On board battery charger

[riddleswest]

We have a 2018 Eagle HT 28.5 RSTS. The trailer is stored at home. I know that if I keep it plugged in the batteries will stay charged. My question is, rather than running that 50 amp cord or using the built in converter, I was considering mounting a NOCO battery charger and using that to keep the batteries up instead. Has anyone done something like that?

[houstonstroker]

My 50 rig is in storage which has electricity. I leave the big cord in the bay and run a 15 amp extension cord to the outlet. This keeps my batteries charged and fridge on.

[JimD]

Agreed, a good 15 amp extension cord would work just fine. You would even be able to use low power items with no problem. No air conditioners or microwaves though.

[bansai]

My setup is probably kind of ghetto and it's a 30 amp system, but I have a 10 watt solar panel connected to my battery indirectly via the 12 volt socket in the bedroom. The only purpose is to keep my battery topped off. The solar panel is in the bedroom window and gets some sun throughout the day. It's enough, and basically being used as a 'sunshade'. It would do far better if it was on the roof but I haven't the desire or motivation to put a tiny panel on my roof. I have a pair of 100 watt panels sitting in my basement waiting to go up this spring, but anyway, the 10 watts is enough to keep my battery charged. I do not run the fridge or anything when the camper is parked / unattended for any length of time. This is *only* to keep the battery at acceptable levels during non-use when I don't want to just take the battery out, and bring it home with me. My camper is 10 miles from my house at a storage lot, and sometimes a month or 2 goes by before I can 'visit'. The battery is nearly full charged when I do. I haven't needed a charge controller with this setup, even though I have one (uninstalled currently) because the 10 watt panel as situated is nowhere near enough PV to hurt the battery. It's also a gateway to learning more about solar. You can probably invest 50 bucks in solar and get more bang for the buck than those noco chargers for your intended use.

My panel, and unused charge controller, 12 volt cig adapter cost 25 dollars all day long on Amazon. I've used the same setup to trickle charge my truck here at home when it sits for weeks at a time unused in my driveway (covid related downtime)

[Vicr]

2 battery banks, 2 chargers and a battery selector switch.