Newbie's Question

raid3r2011 wrote:
Hey Y'all. Question: When my 5th wheel trailer is hooked up to my pick-up truck can I operate the slide outs without running the battery down. Operating it out then back in? I will keep the engine running while I am operating the slide outs. My truck is a 2013 Ford F350 6.7 litre Diesel with two batteries in the truck under the hood.
Another question: The battery in the trailer has a switch for turning on & off. When traveling down the road, Should that switch be on or off. If it's off I my pick-up truck charging the trailer battery?

Not a Ford guy, but I believe that the power lead on your 7-way connector is only hot when the truck is running or the ignition is in the accessory position. You =will= draw power from the truck in that instance. If your battery disconnect is like mine, the landing legs and slides are not part of that circuit and are "hot" all the time. My disconnect will NOT charge the house batteries when it is in the OFF position, which I found out the hard way, so if you want your battery(ies) to charge, turn on the disconnect. I also found out the hard way that the disconnect MUST be used if my rig is to be parked more than a 2-3 weeks, max.

FWIW, I prefer to have my truck connected when hitching/unhitching and running the slide in/out. Since I have a GM, my truck does not have to be running, but the extra batteries =do= make a difference.

Lyle