Fresh water tank indicator and battery

[rtiedeken]

I am hooked up and ready to take my maiden voyage this afternoon.

Questions:

1) Filling tank with fresh water

I hooked up my fresh water tank today to fill it. The indicator internally shoed it as 1/3 full. I ran the sink and had good pressure and left it in longer to fill. The indicator never raised above 1/3 full. Am I missing something? We are boon docking at IMS for the Indy 500 and I want to be sure that I have water.

2) Battery

When I arrived today to hook up the trailer, the battery was dead and the tongue is electric. I had a jump box that I hooked up and that allowed me to power up and down. Once hooked to the truck it will trickle charge and I assume recharge after I run the generators all weekend. Is there a guideline as how to handle a dead battery or battery charging on an all electric camper?

I appreciate all the help as this noob 1st time TT camper attempts my maiden.

____________________________________
Jayco Jayflight 23RB
2009 GMC Sierra 1500 Z71 4x4

[Jmooney]

The battery being dead can just be from sitting for a long period being drained by devices in the trailer ( radio, CO2 detector ). Lots of folks have added a disconnect switch to prevent slow drain while not in use.

Not sure how your " jumped" power to the tongue jack, but you should also check the 30 amp fuse inline with the main battery.

[Jmooney]

When I fill my water tanks, the usually start to overflow ( air pressure pushing water back out ) and I know it's close to the top..

Tank sensors are notoriously inaccurate, or one of the wires has come off the side of the tank

[Subaru297]

1) Filling your tank....Keep filling until the water starts coming out overflow lines or back out the gravity fill hole. It can take a long time. I usually walk away to do other things and listen for the splashing water sound as a signal that it is full. If you don't have an enclosed underbelly you can always crawl under and look too. Give the trailer a shake first so you can see the water sloshing around.

2)Your trailer will have a constant draw on the batteries. Usually propane and CO detectors. They can easily draw down your battery over a week or two if you let the trailer sit. One option if available is to keep it plugged in at all times while in storage. Another is to completely disconnect the battery either with a switch or remove a cable. If your battery was completely drawn down it is likely toast and time for a new battery. It will work fine while you are on a generator or plugged in but it won't hold much of a charge anymore.

Cheers

Ooops, I see Jmooney is a faster typer than I am!

[Camper_bob]

Another note about the water; Be careful when you fill your fresh tanks if you travel AFTER they're full. Those vent hoses have been known to drain previously full tanks down to 1/3 or so during travel. Installation of a simple ball valve on the end of the breather hose is all that's needed to prevent it.

+1 on all the battery drain comments. I just take it with me to leave on a float charger in the garage when I'm not using my trailer. When I am using my trailer, 99% of the time it's plugged into something (truck or house or CG pedestal). But DO NOT depend on your truck to charge that battery; the 12V supply from your truck is only capable of a trickle charge on the battery (to maintain or charge a LITTLE) certainly not capable of resurrecting a dead battery.

[nunyadamn]

Next time just connect the plug from your trailer to your truck. That should give you the power needed for your jack.