Recommended Trailer Battery Charging Solution for Storage

Question:

What would I need to charge a battery if I won’t have a set vehicle to pull the trailer? I saw a video of a guy who installed a solar panel to a portable charger then to the battery. Would that work?

asked by: Pedro

Expert Reply:

I'll start off by saying that whatever tow vehicle you use, if it has a 7 way connector and the trailer does too, it will provide a maintenance charge whenever it is connected. So that may provide you with a little bit of peace of mind, but it sounds like you're more concerned with keeping the battery maintained when it is not connected to a tow vehicle and is being stored.

If you're looking for a solar powered charging solution that will allow you to install and not worry about it, the 2.5-Watt Solar Battery Charger # PTW2997 is a good solution to make sure your battery stays topped off when it's in storage, or disconnected from your tow vehicle. This is a good economical solution, but it doesn't provide you with a do-it-all type charger and maintainer since it isn't really meant to recharge a drained battery or keep it charged while at your campsite.

For that reason I recommend using the CTEK # CTEK56353 you were looking at, which is great for batteries with 150 amp hours of storage or less. This is does require an AC power source, but it will maintain your battery in storage and also provide you with a solution to charge back up a battery that has died or been drained to the point where your solar panel isn't going to provide enough power.

If your auxiliary trailer battery is bigger than 150 amp hours, please let me know and I can recommend the correct CTEK charging solution that will work best for your battery.

expert reply by: Erik B