Johnny's Journey]

10 gauge wire will easily carry 30 amps of current.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Johnny's Journey

10 gauge wire will easily carry 30 amps of current.

The typical "OEM wiring size" for the 7 pin umbilical on modern trucks is 16 ga with 14 ga ground. The recommendation for 10 ga wire to carry 30 amps is with a "circuit length" of 30'. Remember that the circuit length is from the negative terminal of the power supply to the positive terminal of the power supply, so if the truck battery is 20' from the umbilical connector, then the circuit length is 40'. Now add the length from the trailer umbilical to the awning motor and back to the umbilical and you've got a "circuit length in excess of 80' in almost every application. That's a lot of amperage to "push through a 16 ga wire from the truck battery to the awning motor and back. I haven't seen a 10 ga wire in a 7 pin umbilical connector in at least 15 years. I don't think any RV manufacturer and certainly no vehicle manufacturer uses such a large gauge wire.

You can get more information here: https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437

[PARAPTOR]

Think wire size in a standard umbilical cord is more like #12 gauge. In a pinch have started on my ONAN generator by plugging into the TV, dead coach battery. Have to admit probably had plugged it in for a little while before cranking over the generator.

[Javi]

Just to add to the discussion...

7-Way plastic trailer connector molded to heavy duty 7-way insulated cable. Made with self-cleaning contacts and molded to encapsulate terminals and wires to form one weather resistant, not-corrosive assembly. Primary wire gauges within the insulated cable are: Black and White-10 gauge, Blue-12 gauge, Brown-Red-Green-Yellow-14 gauge. Molded connector can be used with thermo-plastic or metal 7-way car end connectors. Various length and combinations are available.

[JRTJH]

Here are pictures of a Ford OEM wire loom for the "in bed fifth wheel umbilical". As you can see, there is no 10 ga wire, no 12 ga wire, but the large "charge line" and "ground are 14 ga. The remainder of the wires are 16 ga wires.

[Eastham]

Thank all for the reply. I hooked battery back up and got the information needed.next time I will try plugging in the truck.

[Tinner12002]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Here are pictures of a Ford OEM wire loom for the "in bed fifth wheel umbilical". As you can see, there is no 10 ga wire, no 12 ga wire, but the large "charge line" and "ground are 14 ga. The remainder of the wires are 16 ga wires.

Yeah well that's ford for ya!!..lol! Just kiddin.