Tow Vehicle battery charging

[MbFlash]

My pick up lives in the garage most of the time and only comes out for camping or nice weekends. When it sits for a couple of weeks the battery runs down and i have to plug it in to a charger. Would i be able to take advantage of my z-amp solar panel and charger that is keeping my camper battery charged and connect my truck to the system using the connection on the side of the camper?

[Canonman]

I think for about $30 you could get a Battery Tender for the truck.
Easy safe and reliable. I keep one on my truck all winter.

[RollaMo]

Originally Posted by Canonman

I think for about $30 you could get a Battery Tender for the truck.
Easy safe and reliable. I keep one on my truck all winter.

Yep!

I have two of these (one for the Corvette and one for the Harley).
Both of those sit in the garage with the battery tender plugged in anytime they are not being used.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by MbFlash

My pick up lives in the garage most of the time and only comes out for camping or nice weekends. When it sits for a couple of weeks the battery runs down and i have to plug it in to a charger. Would i be able to take advantage of my z-amp solar panel and charger that is keeping my camper battery charged and connect my truck to the system using the connection on the side of the camper?

You could put a tender on it but you can fire it up every now and then....or check the battery. I leave my one or the other of my vehicles for 6 mos. at a time with no adverse affects. I do keep them inside in a garage and replace the batteries at 4 years regardless. I don't deal well with dead batteries.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by MbFlash

My pick up lives in the garage most of the time and only comes out for camping or nice weekends. When it sits for a couple of weeks the battery runs down and i have to plug it in to a charger. Would i be able to take advantage of my z-amp solar panel and charger that is keeping my camper battery charged and connect my truck to the system using the connection on the side of the camper?

If you remember back to "battery basics", the first and most important rule in a "two battery system" is that BOTH batteries must be the same type, same amperage, same age" (in other words, a matched set)... If they are not the same size, when the smaller battery is charged, charging to the larger battery is also stopped, so it never gets fully charged. That will lead to damage in the larger battery or "overcharging in the smaller one" and damage both batteries.

If one is older, then plate resistance is probably greater and it will not accept a charge as easily as the newer battery. Thath also can lead to overcharging the newer battery and damage can occur.

If they are different types, then the charge profiles will be different and you risk damaging one by overcharging while undercharging the other....

In other words, trying to "jury rig a solar port to make it work like a set of battery cables" is an excellent way to screw up your converter in the trailer, your trailer battery bank or your truck battery.... On this one, "there ain't no free lunch" and no reliable way to use the solar charger on your trailer to maintain two different size/age battery in a safe or reliable way.....

[Lee]

Originally Posted by RollaMo

Yep!

I have two of these (one for the Corvette and one for the Harley).
Both of those sit in the garage with the battery tender plugged in anytime they are not being used.

Attachment 46314

Hi,

I use the exact same charger..... 5 of them in fact, year round. 1970 F250 4x4, 1979 Corvette, Kawasaki motorcycle, my lawn tractor, and my wife's car as she 100% teleworks and never drives her car.

[jxnbbl]

"When it sits for a couple of weeks the battery runs down..." This tells me that if you have a good battery you have an electrical problem. I'd track that down myself (first check the battery).

[MbFlash]

Makes plenty of sense, I will look into one of the battery tender jr's . The one i have on there now charges to a full charge but when the voltage drops it does not turn on and maintain a full charge. It says it is a charger/maintainer, it does charge but over a period of time the voltage falls below 12v
Thanks for the info.

[Panacash]

Originally Posted by MbFlash

My pick up lives in the garage most of the time and only comes out for camping or nice weekends. When it sits for a couple of weeks the battery runs down and i have to plug it in to a charger. Would i be able to take advantage of my z-amp solar panel and charger that is keeping my camper battery charged and connect my truck to the system using the connection on the side of the camper?

Yes you could get a battery tender but after two weeks you say your battery runs down you have a problem, one a old battery or some sort of drain on the battery, a battery should never run down in two weeks. Fully charge the battery and then disconnect the pos side of the battery if you get a big spark, you have a drain

[sculver]

This 3 Amp 12 volt battery charger from Walmart is a great little charger and maintainer and will take care of your truck battery just fine. I use two of the 1.5 Amp models on my two generators and this model on my Ford F250 with no issues at all. Can't beat the price either!


https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart...e&from=/search

[Mr Mojo]

Originally Posted by RollaMo

Yep!

I have two of these (one for the Corvette and one for the Harley).
Both of those sit in the garage with the battery tender plugged in anytime they are not being used.

Attachment 46314

I currently have three, one for the GS, one for the Challenger, the '95 is hooked up to one and my '93 has a Battery Tender solar panel. For my old truck, I bought a Harbor Freight solar panel and put the quick connect on it. The other two vehicles get driven more often, so no need there.

[MbFlash]

Thanks to all,
I purchased the one that Rollamo posted about.
Hooked it up and all is good.
I miss-spoke the battery isn't dead in 2 weeks its just slightly below 12 volts. Still not a good thing and before summer i will replace the battery and check for draw.

[retiredusps69]

I WOULD pull battery and get it load tested, But first get it fully chargedup.BATTERYS WILL SHORT THEM SELF OUT WHEN THEY ARE ABOUT TO DIE. HOW OLD IS IT ? YOU MIGHT THINK EVERY THING IS OFF POWER WHEN PARKED, RADIO DRAWS ALSO ALTERNATOR MAYBE SHORTING OUT

[flybouy]

Mike, how old is your TV battery? Typically battery age and continued deep dis charges will severely decrease the battery's capacity to hold a charge. To check for parasitic drain you need a multimeter that can test DC amperage. This typically requires the positive cable removal from the battery post. The test leads of the meter then are connected in-between the post and cable. After connecting wait a few minutes for the electronics to discharge, then check for an Amp reading.

Back in the 1970's I installed a car alarm the that was triggered by a voltage drop. The alarm would go off at odd times in the middle of the night. It drove me (and the neighbors) crazy for about a week. Then one night when I went out to shut it off I noticed light peeking out from the glove box door. The switch on that door was set to where the it would randomly connect. A simple adjustment solved that issue. My point is, that these things can take some time to investigate.

[Stircrazy]

Originally Posted by MbFlash

Thanks to all,
I purchased the one that Rollamo posted about.
Hooked it up and all is good.
I miss-spoke the battery isn't dead in 2 weeks its just slightly below 12 volts. Still not a good thing and before summer i will replace the battery and check for draw.

slightly below 12V is pretty much dead for a starting battery, that is 30% capacity which they were never meant to go to and each time your going that low your doing damage to the battery. I recommend as some one else did already, take it out get it load tested and then you will most likely be coming home with a new battery.

the other thing you have to look at is this something that just stated happening or has it been going on for a while, and how old was the battery when it started. it could just be a battery dying. you don't mention the type of truck or year so it is hard to guess weather it might just be parasitic loads slowly draining the battery. thinks like the memory and such for the radio and so on. but typically you should be able to go more than a month on a typical vehicle.. unless you let it sit till it was totally dead and then charged it up. what you can do is when the battery is charged up get a clamp on amp meter and shut the truck down and then check to see if there is any flow in and out of the battery, then you can get an idea weather the truck is causing the issue or the battery has just given up.

[GeoZ]

The first part of your statement tells it all. "After setting for a couple weeks" battery issue. Bite the bullet, if no parasitic load, you need a battery in the TV. I agree with previous statements that trying ti keeo charged off the trailer solar system not the way to go.

[mjsibe]

Today's vehicles always have something electronic running.
Alarm, Clock, radio presets, ect.
Over time they will drain the battery.
Some vehicles quicker than others.
As recommended a battery tender or simply disconnect it, now some vehicles don't like being disconnected as it may have to relearn things.
Tender is the best way.
Good luck.

[retiredusps69]

Some things with memory will be lost, rado possibly idel rpm and any dia codes in computer.