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MudChucker's avatar
MudChucker
Explorer
May 21, 2017

TV to Charge house while under way

Hi Folks... Ive been chewing on the idea of investing in Solar but have stayed away from it simply because we carry a 3000 watt inverter generator. trouble with this has been that often times on our last long road trip we never stayed in one place long enough to really top up the batteries and by the time we did get a place where we could plug in and bulk charge we had sucked out the batteries pretty deep - something I'd like to avoid doing again on this years trip.

So...

I have been thinking about using the truck to charge the 5th by running some decent copper (0/0 or 1/0) to the rear of the truck and using an anderson connector to make the connection to the trailer.

questions / advice around how best to make this come together..

the truck already has dual batteries, Im assuming there is a factory installed isolator - assuming.

So, which battery would I hook up to ? would I install another isolator and where would that one go ?

I figured I would simply install an isolator in the truck nearest the most convenient battery, perhaps a disconnect switch on the line in the 5ver

any other thoughts ?

cheers.
  • I would think you would tie in to the secondary battery. Isolators that I have seen are anywhere from 80-140 amp rated so they should allow a fairly high throughput but with the length of the run its hard to say how effective it will be.
    Most vehicle 7 pin connectors charging pin is fused at between 30 and 60 amps, but the power flow because of the wire limitations or loss dont allow anywhere near that much power.
    You didnt say how long you were at a given location running the battery down before moving and trying to charge, If it is several days I would think even a modest solar setup may do you as much good as this. And remember the solar panel on the roof will also be charging while you are moving as well as while stationary.
  • I do not understand the problem. My TV charges my TT battaries when it is connected and the switch is on that is the truck is running. I assume the 5er does the same. Check your 7 pin plug. Pin #4 should be the 12 volt charging and pin # 2 should be ground.

    RV pin wiring