Question for the group

[Mainenebula]

Hello all -

My new x20e is great but we dry camp a good deal and I need more battery power. The tongue on my unit has the battery - group 24 - directly behind the jack then 2 20 lbs tanks. No matter how many times I measure I cannot find room between them and the front of the trailer for 2 batteries. This doesn't really break my heart as I didn't want to load the tongue up with weight anyway.

My WFCO is located under the fridge and over the front axle. Immediately behind it is a floor level cabinet large enough to house 2 6v AGM batteries. I intend to locate the battery bank here and remove the battery from the tongue. I will then wire the new bank into the WFCO and retain the original battery harness to power the runaway brakes. I also see/hope I will benefit from having the batteries closer to the charger. I will run larger cable and improve the charge capacity through this and the reduced line loss.

So my questions. Do I leave the current shunt in place? Do I need a new shunt - fairly certain yes here - and if so what size? I place this on the negative wire running from the battery to the charger? Anything else I missed or need to consider?? Thanks for your help.

 

[29BHS ECO]

mainenebula--Don't forget to vent the battery compartment somehow. larry

 

[tlhdoc]

mainenebula--Don't forget to vent the battery compartment somehow. larry

With AGM batteries you don't have to vent. The batteries do not off gas when charging. I purchased a AGM battery for this reason.

 

[clubhouse]

Isn't the break away powered from a pin in the 7 way connector? I didn't think that the TT supplied power to the break away, but rather the TV?

 

[jwstewar]

Isn't the break away powered from a pin in the 7 way connector? I didn't think that the TT supplied power to the break away, but rather the TV?

Not when it breaks away from the TV. The 7-pin connector provides power to the breaks when stopping normally. It also provides power to "charge" the battery on the camper. But when the pin is pulled on the break-away switch, it draws its power from the camper battery. The same setup is on my utility trailer and my stock trailer. Instead of Deep Cycle batteries, they use little specialized trailer batteries.

 

[Seann45]

Isn't the break away powered from a pin in the 7 way connector? I didn't think that the TT supplied power to the break away, but rather the TV?

When the breakaway is activated it usually pulls the the umbilical chord from the TV

 

[JaycoJoe]

Optima recommends installing in a vented compartment....

Joe

 

[clubhouse]

Thank you Jim and Sean,

Your replies triggered the light bulb in my head to go off. That makes a whole lot more sense then what I "thought" I learned when I picked up our TT...should point out this is our first TT.

During the walk through with the dealer's service guy, I asked about a dead battery and what effected it had on towing. They said none since the 7 pin powered everything. Guess when you have a breakaway you aren't technically towing any longer

Sorry for the deviation on the OPs question.

 

[tlhdoc]

Optima recommends installing in a vented compartment....

Joe

Not exactly. They recommend that the battery be in a ventilated area, not compartment. Unless you charge the battery at a high rate (above 15 amps) or in a very hot area the battery will not off gas.

 

[David472]

snip.....
So my questions. Do I leave the current shunt in place? Do I need a new shunt - fairly certain yes here - and if so what size? I place this on the negative wire running from the battery to the charger? Anything else I missed or need to consider?? Thanks for your help.

I am puzzled by your question about a shunt.
A shunt is a device normally used when measuring the current flow in a DC circuit. Could it be you refer to the fuse which is wired next to the stock battery?

 

[Riverbum]

you should be able to get two group 27 batteries on the front just need to move the gas bottle to the front put the batteries behind them. I did it on my 213exp might work for you If you need picts. just let me know good luck

 

[Mainenebula]

Thx for the thought. My issue is I have 2 20 lb bottles. I could reduce that to one but then I would need to play with the hoses, regulator, switch etc. Still I may end up doing just that

 

[Mainenebula]

I am puzzled by your question about a shunt.
A shunt is a device normally used when measuring the current flow in a DC circuit. Could it be you refer to the fuse which is wired next to the stock battery?

Your point may be the source of my confusion. I am not very familiar with what a shunt does but thought it was as you describe it. But I have on on the ground side of my factory installed wiring harness. Is it there just for the possibility I will get a volt meter? Or is a necessary component to my electrical system?

 

[David472]

Your point may be the source of my confusion. I am not very familiar with what a shunt does but thought it was as you describe it. But I have on on the ground side of my factory installed wiring harness. Is it there just for the possibility I will get a volt meter? Or is a necessary component to my electrical system?

A shunt is not a necessary item, unless its there to measure the DC current flow. A fuse, however, is a necessary item. A fuse has two connections, an input and an output. A shunt has those two, plus two others which go to a metering device. I suspect you are seeing a fuse and not a shunt. A photo may help to identify it for us.

 

[RoyBraddy]

Are you sure you cant add something like this to your trailer that would mount on top of the tongue frame and mount between the Propane tank and the trailer wall..

photo from google images

You will need about 14-inches space. This will extend out over both sides of the tongue and if you just install two batteries in it will also give some tool storage space..

This diamondplate storage box is great for four or two GC2 6v Batteries and will give you around 12VDC @400AH of battery capacity if you install two groups or just 12VDc @200AH if you just install two GC2 6V batteies.

This also would be a great spot to lock-up your GC2 batteries for those off the power grid camping trips.

I can imagine space inside your trailer will be premium...

Be glad to share my info via emails if you might want to go this way... PM me...