pods8
Contributors
ntsqd mounted his in a nice location if you look back at that picture.
Truck to Camper Electrical
- Thread starter Clark
- Start date
Yea, I will probably try to put mine somewhere in the front divers side corner of my truck bed. Just not sure exactly what area might be accessible with the camper on the truck...
Also, almost exactly where his is located is where there is this 6 pin female connector, with a cover that reads 6- 8 - 12v
Also, almost exactly where his is located is where there is this 6 pin female connector, with a cover that reads 6- 8 - 12v
pods8
Contributors
Do Alaskans have access ports? If not you might need to halt backing up the truck 6-12" early, connect the plug and then finish. Same with taking the truck off.
Hittheroad
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2009
- Messages
- 311
Awesome. I am going to order it all. I am not sure where I will route the wiring yet from the engine compartment to the bed of the truck. I also am not sure where to mount the powerposts. Ideally it would be nice to have the truck wired with the power post ready. That way, when I go get the camper i can just make the wires for the camper battery and plug right into the power post and be off and running.
Thanks. EEveryone has shed a good deal of light on this for me.
My thanks too. This entire discussion has been very useful.
Thanks. EEveryone has shed a good deal of light on this for me.
My thanks too. This entire discussion has been very useful.
Just found out the batteries that are included in the camper are the West Marine Gel batteries, 97ah
Manufacturer Namw............WEST MARINE
Manufacturer Part Number.....8G31DTM
Amp Hours Per Day............97Ah
BCI Group....................31
Chemistry....................Gel
Cold Cranking Amps...........550
Dimensions...................12.94"L x 6.75"W x 9.37"H
Marine Cranking Amp..........780
Purpose Cycling
Reserve Minutes..............180
Terminal Type................Tapered/Stud
Voltage 12
Short Description SeaGel® Marine Gel Batteries
SKU 327025
Manufacturer Namw............WEST MARINE
Manufacturer Part Number.....8G31DTM
Amp Hours Per Day............97Ah
BCI Group....................31
Chemistry....................Gel
Cold Cranking Amps...........550
Dimensions...................12.94"L x 6.75"W x 9.37"H
Marine Cranking Amp..........780
Purpose Cycling
Reserve Minutes..............180
Terminal Type................Tapered/Stud
Voltage 12
Short Description SeaGel® Marine Gel Batteries
SKU 327025
pods8
Contributors
Gel batteries are really sensitive to over charging from what I've read. I've not studied them heavily since AGMs seemed a much nicer fit for my uses.
To be clear are these used batteries with the camper? Any idea of the age? Before pondering out using Gel too hard it'd be nice to know the age. If they are old they could be beat already... Reason for wonder about the age is off hand I can't think of why anyone would put them in a camper these days with AGM technology.
To be clear are these used batteries with the camper? Any idea of the age? Before pondering out using Gel too hard it'd be nice to know the age. If they are old they could be beat already... Reason for wonder about the age is off hand I can't think of why anyone would put them in a camper these days with AGM technology.
Batteries are from 2010.
Any reason these curcuit breakers wouldnt work?
If I get those, I can also order the powerpoles from them as well.
THen just get the ACR and wire and I am ready!
Any reason these curcuit breakers wouldnt work?
If I get those, I can also order the powerpoles from them as well.
THen just get the ACR and wire and I am ready!
ntsqd
Custom User Title
Bolded part isn't true. The same amp/model series mate up and they come in various colors.
Have you done it then? Literature that I've read in the past says they don't on purpose, but I hadn't tested it.
My truck is a '96 CTD with two batteries as well.
I have power and ground coming off the left battery. The terminal strip is for the OE fusible links.
I put the ACR in the camper because I have other taps planned for the 6 ga. pair of wires. The shunt is for the Tri-Metric battery monitor. Under the battery box lid is a pair of Trojan T-125's. The cord is my temporary trickle charger set-up. I disabled the charger in the Elixer power panel after I heard it boiling the batteries. After this next trip I'll be removing the Elixer and replacing it with a panel of my own. It will have 2 120 VAC circuit breakers and a Blue Seas 6 position fuse block visible at the front and a smart battery charger in the rear that is tied into the 120 VAC wiring so that it is active when there is shore power and it's breaker is turned on.
To come up into the bed w/o drilling a large hole I found that the tie-down ports at the front of the bed open down into a bed floor reinforcing 'hat' section, the end of which is open. So with something to keep the wires from rubbing on the sharp edge of that opening I was able to come up inside of the bed. You can reach up between the inner liner of the bed and the outside sheet metal from underneath the truck to fasten anything to the inside bed wall.
I think that you said that your truck is a Dodge? The external alternator regulator built into the engine's ECU is somewhat famous for failing in my vintage, don't know about the later trucks. I've been looking at both the Balmar and the Ample Power intelligent regulators to replace the OE regulator. This is more of an experiment on my part than something tried and tested. No idea how well a marine regulator will work in land use. The run times tend to be shorter, and that may be a factor.
Have you done it then? Literature that I've read in the past says they don't on purpose, but I hadn't tested it.
My truck is a '96 CTD with two batteries as well.
I have power and ground coming off the left battery. The terminal strip is for the OE fusible links.
I put the ACR in the camper because I have other taps planned for the 6 ga. pair of wires. The shunt is for the Tri-Metric battery monitor. Under the battery box lid is a pair of Trojan T-125's. The cord is my temporary trickle charger set-up. I disabled the charger in the Elixer power panel after I heard it boiling the batteries. After this next trip I'll be removing the Elixer and replacing it with a panel of my own. It will have 2 120 VAC circuit breakers and a Blue Seas 6 position fuse block visible at the front and a smart battery charger in the rear that is tied into the 120 VAC wiring so that it is active when there is shore power and it's breaker is turned on.
To come up into the bed w/o drilling a large hole I found that the tie-down ports at the front of the bed open down into a bed floor reinforcing 'hat' section, the end of which is open. So with something to keep the wires from rubbing on the sharp edge of that opening I was able to come up inside of the bed. You can reach up between the inner liner of the bed and the outside sheet metal from underneath the truck to fasten anything to the inside bed wall.
I think that you said that your truck is a Dodge? The external alternator regulator built into the engine's ECU is somewhat famous for failing in my vintage, don't know about the later trucks. I've been looking at both the Balmar and the Ample Power intelligent regulators to replace the OE regulator. This is more of an experiment on my part than something tried and tested. No idea how well a marine regulator will work in land use. The run times tend to be shorter, and that may be a factor.
pods8
Contributors
Batteries are from 2010.
Any reason these curcuit breakers wouldnt work?
If I get those, I can also order the powerpoles from them as well.
THen just get the ACR and wire and I am ready!
The would work fine, a little spendy though but definitely fully suitable.
Have you done it then? Literature that I've read says they don't on purpose.
I went looking on this. I see the SB50 sets say they're keyed by color except the black, which is the one I mated with a different color. You had a legit caution there I didn't realize on the SB series connectors since my experience was with the exception
). The individual housing PP ones should mate with any color though (I know the small size 15/30/45 do, I've got a bunch of those).
Any reason these curcuit breakers wouldnt work?
If I get those, I can also order the powerpoles from them as well.
THen just get the ACR and wire and I am ready!
The would work fine, a little spendy though but definitely fully suitable.
Have you done it then? Literature that I've read says they don't on purpose.
I went looking on this. I see the SB50 sets say they're keyed by color except the black, which is the one I mated with a different color. You had a legit caution there I didn't realize on the SB series connectors since my experience was with the exception
). The individual housing PP ones should mate with any color though (I know the small size 15/30/45 do, I've got a bunch of those).awesome. I will make my orders, then go to west marine for the ACR, and order some wire. That ebay link is a good deal on wire. Anything to be suspicious about with that ebay add....?
Thanks for helping with the learning curve on this one.
Once I get the camper I can switch out all lights to LED lights. Then I would like to mount 3 outdoor lights, 1 on each side and one on the rear.
Thanks for helping with the learning curve on this one.
Once I get the camper I can switch out all lights to LED lights. Then I would like to mount 3 outdoor lights, 1 on each side and one on the rear.
pods8
Contributors
I was just looking some more, depending on which size breaker you use the blue sea 7601 (65a rating) could save some coin.
I was planning to order from the ebay link, need to measure how much wire I need still, nothing seemed fishy to me. Likely just surplus sales.
I was planning to order from the ebay link, need to measure how much wire I need still, nothing seemed fishy to me. Likely just surplus sales.
gary515
Member
Hi Fellas You guys are scaring me. I just ordered a ATC Bobcat for my 2001 Tundra and didn't realize the electrical could be so complicated. I told the guys at ATC what I wanted re: plugs, inverters/converters (what's the difference?). I have no experience with RV's and want to make sure the electrical is done right during construction. I'm sure the guys at ATC will do it right.
Below is what is going on my camper regarding the electrical. My Tundra has only one battery.
I wanted a connector plug to be able to use shore power. I also am having them install a solar plug and solar controller next to battery.
This is on my invoice re electrical.
One battery
110V system
Wire camper for solar panel (having them put plug on drivers side to allow me to run wire for off vehicle solar panel.
110 to 12V inverter
Solar controller near battery
Is there anything I am missing or should be having them put on the electrical? I will be using camper mostly for day or two camping and occasionally staying at RV parks with power available.
Thank you very much for any replies. I have a two month wait for delivery and am very excited.
Gary
Below is what is going on my camper regarding the electrical. My Tundra has only one battery.
I wanted a connector plug to be able to use shore power. I also am having them install a solar plug and solar controller next to battery.
This is on my invoice re electrical.
One battery
110V system
Wire camper for solar panel (having them put plug on drivers side to allow me to run wire for off vehicle solar panel.
110 to 12V inverter
Solar controller near battery
Is there anything I am missing or should be having them put on the electrical? I will be using camper mostly for day or two camping and occasionally staying at RV parks with power available.
Thank you very much for any replies. I have a two month wait for delivery and am very excited.
Gary
Hey Gary. I am new to this as well. Considering you will be out for a day or two, I think you will be fine. I plan on long dry camps and have two diesel starter batteris then two camper batteries so it was complicated for me....
pods8
Contributors
Hi Fellas You guys are scaring me.
Just don't let the smoke out.
Term convertor is used for changing AC over to DC. A convertor with stage charger will change to AC to DC but do so in voltage ranges to properly charge/hold battery voltage based on battery discharge condition.
Term invertor is used for changing DC over to AC.
Just don't let the smoke out.
Term convertor is used for changing AC over to DC. A convertor with stage charger will change to AC to DC but do so in voltage ranges to properly charge/hold battery voltage based on battery discharge condition.
Term invertor is used for changing DC over to AC.
ntsqd
Custom User Title
Gary, Don't let this scare you. It's not rocket surgery, just some common sense and getting the right parts. We all have our personal preferences and I'm trying to present all of the options that I can think of, not just how I prefer to do it. I'm also trying to explain why I made the decisions that I made (& some of them are just because I'm anal & eccentric ). If we've not made something clear or made an assumption that isn't jumping onto your screen just ask.
). If we've not made something clear or made an assumption that isn't jumping onto your screen just ask.That's not the Gigavac product that I was thinking of. They offer one with voltage sensing electronics on-board.
Easier to get is the Blue Seas products. I would look at something like this: Blue Seas ACR
Anytime you take power off of a battery it needs to be protected with a fuse or a breaker, so you'll need something like this breaker:
Or this fuse assembly:
at both batteries or you risk an electrical fire.
This is my camper disconnect:
This is the wire that I used:
Two of these make up the disconnect:
(Note that different colors of these connectors will not mate, nor will connectors of different amperage series.)
The socket provided in the bed is mostly for lights. The 7 contact "RV" sockets, which yours likely is, do have a contact for battery charging. However, they are typically limited to a max wire size of 10 gauge. That would be OK for a trickle charge, but it will not carry enough current to do bulk charging without a pretty large voltage drop. Given that the voltage difference between a fully charged battery and a 50% discharged battery is about 0.5 volts, you want to minimize any voltage drop as to as little as possible. Some here probably think my choice of 6 gauge power and ground wires is over-kill, but I wanted as little voltage drop as I could get without adding unnecessary weight. I feel that 6 ga. is sitting on the cusp of becoming excess weight, but I'm confident that the voltage drop is very small.
What connector do you have on the end of your wires that connects into the powerpole??
Easier to get is the Blue Seas products. I would look at something like this: Blue Seas ACR
Anytime you take power off of a battery it needs to be protected with a fuse or a breaker, so you'll need something like this breaker:
Or this fuse assembly:
at both batteries or you risk an electrical fire.
This is my camper disconnect:
This is the wire that I used:
Two of these make up the disconnect:
(Note that different colors of these connectors will not mate, nor will connectors of different amperage series.)
The socket provided in the bed is mostly for lights. The 7 contact "RV" sockets, which yours likely is, do have a contact for battery charging. However, they are typically limited to a max wire size of 10 gauge. That would be OK for a trickle charge, but it will not carry enough current to do bulk charging without a pretty large voltage drop. Given that the voltage difference between a fully charged battery and a 50% discharged battery is about 0.5 volts, you want to minimize any voltage drop as to as little as possible. Some here probably think my choice of 6 gauge power and ground wires is over-kill, but I wanted as little voltage drop as I could get without adding unnecessary weight. I feel that 6 ga. is sitting on the cusp of becoming excess weight, but I'm confident that the voltage drop is very small.
What connector do you have on the end of your wires that connects into the powerpole??
ntsqd
Custom User Title
The connector's contacts crimp directly onto the wire. I have adhesive lined Heat Shrink over the join if that's what you're seeing and wondering about.
Similar threads - WTW
- HiCap
- Trucks, Truck Accessories & Mods
- Replies: 3
- Views: 342
- HHM
- Truck Campers
- Replies: 7
- Views: 357
- zoomzoom
- Four Wheel Camper Discussions
- Replies: 4
- Views: 360
- Jon R
- Four Wheel Camper Discussions
- Replies: 8
- Views: 555
- renodurango@gmail.com
- Four Wheel Camper Discussions
- Replies: 5
- Views: 582
