Is Battery Charger Needed or Does 7-Way Charge Trailer Battery

Question:

Good morning. I have a battery on my trailer and a hot lead from the truck connected to the battery. Why would I need a dc battery charger? As long as the truck and trailer are plugged in, isnt this sufficient amps to keep it charged?

asked by: James A

Expert Reply:

Hey there James; good question and the reason a battery charger is needed is because the 7-way on your truck doesn't provide a full charge to your trailer battery, it is a maintenance charge.

There is too much power loss due to the distance from your vehicle battery to the trailer battery, so fully recharging your battery via 7-way isn't possible. So you do need a separate charger, and can use something simple that just plugs into a wall such as the NOCO Genius Smart Battery Charger # 329-GENIUS10.

Or if you want to have the battery fully charged as you're driving you'd need the Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger # RED96FR.

Both of these will charge standard and lithium batteries.

expert reply by: Kyle S