Do I Need a Tekonsha Tow Charger to Charge the Battery On My Travel Trailer
Question:
I need a charger to charge my TT battery while going down the road or while sitting still to be sure the electric jack will work just in case I need to raise or lower the jack when there is no land power lines avaiable and the battery may be a little low. Will this charger work properly? For example when I turn the truck key off with the 7pin connector still plugged in will the charger stop operating? Thanks
asked by: Sherman M
Expert Reply:
To charge the battery on your travel trailer while towing you will need to run the power wire from your 7-way trailer connector to the trailer battery. This wire will use the vehicle charging system to charge the battery while you are in tow and then the inverter/charger, in the trailer, will charge the battery when you are hooked to AC power.
You will need to check your truck 7-way connector with a circuit tester, item # PTW2993 if you need one, to see if the power wire is switched with the ignition. If this wire is not switched with the ignition, then your vehicle battery could be discharged along with the trailer battery if left hooked up.
If you left the vehicle running and the trailer plugged in to AC power you would not need a isolator but you could experience an overcharge condition if the inverter charger is not set up to shut off when the battery is fully charged. If you wanted to use the Tekonsha Two Stage 12 V DC Battery Charger, item # 2024, to charge the trailer battery it would protect your trailer battery from overcharge but would still need to be wired from the power wire in the 7-way trailer connector.
If the power wire in the 7-way is working to power 12 volt accessories in the trailer currently you will need to be sure not to disconnect this wire and to splice into it to run the power to the battery or the Tekonsha charger.
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