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Post by nanthracite on Feb 17, 2022 8:18:19 GMT -5
I am interested in installing a battery isolator to be sure my 2016 Sonic Lite does not drain the truck battery. I know the power connection to the RV through the 7 prong connector remains hot when the engine is off, so I think I need one of these. Does anyone have any advice about which one to choose and how to hook it up? I would like to be able to keep the truck hitched up and the connector connected even when the RV is plugged into RV park power.
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dlakeman
Weekender RV’er
Please delete my account. I have sold my Stratus.
Posts: 75
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Post by dlakeman on Feb 17, 2022 11:10:06 GMT -5
When I owned an F150 the dealer told me leaving my trailer hooked up would not drain the truck battery. When I purchased my Ram 2500 the dealer told me the same thing. If I'm parking for a long period of time with my truck hooked to my trailer I disconnect the 7 pin anyway.
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marjim
Weekender RV’er
Retired EE, Vietnam Vet, God, Faith, Family & Flag. St. Louis area
Posts: 99
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Post by marjim on Feb 20, 2022 10:58:53 GMT -5
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3rdof5
Weekender RV’er
Finally camping season!
Posts: 55
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Post by 3rdof5 on Mar 7, 2022 19:43:35 GMT -5
There should be no issue leaving the 7 pin connector plugged in under any circumstances. If both ends of the connection are always live, then essentially there are 2 batteries now, albeit usually only a 20 amp connection. If your RV is plugged into shore power it will simply maintain your tow vehicle battery as well.
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Post by nanthracite on Aug 27, 2022 6:38:57 GMT -5
I was not concerned about when I had the trailer hooked up to power. I did not want the RV battery to drain the truck battery if I was parked at a restaurant or parked before disconnecting. My 2020 GMC truck leaves the power line going back to the trailer hot when the truck is turned off. I have a 2016 Sonic so I identified the wires coming from the hookup line and where the enter to connect to the trailer circuitry at a junction box on the front frame of the trailer and figured out which line is the auxiliary power line. I had already installed a trailer battery cut-off switch so I was able to isolate the circuit from the trailer battery when I was testing out the wiring. I am planning to put an isolator on that line coming in. I confirmed that the voltage is much higher when the truck is running (14+ Volts) so the alternator is supplying the power then so I believe the isolator will work fine as it allows power to pass though when the voltage is high and cuts off when the voltage drops back down to 12.8 or so, I don't recall the exact specs. I can put up a link to some pictures, etc., when I get done if anyone is interested, especially if it works out. If I found out I made some wrong assumptions, I will let you know.
Addendum.
I am very happy with this isolator I chose as it was easy to install and I love the voltage reading display. It is a DEWINNER 12V 140Amp Dual Battery Isolator Manual/Auto Modes VSR-Voltage Sensitive Relay purchased on Amazon..
First picture shows the truck running and the trailer battery turned on. You can see the 14.5 Volt reading coming from the alternator.
Second picture shows the truck off and the trailer battery on with 13.1 Volts coming from the trailer battery.
Third picture shows the trailer battery off and the truck battery off. Note that there is a slight delay before both turn off so that you could be fooled into thinking the isolator is not working if you don't wait several seconds. Note that the isolator is not showing any voltage.
Fourth picture is Truck On, Battery off showing the alternator voltage of 14.5 V.
With all of these pictures, the isolator is on.
I am using a 30A fuse in the circuit. The auxillary power circuit from the truck is protected with a 30A fuse so this circuit, as I have wired it, is not meant to carry heavy currents.
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Post by earlelaine on Aug 27, 2022 8:18:28 GMT -5
I once had a GMC pickup truck and travel trailer. We were meeting up with a few other RVer's at the same place dry camping. When I was 2st setting up I got distracted by the others coming into our campsite I said I would just unlock the trailer and truck later, the trailer by luck was all level so I just left it connected. I said why bother disconnecting when we were getting a ride with others to grocery store and so on. About 3 days later my trailer batteries were dead. I proceed to unhook and found that my truck battery was dead too. Leaving the truck and trailer connected with the 7 pin power connector drain the power from trailer and truck. Sometimes I leave the 2 connected together when loading or unloading the 2 vehicles over night but I always have the batteries shut off and also unplug the power too. I do have solar power on the roof so the batteries area always fully charged even of the battery cut switch is turned off. I also notice yesterday that the power jack still works when the batteries are shut off.
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Post by spiderbobr on Aug 29, 2022 13:53:17 GMT -5
I was not concerned about when I had the trailer hooked up to power. I did not want the RV battery to drain the truck battery if I was parked at a restaurant or parked before disconnecting. My 2020 GMC truck leaves the power line going back to the trailer hot when the truck is turned off. I have a 2016 Sonic so I identified the wires coming from the hookup line and where the enter to connect to the trailer circuitry at a junction box on the front frame of the trailer and figured out which line is the auxiliary power line. I had already installed a trailer battery cut-off switch so I was able to isolate the circuit from the trailer battery when I was testing out the wiring. I am planning to put an isolator on that line coming in. I confirmed that the voltage is much higher when the truck is running (14+ Volts) so the alternator is supplying the power then so I believe the isolator will work fine as it allows power to pass though when the voltage is high and cuts off when the voltage drops back down to 12.8 or so, I don't recall the exact specs. I can put up a link to some pictures, etc., when I get done if anyone is interested, especially if it works out. If I found out I made some wrong assumptions, I will let you know. I would very much like to see some pictures of yours work and what you think of it when done. My ProMaster had a big enough hitch already but was not wired for a trailer of any sorts. So the wiring was done when I bought the trailer and hitch, but they did not install an isolator. So what I do now is of course disconnect the wiring whenever I stop. I now want to install an isolator, so your information would be helpful. |
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