Newbie's Question

BarneyS wrote:

dedmiston wrote:
Snip...

As far as 12v power goes, my last truck (a 2004 RAM) didn't come with a Trailer Charge fuse installed. I had to add a fuse to that position before my alternator would run my trailer's 12v system.

Does that apply to your present tow vehicle? I am asking because I just recently purchased new 2016 Ram 2500 CTD but have not towed with it yet.

Going to pick up my trailer for its' annual trip to Florida in a few weeks and sure would like the truck to keep the trailer battery charged. The manual does not mention it either way. Thanks! :)
Barney

Way to go Barney! Congratulations.

We couldn't afford a new truck this time (our youngest son just started his freshman year in college today), so we "adopted". I don't know if the previous owner of my truck added the fuse or if they come this way now. This truck is built way better for towing than my older RAM was, so my guess is that they didn't skimp the nickel for the trailer charge fuse.

Is your new truck your daily driver? How do you like it? I couldn't be happier with mine.

Another thing to remember when you leave your trailer not on shore power, the electronics (radio, propane detector, etc.)will draw power from the trailer battery and can run it completely flat in a week or so. A battery cutoff switch is your friend.

dedmiston wrote:
Snip...

As far as 12v power goes, my last truck (a 2004 RAM) didn't come with a Trailer Charge fuse installed. I had to add a fuse to that position before my alternator would run my trailer's 12v system.

Does that apply to your present tow vehicle? I am asking because I just recently purchased new 2016 Ram 2500 CTD but have not towed with it yet.

Going to pick up my trailer for its' annual trip to Florida in a few weeks and sure would like the truck to keep the trailer battery charged. The manual does not mention it either way. Thanks! :)
Barney

This isn't exactly an answer to your question about the power, but something else to think about...

Our dealer's service center made a big deal to us about not extending the slide outs if the unit isn't level. They said to always level up first and then operate the slides and that many of the failures that they see with slide outs happened when the coach wasn't level first. Keep this in mind if you're trying to operate yours while you're hitched to your truck.

As far as 12v power goes, my last truck (a 2004 RAM) didn't come with a Trailer Charge fuse installed. I had to add a fuse to that position before my alternator would run my trailer's 12v system.

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

Coach-man wrote:

lee worsdell wrote:
yes it will just run off your truck battery

Not quite true, would depend on make/model/year of truck. Some require truck to be running before charge RV battery!

There was some debate about this before.
We stored our RV at a park for a few months. They put it up for us and of course did not disconnect the battery.

I get there to pull it out, back in close enough to hook up but the landing legs won't move. So I connect the cord to the running truck and I can adjust the trailer to hook up to my FW. I connect, and cut the truck off. I walk back to raise the legs, no joy. At first I was bummed, then I remembered the debate on this forum.
I go back, crank the truck and up come the legs.
Of course I could have just turned the switch to the ON position but I cranked it.

This is a Ford BTW, I think GM is hot all the time.

lee worsdell wrote:
yes it will just run off your truck battery

Not quite true, would depend on make/model/year of truck. Some require truck to be running before charge RV battery!

yes it will just run off your truck battery

They don't use THAT much juice. besides, you have trailer batteries.