What's the purpose of a battery in a camper?

I have dual batteries in each of my RVs so I can camp where there is no power. All the great pictures you see in RV advertisements? There is no power in those places, only in the campgrounds for lemmings. :B

1. The OP, you really need a battery (good or bad) in the system. It helps regulate the COMPLETE 12 volt system when your Power Converter is supplying power.
2. I CANNOT believe that some have NO CLUE as to the breakaway system. You HAVE to have a trailer battery IN GOOD CONDITION, on a Towable for the breakaway system to work. Once your Vehicle has broken free from the towable, the lanyard on the Break away switch pulls free and activates the 12 volt circuit from the TRAILER GOOD BATTERY, and locks up the trailer brakes. That is the function and remember, it requires a GOOD battery. Now, some towables(not RV's) have a small onboard Aux 12 volt battery that will engage the Brakes if that towable has electric brakes. These type batteries are the sixe of a motorcycle battery. Doug

Apologies to the OP, I thought we were talking about a towed camper, not a truck camper.

One of my old TT's had a small battery dedicated to the breakaway switch, but it was the only one I've ever seen. I converted it over to the main battery.

bikendan wrote:

can't depend on the tow vehicle because the switch has to activate when the trailer disconnects from the vehicle.

I was wondering about this and another statement earlier. My breakaway cable is shorter than my 7 pin cable which is shorter than my chains. In a system failure, the breakaway would disconnect first, the 7 pin second, the chains last. Is this the proper set up or am I missing something?

Francesca Knowles wrote:
The battery on a trailer has nothing to do with vehicle brakes. It's strictly for use by the camper/trailer.

i guess it doesn't matter that a battery is required by law, if it has electric brakes.
nearly all travel trailers that i've seen, use the trailer's battery to power the breakaway switch.
can't depend on the tow vehicle because the switch has to activate when the trailer disconnects from the vehicle.

realter wrote:
I am referring to my truck camper or sometimes called a slide in. Any harm in using it with a dead battery, if I only camp at places with electrical hook ups?

well, that would have been helpful knowledge before some of this bad info came along.:S

all I have to add is WOW......................

A ruined battery could catch fire, and some older converters require a working battery in the circuit to run properly. Newer ones typically do not.

So you don't need a great battery in a TC, but it is probably better to remove a ruined one and insulate the battery cable ends, or put in a very small or old but functional battery. A old starting battery that still has a little life will work fine.

Jim

Batteries are for "campers"
If you're a "grid hugger", you don't need no battery