Question about leaving tt hooked to TV

RCMAN46 wrote:

K3WE wrote:

RCMAN46 wrote:
When I am hitched and stay overnight I always disconnect the 7 way. That way I know nothing in the trailer is going to give me a dead TV battery the next morning.

Even if I had a Ford I would disconnect. I do not trust relays etc to always work as they should.

Just for another perspective, I have often left the hook up (Chevrolet) in place to get EXTRA battery capacity for the TT especially on cold nights when the furnace is sucking hard on camper batteries.

Indeed- you could run the TV battery dead and I have always had a backup contingency (like a booster box or generator); however, to date, I've never needed it.

Footnote: Yes, I know that a starter battery is not a deep cycle battery...conversely, 8 hours of assistance to the furnace where the car still starts fine versus accidentally leaving the dome light on and running the battery totally dead...it's not that unreasonable.

Just saying that leaving the TT plugged in for a day or two and being smart about it does not necessarily mean bad things...

(And yes, really remote boon docking might call for different behavior than in the driveway at the house.)

If you have a diesel and run the batteries dead you will better understand why I do not take a chance. The odds of getting the diesel started with out purchasing new batteries is slim particularly if the batteries are more than three years old.

Sounds like another advantage to having a gasser.

K3WE wrote:

RCMAN46 wrote:
When I am hitched and stay overnight I always disconnect the 7 way. That way I know nothing in the trailer is going to give me a dead TV battery the next morning.

Even if I had a Ford I would disconnect. I do not trust relays etc to always work as they should.

Just for another perspective, I have often left the hook up (Chevrolet) in place to get EXTRA battery capacity for the TT especially on cold nights when the furnace is sucking hard on camper batteries.

Indeed- you could run the TV battery dead and I have always had a backup contingency (like a booster box or generator); however, to date, I've never needed it.

Footnote: Yes, I know that a starter battery is not a deep cycle battery...conversely, 8 hours of assistance to the furnace where the car still starts fine versus accidentally leaving the dome light on and running the battery totally dead...it's not that unreasonable.

Just saying that leaving the TT plugged in for a day or two and being smart about it does not necessarily mean bad things...

(And yes, really remote boon docking might call for different behavior than in the driveway at the house.)

If you have a diesel and run the batteries dead you will better understand why I do not take a chance. The odds of getting the diesel started with out purchasing new batteries is slim particularly if the batteries are more than three years old.

RCMAN46 wrote:
When I am hitched and stay overnight I always disconnect the 7 way. That way I know nothing in the trailer is going to give me a dead TV battery the next morning.

Even if I had a Ford I would disconnect. I do not trust relays etc to always work as they should.

Just for another perspective, I have often left the hook up (Chevrolet) in place to get EXTRA battery capacity for the TT especially on cold nights when the furnace is sucking hard on camper batteries.

Indeed- you could run the TV battery dead and I have always had a backup contingency (like a booster box or generator); however, to date, I've never needed it.

Footnote: Yes, I know that a starter battery is not a deep cycle battery...conversely, 8 hours of assistance to the furnace where the car still starts fine versus accidentally leaving the dome light on and running the battery totally dead...it's not that unreasonable.

Just saying that leaving the TT plugged in for a day or two and being smart about it does not necessarily mean bad things...

(And yes, really remote boon docking might call for different behavior than in the driveway at the house.)

korbe wrote:
I had heard that some 7pins will allow the TV battery to work with the trailer. I would want to make sure the trailer doesn't drain the vehicle battery while parked.

I second that. This comes in handy while traveling though. It's nice to be able to stop anywhere for a quick lunch or to use your private bathroom and have working lights. I am unsure if it actually drains the TV battery if everything is turned off. Depending on the trailer, some things do not shut off like monitoring systems or thermostats for example. Being hitched up for a period of time is no problem but if there is no need to have the trailer plugged in to the TV...unplug it.

On a side note, I have in the past parked on slight hills and inclines. In addition to the TV parking brake, I locked the EBC at max as an added security. I would not leave it for more than a day though without starting the TV.

When I am hitched and stay overnight I always disconnect the 7 way. That way I know nothing in the trailer is going to give me a dead TV battery the next morning.

Even if I had a Ford I would disconnect. I do not trust relays etc to always work as they should.

No problems if you leave it hooked for a while. Just make sure it's level if the refrigerator is on. I always disconnect the umbilical from the tow vehicle as a precaution against draining the starting battery.

I had heard that some 7pins will allow the TV battery to work with the trailer. I would want to make sure the trailer doesn't drain the vehicle battery while parked.

Like the others have posted, no problem leaving it hooked up. You can even "lift" the back of the tow vehicle with the jack to level up the RV, within reason of course.

Also no problem to run out the slide(s) and level side to side with blocks or ???

Just remember to undo all of the above before pulling out for the road.

If you let it sit for months at a time, the tires might flat spot but a few days, it won't hurt a thing. Just remeber to raise the jacks (don't ask me how I know this.) before you try to drive away.

Hi,

Depends on the model of truck. If you have a GMC, it might not disconnect the battery from the truck battery to the trailer, and using lights in the trailer can discharge the truck battery. It will be fine if you have the trailer plugged into 120 volts and are charging the battery that way.

Most Ford or Dodge trucks have a charge relay that disconnects the 12 volt truck battery from the charge line cord to the trailer while the engine is off.

If you can not disconnect the trailer or plug it in while say you are dry camping in a parking lot, or pull over near a church for a overnight stay, then you can always unplug the trailer power cord so that your trailer furnace will not discharge the truck battery overnight.

The normal amount of lights will only consume about 35 amp hours per night, so that much usage is fine to leave the trailer plugged into the truck battery. It is only nights that you might use the furnace, or other heavy battery use that might discharge a GM truck battery. Ford and Dodge nothing to worry about.

Fred.