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Old 12-04-2016, 08:56 AM   #1
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Battery charging through 7 pin while not attached to TT

I happen to have a second deep cycle battery. I'm planning on bringing both on a six day trip and swapping out as necessary. Then I got to thinking (which can be dangerous) why not wire a connector to charge the battery while we are driving around. I could store the battery in the back of my F150 and run a charging wires to it from the 7 pin connector.


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Old 12-04-2016, 09:00 AM   #2
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I happen to have a second deep cycle battery. I'm planning on bringing both on a six day trip and swapping out as necessary. Then I got to thinking (which can be dangerous) why not wire a connector to charge the battery while we are driving around. I could store the battery in the back of my F150 and run a charging wires to it from the 7 pin connector.


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Yes, what you are suggesting would work fine. You can pick up the connector at most RV or Auto parts stores.
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Old 12-04-2016, 09:18 AM   #3
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be aware that the tiny little cable will not give you much charging... some is better than none I guess
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Old 12-04-2016, 09:20 AM   #4
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I assume I will need to hook the ground and charging wires from the vehicle to the battery.


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Old 12-04-2016, 09:40 AM   #5
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As Seann said, the factory wiring for the trailer connector has too little current capacity to charge a battery. In my experience, even with minimal 12v power use, 2 of the run-of-the-mill 12v batteries will not last 6 days. Mine last ~4 days.

Will you be boondocking (no electrical hookup) for all 6 days?
What do you plan to use the 12v for? (parasitic draw, plus... LED light, television, laptop)
Do you have a generator? Solar panel(s)?
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Old 12-04-2016, 09:43 AM   #6
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I have never owned a Ford, so I have to aask, Does your truck have a place to carry an auxiliary battery in the engine compartment? I keep a spare 12v as an auxiliary, and installed an isolator.
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Old 12-04-2016, 09:43 AM   #7
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Battery charging through 7 pin while not attached to TT

No generator and no solar. Draw will be LED lights, water pump, furnace fan. The fridge may have a small control circuit, the usual parasitic drains with detectors etc.

No tv. Phones charge in the truck when necessary. We've gone 10 days in our old pop up on a charge but the new TT is unknown.


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Old 12-04-2016, 09:45 AM   #8
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I have never owned a Ford, so I have to aask, Does your truck have a place to carry an auxiliary battery in the engine compartment? I keep a spare 12v as an auxiliary, and installed an isolator.


I wish it did. Not in the smaller trucks.


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Old 12-04-2016, 09:47 AM   #9
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if you were just wanting to charge, you could carry it in the auxiliary carrier, and wire it in and not bother with the isolator since you wont be drawing from it while its hooked in the truck.
.......

saw your post .....
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Old 12-04-2016, 10:01 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TaftCoach View Post
No generator and no solar. Draw will be LED lights, water pump, furnace fan . The fridge may have a small control circuit, the usual parasitic drains with detectors etc.

No tv. Phones charge in the truck when necessary. We've gone 10 days in our old pop up on a charge but the new TT is unknown.
Did your old pop up have a furnace? The furnace fan will be a SERIOUS drain on your batteries. The water pump draw became an issue for us when taking ('navy') showers, otherwise the infrequent and brief length of time it ran didn't seem too bad.

Did you check your battery voltage with your old pop up? You could have discharged them/it far enough to cause permanent damage.
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Old 12-04-2016, 11:07 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmanAZ View Post
Did your old pop up have a furnace? The furnace fan will be a SERIOUS drain on your batteries. The water pump draw became an issue for us when taking ('navy') showers, otherwise the infrequent and brief length of time it ran didn't seem too bad.

Did you check your battery voltage with your old pop up? You could have discharged them/it far enough to cause permanent damage.
As oldmanAZ mentioned... how far did you drain your battery(S)? The lowest you can safely drain a battery is down to the 12.0 Volt level, anything lower will decrease output and life of your battery(s).

The TT fan and a regular 85Ah 12Volt battery on a cold night will drop the battery down to that level in one night.

Don

Pick up one of these inexpensive digital battery voltage displays and shut everything down when the voltage hits 12.0 Volts. Amazon has a lot of them. The bottom one takes a little more wiring to set up but it gives you Watts, volts, amps
Attached Thumbnails
ELECTRONICS - 12VDC Voltage Display.jpg   BATTERY - AMP-Voltge Digital Display - AMAZON Picture.jpg  
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Old 12-04-2016, 12:12 PM   #12
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On more than one occasion we have taken our trailer out for 6 day trips. Just this hunting season we went 7 days, strictly on batteries, and without dropping below 12.7 volts. No generator, no solar, no backing the truck up, plugging in and letting it sit there and idle. I currently have two 12v. Deep cycle batteries on the trailer. They aren't the cheap "run of the mill baseline" nor are they the expensive top of the line types either.
7 days can be done with very judicious power discipline.

Along with something indicated already, there are several do's and don'ts.
Don't run the on board furnace. It's a huge draw on battery life. Don't run the range hood fan or the bathroom fan for that matter. Fan motors draw more power.
Reduce parasitic draws to minimal by leaving the water pump turned off unless you are actually using water.
Turn the water heater on first thing in the morning, and until you wash breakfast dishes and leave it turned off till dinner, and again turn the water heater off once done with dinner dishes and nightly wash up. Turn it off through the night.
Use one one or two overhead lights at a time.
For heat inside, we use a Big Buddy heater, and sometimes we will break out the good old Coleman propane lantern for light. We leave the heat off when we are sleeping.

This is assuming you are talking about six days where the daily temps are above freezing and the nightly temps drop down only to freezing or just above.

If your looking at sub freezing camping there are several other things which must be done. We do it often here in Alaska.
We load pack and live as if we are camping in a tent.



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Old 12-04-2016, 12:44 PM   #13
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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Deaths Associated with Camping --

Quote:
Originally Posted by NVGun40 View Post
.....For heat inside, we use a Big Buddy heater, and sometimes we will break out the good old Coleman propane lantern for light. We leave the heat off when we are sleeping.......
If you use Propane without proper ventilation, here is some background. Just be careful! I personally would not take the chance.
Don

On respiration, CO binds to hemoglobin with an affinity 200-250 times greater than that of oxygen, forming a COHb complex (4). The principal toxic effect of CO exposure is tissue hypoxia because COHb is less efficient at transporting and delivering oxygen. Poisoning symptoms, such as headache, dizziness, and nausea, usually are seen at COHb levels of greater than 10% in otherwise healthy persons (2).

During 1979-1988 in the United States, from 878 to 1513 deaths per year were attributed to unintentional CO poisoning (1). CO poisoning has been reported in many different settings, including homes (5), automobiles (6), and indoor arenas (7). The findings in this report demonstrate the danger of CO from portable gas stoves and charcoal grills, specifically if placed inside a tent or other confined sleeping area. In the United States during 1990-1994, portable fuel-burning camp stoves and lanterns were involved in 10-17 CO poisoning deaths each year, and charcoal grills were involved in 15-27 deaths each year (2). During this same time, an annual average of 30 fatal CO poisonings occurred inside tents or campers (2).

Evening temperatures often drop unexpectedly, even during warmer months of the year. Campers who are unprepared for colder weather may overlook the danger of operating fuel-burning camping heaters, portable gas stoves, or charcoal grills inside tents and campers. Camping stoves and heaters are not designed to be used indoors and can emit hazardous amounts of CO, and smoldering charcoal emits large amounts of CO. Inside a tent or camper, these sources produce dangerous concentrations of CO, which becomes even more dangerous to sleeping persons who are unable to recognize the early symptoms of CO poisoning.

To avoid hazardous CO exposures, fuel-burning equipment such as camping stoves, camping heaters, lanterns, and charcoal grills should never be used inside a tent, camper, or other enclosed shelter. Opening tent flaps, doors, or windows is insufficient to prevent build-up of CO concentrations from these devices. When using fuel-burning devices outdoors, the exhaust should not vent into enclosed shelters. Warnings about the potential for CO poisoning should be stated clearly in the owner's manual and on labels permanently affixed to portable stoves. In 1997, changes made in the labeling requirements for retail charcoal containers* more clearly conveyed the danger of burning charcoal inside homes, tents, or campers. Rather than relying on fuel-burning appliances to supply heat, campers should leave home with adequate bedding and clothing and should consume extra calories and fluids during the outing to prevent hypothermia. Continuing efforts to educate the public by organizations that promote outdoor activities or operate camping areas also should decrease camping-associated CO poisoning.

Full article:
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Deaths Associated with Camping -- Georgia, March 1999
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Old 12-04-2016, 01:15 PM   #14
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I feel compelled to summarize... In my opinion (and it's worth every cent you paid for it ) the batteries used, and the discipline followed to draw power from them, are the two critical issues. The power from the trailer connector will be too little to provide meaningful recharging of a battery while on the road.

NVGun40 and I follow essentially the same 12v power use discipline. He explains in depth heating issues in AK that I didn't have here in AZ.

NVGun40 has deep cycle batteries that are much better than mine. My 'deep cycle' batteries are 2, group 24 from W*mart. They aren't true deep cycle by any means, it just says they are on the case.

TaftCoach: If you have true deep cycle batteries, start out with both of them fully charged, draw little power from them, and swap batteries - not connecting the charged battery to the discharged battery - six days may be possible.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TaftCoach View Post
I happen to have a second deep cycle battery. I'm planning on bringing both on a six day trip and swapping out as necessary. Then I got to thinking (which can be dangerous) why not wire a connector to charge the battery while we are driving around. I could store the battery in the back of my F150 and run a charging wires to it from the 7 pin connector.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NVGun40 View Post
On more than one occasion we have taken our trailer out for 6 day trips. Just this hunting season we went 7 days, strictly on batteries, and without dropping below 12.7 volts. No generator, no solar, no backing the truck up, plugging in and letting it sit there and idle. I currently have two 12v. Deep cycle batteries on the trailer. They aren't the cheap "run of the mill baseline" nor are they the expensive top of the line types either.
7 days can be done with very judicious power discipline.

Along with something indicated already, there are several do's and don'ts.
Don't run the on board furnace. It's a huge draw on battery life. Don't run the range hood fan or the bathroom fan for that matter. Fan motors draw more power.
Reduce parasitic draws to minimal by leaving the water pump turned off unless you are actually using water.
Turn the water heater on first thing in the morning, and until you wash breakfast dishes and leave it turned off till dinner, and again turn the water heater off once done with dinner dishes and nightly wash up. Turn it off through the night.
Use one one or two overhead lights at a time.
For heat inside, we use a Big Buddy heater, and sometimes we will break out the good old Coleman propane lantern for light. We leave the heat off when we are sleeping.

This is assuming you are talking about six days where the daily temps are above freezing and the nightly temps drop down only to freezing or just above.

If your looking at sub freezing camping there are several other things which must be done. We do it often here in Alaska.
We load pack and live as if we are camping in a tent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmanAZ View Post
sip... the factory wiring for the trailer connector has too little current capacity to charge a battery. In my experience, even with minimal 12v power use, 2 of the run-of-the-mill 12v batteries will not last 6 days. Mine last ~4 days. ...snip
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Old 12-04-2016, 02:00 PM   #15
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Mustang65 brings up valid safety factors about utilizing propane appliances inside. Thank you for this.

I am compelled to mention the Buddy heater specifically is because the Mr. Heater (Buddy portable heaters) are clean burn, have tip sensors, and ODS sensors so that when excessive CO2 builds and Oxygen depletion is sensed they automatically shut off before oxygen falls below safe levels (also before CO2 rises to unsafe levels)
However, even with safety like this, we still crack the bathroom and sometimes a window.
Another safety note is these portable heaters are meant to be used while sitting on the ground, not on a table top.


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Old 12-04-2016, 03:52 PM   #16
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I always monitor the voltage. We didn't run a furnace and had a manual water pump so it really was just lights.


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Old 12-04-2016, 06:18 PM   #17
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Does anyone have experience using the 120v AC outlets in the beds of the newer Toyota pick-ups. Owner's manual mentions that truck motor must be running in order to use the bed-mounted 120v AC outlet. I wonder if the outlet in the bed could take the place of a 120v AC generator for some short term usage?
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Old 12-04-2016, 06:46 PM   #18
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Concur, as usual, with all NVGun40 states, with fewer mods. As reported on this Forum following our elk hunt in NE Oregon, we (2 hunters) boondocked for 9 days with 2 Class 24 deep cycle batteries, a tiny 1.5 amp battery minder, experiencing temps varying from 25F (nightly) to 65F (daily), switched batteries on the 6th day, metered the batteries every other day, and neither battery fell below 12.25V. We operated 2 LED lights nightly for about 3 hours, ran the water heater (obviously on propane) constantly the whole 9 days, turned on the furnace morning for 1 hour, evening for 1 hour (both to raise inside temp to about 60F. We also used the water pump sparingly for hot and cold water. During this whole evolution, we never felt uncomfortable. Of course we had good sleeping bags at night, but the inside temp (even with 25F outside) never fell below freezing. We of course operated no exotic power-consuming electronic or heat-producing devices. I'd not even hesitate, given 2 fully charged, decent deep cycle batteries, to boondock as you proposed for 6 days/nights - indeed, even 10 days.
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Old 12-04-2016, 06:57 PM   #19
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I feel the urge to summarize again... MY BATTERIES SUK!
They are even worse than I feared.
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Old 12-04-2016, 07:04 PM   #20
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Quote:
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I happen to have a second deep cycle battery. I'm planning on bringing both on a six day trip and swapping out as necessary. Then I got to thinking (which can be dangerous) why not wire a connector to charge the battery while we are driving around. I could store the battery in the back of my F150 and run a charging wires to it from the 7 pin connector.


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I think your plan has merit. I have used this setup before and found it to be somewhat helpful. It is true that the battery in the bed of your truck that is being charged from the 7 pin connector will not charge quickly, but it will charge some. If you charge a battery like this each time you go on a lengthy drive, it will help. Just don't expect complete charging, fuse your charging circuit, do something to keep the charging battery from moving around, and don't gas yourself with exhaust.

I still keep the 7 pin plug and attached wiring as an emergency charging system when all else has failed.
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