Don't Charge your trailer from the generator to the power cord

[pianoman9701]

A little PSA here.

I recently sold my pop-up trailer to a forum member. I used it for two seasons and a few scouting trips in between. I run a CPAP all night, as well as the cabin heater and found that I had trouble maintaining the charge without running the generator for about 4 hours during the day. Lots of noise, lots of gas but I was able to sleep at night. I'd asked the RV repair place about this and, of course, he said I needed a bigger converter. I almost fell for that $500 suggestion but couldn't afford it at the time. By the way, All American RV in Orchards is not going to look to your best interests.

This past archery season, one of my neighbors from the camp above noticed I was running the genny everyday for hours. When he asked, I told him why. He brought down a battery charger and suggested I charge the batteries directly from the genny instead of going through the power cord, because charging directly to the batteries would be faster. I did so and it cut the charging time by 3/4s. I never had another problem. After he left, I drove to Wally World and bought a charger that shows the % of charge so I wouldn't overcharge, has fast and slow charge, voltage, the whole ball. If anyone here uses a lot of power in their trailer and hasn't figured this out by themselves, this is definitely the way to go. Have a nice day!

[baker5150]

Great post.

These converters are like trickle chargers.
I installed a NOCO Genius Mini in my TT when I went to a 4 bank 6 volt set up.

Not cheap for a 4 bank but it will monitor all 4 batteries independently, which increases battery life and makes charging fast.

https://no.co/products/charging/onboard

[92xj]

Great post.

These converters are like trickle chargers.
I installed a NOCO Genius Mini in my TT when I went to a 4 bank 6 volt set up.

Not cheap for a 4 bank but it will monitor all 4 batteries independently, which increases battery life and makes charging fast.

https://no.co/products/charging/onboard

Any desire to do a write up /picture thread of your upgrade.
I'm wanting to go to 4x 6v battery setup this February.

[baker5150]

Great post.

These converters are like trickle chargers.
I installed a NOCO Genius Mini in my TT when I went to a 4 bank 6 volt set up.

Not cheap for a 4 bank but it will monitor all 4 batteries independently, which increases battery life and makes charging fast.

https://no.co/products/charging/onboard

Any desire to do a write up /picture thread of your upgrade.
I'm wanting to go to 4x 6v battery setup this February.

I'll get something together and post it.

[Boss .300 winmag]

My buddy runs a cpap in deer camp off a deep cycle marine battery, his really old one died this year in camp he bought a new one charged it to get it fully charged, and never needed charged again.

And his old one was really old, plus he uses it in Alaska every year hunting there.

Just a though so you don’t ruin your trailers batteries.🤔

[DRobnsn]

Most of the time when we are dry camping I use my truck batteries to run my cpap through the night. I've ran it for several nights without starting the truck with no problems.   

[pianoman9701]

My buddy runs a cpap in deer camp off a deep cycle marine battery, his really old one died this year in camp he bought a new one charged it to get it fully charged, and never needed charged again.

And his old one was really old, plus he uses it in Alaska every year hunting there.

Just a though so you don’t ruin your trailers batteries.🤔

How many days could he run the CPAP off of it without charging? I have a feeling that mine uses a few amps plus the cabin heater.

[pianoman9701]

Most of the time when we are dry camping I use my truck batteries to run my cpap through the night. I've ran it for several nights without starting the truck with no problems.

I assume you're running some kind of inverter???

[Boss .300 winmag]

My buddy runs a cpap in deer camp off a deep cycle marine battery, his really old one died this year in camp he bought a new one charged it to get it fully charged, and never needed charged again.

And his old one was really old, plus he uses it in Alaska every year hunting there.

Just a though so you don’t ruin your trailers batteries.🤔

How many days could he run the CPAP off of it without charging? I have a feeling that mine uses a few amps plus the cabin heater.

Whole season.😉

[DRobnsn]

Most of the time when we are dry camping I use my truck batteries to run my cpap through the night. I've ran it for several nights without starting the truck with no problems.

I assume you're running some kind of inverter???

Yep, I've been using a little one that plugs into the power outlet (cigarette lighter). I also use it when we use the tent for out of state hunts. When we dry camp we also use it to charge our devices during the day. 

[wadu1]

My buddy runs a cpap in deer camp off a deep cycle marine battery, his really old one died this year in camp he bought a new one charged it to get it fully charged, and never needed charged again.

And his old one was really old, plus he uses it in Alaska every year hunting there.

Just a though so you don’t ruin your trailers batteries.🤔

How many days could he run the CPAP off of it without charging? I have a feeling that mine uses a few amps plus the cabin heater.

The longest I've been on 12V for my CPAP was 7 days, after 7 it was down 25%

[baker5150]

Here is a quick drawing of how I wired TT charging system a couple years ago.

Using four 6 volt batteries, a battery selector switch, and 2 20 amp, manual re-set breakers.

I also installed a surge protector into the converter. 

I thought I had installed a 4 bank charger, but I then recalled I couldn't charge and monitor each battery individually while wired this way. 
I still need to figure out how to do that, if it's even possible.
This diagram is with a 2 bank charger, monitoring each "set" of batteries.

[92xj]

Thanks!

[syoungs]

Here is a quick drawing of how I wired TT charging system a couple years ago.

Using four 6 volt batteries, a battery selector switch, and 2 20 amp, manual re-set breakers.

I also installed a surge protector into the converter. 

I thought I had installed a 4 bank charger, but I then recalled I couldn't charge and monitor each battery individually while wired this way. 
I still need to figure out how to do that, if it's even possible.
This diagram is with a 2 bank charger, monitoring each "set" of batteries.

Imo it isnt neccessary to monitor each battery individually. Monitor them in pairs of 2 for their 12v performance, and if an issue arises then you can unhook from series and investigate further. If a single battery develops an issue, it will readily show itself through 12v monitoring.

[follow maggie]

Good post. battery chargers in rvs are notoriously crappy, unless you have a big dollar motorhome. An actual battery charger does a much better job.