Anybody ever connect an external battery?

Well I just went to one of my local RV stores that I trust (Webb RV, Lakeside, CA.) The owner and I discussed numerous options and he came up with a great idea. The 2nd battery will be mounted on the aluminum bumper under the ladder on the passenger side of the TC. It will connect through the 4ga wire that already runs from the present battery to the generator for starting power.

Only gotcha seems to be that about 2" of the ladder will need to be removed so that the top of the battery box will clear. He's ordering the parts for the ladder modification and the work will be done a week from Thursday.

Will post pictures when it's complete.

Ralph's picture reminds me one technical option.
If you want reliable high-amperage 12V quick connection, use electric forklift plugs.
They come with couple of sizes and can be rated for 400 amps.
Basically idiot-proof in usage and silver-plated prongs last long time.
Crimping the connectors might be hard as it require special and expensive press, but what I was doing for my winch was hammering the end of connector flat, drilling a hole and using short bolt connecting a cable with eye connector on the end.
Brass or SS bolt makes it lifetime set.

Like DJ, I mounted a 2nd battery in front of the driver's side wheelwell. I used heavy duty connectors to wire it to the DC distribution panel under my sink. The original and 2nd battery are run through a marine type "1-2-All" switch. Works great! :)

jmcgsd wrote:
The Lancer 880 only has room for one battery. I'm thinking of connecting a second one and using jumper cables to the main battery. Has anybody ever done this?

Here is an idea that I am toying with
A second series 27 batt in a batt box and connecting with a 7 pi connector when camped.I made my owm 7 pti connector several years ago,but got a new factory made when I got the new camper.
I will cut the old one in half and only use the the 12v hot and gtound
when drycamping unhook the 7 pin connector and plug in the extra batt
Will post pics when I get the new batt and holder

I agree that jumper clamps would be a poor choice. You might use them while stopped, but then there would be no charging when under way. And leaving jumper clamps on while under way would be a really bad idea, since they could vibrate loose and short circuit. Proper ring terminals are not expensive.

I put my 2nd 12 volt in the bed ahead of the driver's side wheel well. I got this external charge terminal from Summit Racing. Put in the battery, load the camper, attach the leads to the back bolts of the terminal.

It also works well with a stand alone battery charger plugged into your genny. Charges up much faster.

My old Citation camper had a generator compartment that was pre-wired. I connected another battery in there.

My Fleetwood has battery box w tray that fits 2 of 110 Ah batteries.
It even fit 2 golf cart batteries there with room to spare.
I do not camp in extreme cold, but having 2 batteries in my Powerstroke I was considering use them as well overnight.
With generator and 2 computerized chargers can recharge everything pretty fast.
Also solar panel is good for topping batteries up during the day.

I don't exactly want to look like Jed on the Beverly Hillbillies, but I'm looking at cheap fixes to the power problem while I decide whether to keep both the TC and the trailer. If I sell the trailer then I'll spend some bucks upgrading the TC.

The other issue is recharging the battery or batteries in a reasonable time. I know I'll need to upgrade the old Magnatek with the PD replacement, but in the meantime I plan to use an external charger running off the genny to get he batteries back up in a reasonable amount of time.

I'm spoiled by my trailer. It has a massive 4D AGM battery and an auxiliary 30A Samlex charger to bring it up to capacity quickly.

I do want to do some cold weather boondocking with the TC however and that one group 27 with the Magnatek just won't hack it unless I run the generator all night.

Jumper cables work just fine if properly choosen and installed.
I had external battery on my travel trailer that I kept in dry storage at the lake.
I could not charge the battery there, so I had small (older) battery in the trailer compartment for brakes and occasional water pump use, while the big battery was traveling in my SUV for full recharge at home.
That set also would allow me to recharge the external battery while taking SUV for sightseeing. Small wire plug into cigarette lighter with alligator clips for the battery and all sitting in cargo space of SUV with plug there.
Sure for inverter use you will need good cables and bolted terminals, but for lighting and water pump no worry.