First Time Going Dry Camping (Need Battery to work)

If you are getting 12.35 immediately when disconnected and the 12 volt accessories not working then you most likely have a circuit breaker or disconnect switch not working.

With the trailer still plugged in check the battery and see if you are getting in the 13 volt range.

If not go check the fuses in the trailer. If they have the same reading as the battery then your charger is not working. However if the lights come on on shore power and the fuses read in the 13 volt range then you have a problem with power getting to the battery.

If your 12 volt appliances aren't working when unplugged from shore power you may have a bad Auto reset circuit breaker.

When not using your camper do you disconnect you battery?
Depending on how much you use your battery, you might need something to charge your battery every day like jumper cable to use your car. That will take some time.

First, I want to thank everyone for your input. I'm impressed with how quick a response I received.

So right now, I hooked shore power up and I plan to leave it for about an hour and measure voltage while it's still connected to shore power to see if I get the 13.6 VDC reading.

Just to let everyone know, when the shore power is disconnected and the battery is getting a 12.25 VDC reading, none of the 12VDC parts of the trailer are working (i.e. lights, furance, etc). I was hoping that even with a 60% charge on the battery the lights would come on. But there is nothing.

I'm relieved to know that there is no Battery Disconnect switch because I was starting to go crazy looking for a switch someone on the trailer.

I hope I can get this figured out before this weekend. Wife asked me to check the battery weeks ago and I put it off until now.....only to run into this. Gonna be cold in the dog house tonight! :(

Will keep you updated. Thank you again!

How to run the trailer off the battery?

Think of that battery charge as a bucket of water. Once it is gone, it is gone. Time to refill/charge. The rated amp hours of the battery is the size of your bucket.

Simply put it takes some understanding of what uses how much power. Turn lights on as needed. Don't leave the sound system on for hours. If you have an inverter heat produceing things like coffeemakers will kill the average minimum sized battery in no time.

For dry camping the size of the battery bank & available water capacity is king.

Switching to the battery is automatic. As soon as you unplug the shore power cable the battery will automatically kick in and power the lights, water pump, furnace, radio, etc.
The battery will not power any items normally powered by 120v AC. This includes all the outlets throughout the RV, the air conditioner, the microwave, coffee maker, toaster, etc. None of these will operate from the battery. You would have to add an inverter to the trailer if you wanted AC power from the battery. That's a whole other subject.
If your battery was at 12.25 volts immediately after you disconnected the shore power then your charger isn't working. However, the battery should, even at that voltage, allow the lights and pump to operate.

12.2 is very low. Plug in immediately and look for 13.6+ volts on the battery terminals within an hour.
Keep plugged in two days minimum to fully charge.

Best to discover what is possible in camp driveway.

Welcome to the forum.

This may help with your understanding of batteries: The 12 Volt Side of Life

Your measured voltage indicates battery has lost quite a bit of charge and needs to be fully recharged by plugging into shore power or using a portable battery charger. When plugged into shore power use your meter to measure converter output to ensure it is putting out at least 13.6 volts, higher would be better indicating a multiphase charging circuit is contained within.

Your battery does take over the duty of delivering power to your DC devices such as your lights, furnace, water pump, and fridge control board which you will run in propane mode. Microwave, AC, and all household type outlets require AC voltage and will not function once unplugged from shore power unless a generator or inverter is utilized.

A battery cut-off switch can be helpful if you need to keep battery from discharging when not camping, we have one installed from factory but rarely use it since we store our rig in our backyard plugged in 24/7. Before starting out ensure battery is fully charged and verify your tow vehicle is providing a charge to your battery while driving down the road.

Running furnace excessively and using lots of lights can quickly draw down a single battery, hopefully your newer rig came with LED lights which would alleviate that issue. If your fridge has the option to reduce condensation make sure it is turned off, many times they are unknowingly activated. A single battery can be depleted quickly but can last a couple of days if one is frugal with DC power demands.

KodiakBear74 wrote:
I put a volt meter on battery and it's 12.25 (without shore power connected).

At 12.25 volts the battery is already drawn down to ~ 60% ...



If your trailer isn't already equipped with a battery disconnect switch either install one OR make sure you physically disconnect the battery whenever you're not using the trailer and it's not plugged into shore power.