Radio Use during Camping

[Mabenha]

Hi, New to RVs and just bought a new 27N Redhawk SE. In looking at the manual it appears that both the internal and external speakers are powered by the chassis radio. Jayco has informed me that the chassis radio however is powered by the chassis battery, not the RV battery. Also the chassis battery is not charged when the RV is connected to power. Given the external speaker I would assume that the radio is intended to be used during camping, but I have concerns over the battery drain. Am I missing something? Any feedback would be appreciated.

[gprapim]

You’re not missing anything. This is true. What you can do, is connect a 2 or 3 amp automatic battery charger up to your chassis battery and plug it into one of your 110v outlets on the coach. In this way, whether connected to 110 or when on generator, you will be recharging your chassis battery. Problem solved !!

[eeek]

That’s also the purpose of the boost button- if your chassis battery is low, push that and it bridges it to the house to start it.

[hoppers4]

My Greyhawk radio is powered by either one depending on available power. It's powered first by the house battery IF IT'S ENABLED. In other words if it's available and the house battery is on, the power comes from the house. If the house power is disabled or somehow not available, then it's powered by the chassis. This power selection is made automatically by a diode bridge installed behind radio. I know this because I replaced my radio and inadvertently wiped out the diode bridge. Went to replace it but couldn't find the replacement (it's a Ford product actually) so I hard wired the radio to the house.

[RoyBraddy]

Bluetooth is great for listening to your radio setup... You can roam around all over the place and listen to your radio... You also don't have to worry about speaker setups where you want things to be located...

My portable pocket speaker is great quality... I have no idea how they can get this quality of sound out of these small devices...

I also have two or three small solar devices to keep my portable units charged up all the time...

Using my cellphone feeding my Bluetooth portable speaker I can listen to my hometown radio station which is neat as well...

If I was to go solo full time I probably would get a Truck camper setup along with a motor bike... No matter what you end up with all will be different one way or another... For you just starting I like the idea of renting things first so you can decide what might be best for your situation...

I pulled into a camp ground in south west Virginia one time and camped out next to girl that had her setup on the back of her motorcycle... She was comfy as heck haha... She was a book author and going all over the USA writing stories for her books. Forgot who she was now...

Roy Ken

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by hoppers4

My Greyhawk radio is powered by either one depending on available power. It's powered first by the house battery IF IT'S ENABLED. In other words if it's available and the house battery is on, the power comes from the house. If the house power is disabled or somehow not available, then it's powered by the chassis. This power selection is made automatically by a diode bridge installed behind radio. I know this because I replaced my radio and inadvertently wiped out the diode bridge. Went to replace it but couldn't find the replacement (it's a Ford product actually) so I hard wired the radio to the house.

YEP. Been that way forever....

[EA37TS]

Doesn't the Greyhawk have a BIM (Battery Isolation Module) or BIRD (Battery Isolation Relay - Delayed) that allows the house battery to be charged by the alternator when rolling down the road? If so, those modules normally are 2 way and allow the chassis battery to be charged by shore power when voltage drops below a certain level.

Three motorhomes in the last 7 years (Forest River, Thor and Entegra/Jayco) and everyone of them charged the chassis battery when connected to shore power if the chassis battery drops below a certain level (normally 80 percent of charge).

It is possible you only have a Battery Isolation Solenoid which is one-way (alternator to house battery) but it might be worth checking.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Mabenha

Hi, New to RVs and just bought a new 27N Redhawk SE. In looking at the manual it appears that both the internal and external speakers are powered by the chassis radio. Jayco has informed me that the chassis radio however is powered by the chassis battery, not the RV battery.

That is incorrect. On my Redhawk, the radio is powered by the Chassis if the key is turned on. When the key is off, and the main coach power switch is off, the radio won't turn on. If I hit the coach toggle, and turn on the 12 volt supply, the radio runs off of the coach batteries.

Also the chassis battery is not charged when the RV is connected to power.

That part is correct. You have two options if you want to charge the chassis battery when plugged into shore power: 1) install a Trik-L-Start under the hood, which charges the chassis battery, or 2) do what I did, and take a trickle charger with a cig plug, and plug it into an outlet in the coach and into one of the cig outlets on the dash, which charges the chassis battery.

In reality, when camping, there shouldn't be any real draw on the chassis battery unless you leave the headlights on or something. It's only a issue when you store the rig multiple months, that you need something charging the batteries.

[JimD]

I tie into my chassis battery's power outlet to run a USB charging hub. It does pull the battery down after a few days. To keep tabs on battery level, I have a voltage monitor plugged into the other power outlet. I don't get concerned until it drops to around 12.3-12.4.

Being a gadget guy and electronic tech, I installed a remote controlled relay that will energize the coach's battery relay allowing me to charge the chassis battery along with the house battery whenever I want. This allows me to top off the chassis battery at will.