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Old 05-31-2012, 08:44 PM   #1
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Question about tow vehicle charging

I bought a new SLX light travel trailer from jayco. I am assuming the battery on it will charge from the truck while traveling. When i plugged it in, disconnected the battery and used a digital multi meter on the battery connections on the trailer to indicate that there was power coming from the truck. I got only 12v there. Is this because of the long wire from the truck battery to the rv? I drive a 2002 Dakota factory tow package. Anyone know how big a wire I'd have to run to get a full charge goin on or is that what most of you guys use is the standard trailer wiring?? Any advice would be good.
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Old 05-31-2012, 09:36 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by friesenlyle View Post
I bought a new SLX light travel trailer from jayco. I am assuming the battery on it will charge from the truck while traveling. When i plugged it in, disconnected the battery and used a digital multi meter on the battery connections on the trailer to indicate that there was power coming from the truck. I got only 12v there. Is this because of the long wire from the truck battery to the rv? I drive a 2002 Dakota factory tow package. Anyone know how big a wire I'd have to run to get a full charge goin on or is that what most of you guys use is the standard trailer wiring?? Any advice would be good.
Was the truck running?
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Old 06-01-2012, 08:53 AM   #3
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It has been my experience of using the truck tow charge feature only as a trickle charge to keep an already full charged trailer battery. There isnt enough power to do much charging probably because of the small wiring going to the 7-way trailer hitch.

My 2010 Ford f150 required to have a fuse and a relay instlled in the truck fuse panel to activate the trailer tow feture... Dont know about your Dakota...
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Old 06-01-2012, 10:08 AM   #4
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Question about tow behicle charging

I needed to hook up hot wire to trailer 7 round connection in order to get power for charging battery on trailer. A guy did this for me when having my running boards installed on truck. For some reason Chevy doesn't hook these up at factory, but the wiring is all there, just needs connected under the hood. It's my understanding that you only get a trickle charge from tow vehicle. Not sure about when you're plugged into 110v at campground. I would think that this would supply more voltage to keep battery charged at a faster rate. I do not leave my battery in trailer when in storage. I take it home and put it on a charge that will charge at a faster rate and higher voltage till at max then will keep on trickle to keep it up to full charge.
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Old 06-01-2012, 01:34 PM   #5
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As stated above ,be sure that your constant 12v wire is connected in your tv fuse panel. I don't think any mfg's connect at the factory. Larry
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Old 06-01-2012, 03:03 PM   #6
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My truck came with towing package so I guess the wire was already hooked up. When the truck is not running there is about 12.5 volts and when the truck is running there is about 14 volts.
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Old 06-01-2012, 03:26 PM   #7
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Ford trucks with the tow package are delivered with the relay and fuse for the charge line not installed. The relay and fuse are usually in the glove box where they don't do a lot of good.
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Old 06-02-2012, 05:49 AM   #8
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On my 2011 F-150 the fuse and relay go in sockets 9 and 21 on the power distribution panel above the radiator. The relay sends power to the TT battery and the fuse protects the circuit.
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Old 06-02-2012, 07:43 PM   #9
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Power from the truck

When I put a multi meter in the seven way plug on the truck, I get power constant in one of the pins. This is with the ignition key off. That indicates also that there is power coming from the truck battery to the trailer. Is this right, then it is allready hooked up for charging the rv battery???
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Old 06-02-2012, 08:26 PM   #10
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Charging by OEM factory truck 7 pin connector is pretty poor. The voltage is not high enough to cause any reasonable current. At best you'll trickle charge the TT battery.
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Old 06-02-2012, 09:43 PM   #11
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So if i run a real heavy wire straight from postive post on truck batt to positive on rv battery it will charge or equalize the voltage as i drive right. Or is there a kit available to do this?
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Old 06-02-2012, 10:21 PM   #12
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So then what I'd like to try is running a heavey wire from positive post on truck batt straight to psitive post on rv batt and let the ground go through the frame. I know this description sounds crude but then it would charge properly or equalize the voltage as I was driving. ??I wonder if others have done this or purchased a kit. It seems simple....
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Old 06-02-2012, 10:22 PM   #13
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Oh Dah I posted the same idea twice.....
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Old 09-06-2012, 08:31 PM   #14
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A brief THANK YOU for the posts here regarding Fords relay/fuses being in the glovebox. I towed my trailer up and down the mountain for some warranty work for a total of about 4 hours. After getting home, power jack was barely operable and all lights were dim. Figuring it was odd that 4 hours being hooked up only got me to a 1/3 charge....I came to the JOF for advice.

Found the relay and fuse in my glovebox, located the proper slots for them and look forward to normal trickle charging in the future. THANK YOU ALL FOR THE GREAT ADVICE!
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Old 09-14-2012, 07:25 AM   #15
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On my 2008 F250 PU I have to have the engine running to get 12 volts on pin 4 of the seven pin connector. Just turning the ignition key on doesn't produce 12 volts on that pin. Which is good in case the house battery is way down in charge. My PU came with pin 4 hooked up and already fused.
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