What Is Needed To Charge a 12 Volt Battery On Travel Trailer

Question:

i have a 2014 tdi passat and will be pulling a small tear trailer under 1000 pounds the trailer has a 12 volt deep cycle battery mounted. how would i charge this from my tdi when pulling

asked by: Rob

Expert Reply:

In regards to charging a trailer battery, you have a few options. The best option to ensure you have a full battery each time you are ready to setup and camp would be a DC to DC powered battery charger which uses the vehicle's alternator. The Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger part # 331-BCDC1225D is what I recommend.

The other options entail running a charge line through the trailer connector from the vehicle battery but this requires a 7-way like part # ETBC7L (charge line included) and it is really only meant to provide a maintenance charge as it won't fully charge a depleted battery.

expert reply by: Conner L