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Leeski1981's avatar
Leeski1981
Explorer
Sep 29, 2015

1973 Bethany 48 Citation

Hello everyone this is my first post. I just signed up. We just bought our first camper this past weekend! It is a 1973 Bethany Citation. Excellent condition nearly mint. Has been restored and garaged kept since 2002. We bought if off the original owners. Now this is where my problem comes in. We have a 2014 Chevy Silverado with the 7 blade round connector. The camper has a 5 square connector. The wiring diagram for the camper is LH turn and stop, RH turn and stop, ground, parking lamps, and a 12 V hot wire. I have matched up all the proper wires to the proper connection wires for the truck. However the 12 V hot from the camper is my issue. What should that connect to on the 7 round? I have an auxiliary wire, and a 12 V wire. The camper has surge brakes so I know it doesn't need a connection since its manual. The only reason I ask is if we dry camp we would like the interior lights to work. Need some advice.
  • Naio's avatar
    Naio
    Explorer II
    Sep 29, 2015
    Leeski1981 wrote:
    I understand that, but this particular trailer doesn't have an extra battery. It has a converter and some 12 volt lights. I am assuming that is why there is a 12 volt hot for the trailer.


    Only the lights? No outlets, water heater, fridge, etc.? That should be ok as long as you don't leave the lights on all evening or plug anything in. Just turn on the lights one minute at a time, when you need to find something. That's what I do with ones off the truck battery.
  • Chris_Bryant's avatar
    Chris_Bryant
    Explorer II
    Sep 29, 2015
    Some tow vehicles switch the hot lead in the 7 way plug so it is only hot with the engine running (or at least the key on).
  • Leeski1981's avatar
    Leeski1981
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2015
    Nope, just two ceiling lights, one or two outlets from the converter. No fridge or water heater. The portable stove and furnace run off propane. I was reading something about deep cycle batteries. What would that do if I replaced the current battery in the truck?
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Sep 29, 2015
    Leeski1981 wrote:
    I understand that, but this particular trailer doesn't have an extra battery. It has a converter and some 12 volt lights. I am assuming that is why there is a 12 volt hot for the trailer.
    Add a battery. Generally the 12v power from the tow vehicle is to keep the trailer battery charged or possibly run some 12v item while in transit. Once at camp you should plan to unplug from your tow vehicle.

    How about posting a picture?
  • Leeski1981's avatar
    Leeski1981
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2015
    I am picking up the trailer this weekend. Once I get it I will post some pictures. So you are saying to add a battery to the trailer? How difficult is that to do? Right we didn't plan on running the trailer solely with the truck. We planned on using electric when at RV sites. The dry camping was only if we needed to pull off somewhere for the night.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2015
    Get a battery and install it to the output wires of the converter. Use large wire to match the output of the converter, i.e. if the converter outputs 30 amps, use 10 AWG wire.
    How is this trailer equipped for emergency break-away braking? In most States, anything over 3000 lbs. needs emergency braking. It may be that you have a cable and mechanical device that locks the surge brakes. If you have an electrical device that locks them, you'll need a battery on the trailer.
  • Leeski1981's avatar
    Leeski1981
    Explorer
    Sep 30, 2015
    The trailer has surge brakes...the trailer weighs roughly 1450 w/out the water tank being full.
  • Leeski1981's avatar
    Leeski1981
    Explorer
    Sep 30, 2015
    I have a spot on the 2014 Chevy Silverado for an extra battery. I was thinking about just adding one there with an isolator. Has anyone done this? If anyone has any information on this it would be helpful.
  • Chris_Bryant's avatar
    Chris_Bryant
    Explorer II
    Sep 30, 2015
    I would get a battery, but honestly you don't need much of one- even a motorcycle or lawn tractor battery would be enough for a couple of lights for a night. You *probably* wouldn't run down the tow vehicle battery either, but it's possible if you fell asleep with both lights on and slept for 12 hours... (seriously though- stuff you don't think will happen sometimes does).

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