Camping At Walmart

I know my Chevy is always on as I disconnect the battery when it is in storage. But if I need power for something I just plug in without messing with the battery and get power. I often stay the night without disconnecting and have never had a problem.

starfishkiller wrote:
My wife and I are taking our trailer to Georgia, from NJ. We are planning on stopping in the Fredericksburg, Va area, at a Walmart. We will spend the night, and move on the next day.

My question involves the electrical connection between the tow vehicle, and the trailer. I know there is a 12V connection between the tow vehicle battery, and the trailer battery. That being the case, should we disconnect the trailer connector, for the night? I am concerned about running down the tow vehicle battery.

Thanks
Eric

A correction, typically it is called "overnighting", saying "camping" at Walmart tends to get folks frothed into a tizzy around here..

It is however a great question, with no straight answer.

Depending on vehicle manufacturer and year of manufacture of the vehicle it may be wise to disconnect.. or not worry about it.

Ford and Ram for quite a few years have been putting a relay into the tow vehicles charge line on vehicles like pickup trucks with a factory tow package.. Ford has been doing that since sometime in the 1990s, Ram I can't say for sure. This relay only allows the charge line to have power when the ignition key is turned ON.

GM, however has stayed with the old school approach (and cheaper for them) with no relay.. GM's charge line is ALWAYS ON no matter whether the key is on or Off.

Both have good points and bad points.

Key on only prevents your trailer from ever draining the vehicles battery.. This is a good thing, getting stranded somewhere with a dead vehicle battery in the morning would make for a bad "start"..

The bad is well relays can go bad, but the odds are slim to none, does cost the manufacturer a bit more but they pass that cost to the vehicle buyer..

Always on, well, that one for sure could strand you if you have a weak battery in the trailer.. But hey, you did save $1 on the cost of the vehicle, right?..

I woundn't worry about it unless you plan on using the furnace all night long which might be enough to draw down both batteries. If it were me, I'd just pull the plug and then there is zero concern.

No you do not need to disconnect for one night.

Relays can fail. I have to pull a fuse to make the disconnect. Easier to unplug for the night and not worry about it.

You need to post the make and model of your tow vehicle. I don't know. But people have posted before about what vehicles have a trailer power disconnect relay when the key is off, and those that don't.

Or to be absolutely sure, check with a meter as noted above.

We travel mostly in the winter. I don't think you have to, like said above check your vehicle specifics. I unplug so I don't have to think about it.

I stay fully hooked up while Wallydocking overnight, incase I'm asked to, or need to move on short notice. So far no dead batteries.

Some vehicles have a relay that breaks the connection between the vehicle and trailer batteries when the ignition switch is turned off. I don't know about your particular vehicle. It's a simple matter to test it at the connector with a volt meter or test light.

Good idea you never know.