Thermal Package

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I verified using a truck (Dually with high output alternator) to charge my 5th wheel battery was a bad idea. 30 minutes did nothing. I also know after trailing for 12 hours and spending a cold night that a 24 group battery will not keep the furnace blower runnig much more than for 4 to 6 hours. I went to bed around midnight warm and woke up at 4:30am cold because the 3 year old group 24 battery was dead and the blower was not running. I had plenty of propane. I tried to change the battery of this travel trailer with the truck (F-150) to get more sleep but that did not work. I tried to sleep in the truck for a few hours.

Now I am hearing running the furnace which in cold weather will run 50% of the time will not discharge the battery as you go down the highway. I am talking of temperatures around 30F degrees.

So my 1st hand experience has not been good.

With the low capacity, 55AH, GP24 batteries that dealers throw in, and a 10 amp draw, 4 to 5 hours is all your going to get.

Your charge line auto reset circuit breaker may have been tripping on and off while attempting to charge a dead battery.

[ALLOY]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I verified using a truck (Dually with high output alternator) to charge my 5th wheel battery was a bad idea. 30 minutes did nothing. I also know after trailing for 12 hours and spending a cold night that a 24 group battery will not keep the furnace blower runnig much more than for 4 to 6 hours. I went to bed around midnight warm and woke up at 4:30am cold because the 3 year old group 24 battery was dead and the blower was not running. I had plenty of propane. I tried to change the battery of this travel trailer with the truck (F-150) to get more sleep but that did not work. I tried to sleep in the truck for a few hours.

Now I am hearing running the furnace which in cold weather will run 50% of the time will not discharge the battery as you go down the highway. I am talking of temperatures around 30F degrees.

So my 1st hand experience has not been good.

We'd show up at a campsite with batteries at 12.5 so I put a clamp on ammeter on the charge wire and was only getting 7 amps into the trailer with the engine at 1500rpm.


I wasn't surprised as there is +/- 60' (neg & pos) 10ga wire between the batteries plus a less than great connection through the plug. With the loss the trailer batteries were probably only seeing 13.0 volts.

Solar on the roof keeps the batteries topped up now.