Cruise America trickle charger specs....in case anyone has wondered...
CA has these trickle charger solar panels usually mounted on top of the roof AC unit. I have two Majestic 28a units that I bought from Cruise America. On one of them, the solar trickle charger works. On the other one, it doesn't (it has been cut/destroyed).
Side note: I was told by the sales rep that when they are refurbishing the units prior to selling them, they usually cut the solar line and also the backup sensors built into the bumper. I was told they do this because it is faster for them to complete the exterior refurbishment process. It is a shame that they do that as those would be nice features. Regarding the solar trickle charger, I was told that sometimes they cut them sometimes they don't. On one of my units, it works as expected. I sure do like the fact that my coach batteries are always getting trickled while in storage (....I HATE dead/low batteries!). On one of my other units, the trickle solar has been disconnected/destroyed. I removed it today as part of a 500w solar install. In case any of you are curious (...I was), here is what that panel is doing for you if you happen to have one that works....
Looks like it would provide maybe 2-4 amp hours of charging per day. I have a battery monitor in my RV and I see that there is about .12 amps leaking even when I have everything off (...I know about half of that is due to the propane/carbon monoxide detector). So that means that in a day's time it will leak about 2.5AH. So the trickle charger is just enough to combat that, assuming you've got some sunshine.
Soon both of my RVs will have solar. I just installed two 250w panels today. Got them from Santan Solar in Arizona for $35/panel :) Hope to finish up the wiring in the next few days.
Happy Camping!
Chris
