Electric jacks and power
My 2007 NL has Happijacks installed on it. I've found that when raising and lowering the camper that the process can really drain the battery and the dealer confirmed with some numbers. I thought that perhapse disabling the batteries with shore power would be a good way around the problem, but then the jacks don't work at all. From reading and talking to the Happijack, the batteries are required due to current draw.
That sounds legit...except that I left the camper at the dealer for 2 months and the battery was flat. They plugged in a shore line and had no problem loading. I didn't notice if it was 30A or 15A.
Also, how can the jacks pull that much current when the DC wiring is all tiny? A car jumper cable is designed for heavy current and is very thick, but the jack wires in my unit are fairly small by comparison.
http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/DC_wire_selection_chartlg.jpg
Acording to this chart, if the wore was 10awg and allowed to drop below 30A, it could be up to 30ft. But the claim I've heard is that the jacks can draw more than double that. If so, that would require 6awg or 4awg. I know the wires aren't 1/4" thick plus insulation.
That sounds legit...except that I left the camper at the dealer for 2 months and the battery was flat. They plugged in a shore line and had no problem loading. I didn't notice if it was 30A or 15A.
Also, how can the jacks pull that much current when the DC wiring is all tiny? A car jumper cable is designed for heavy current and is very thick, but the jack wires in my unit are fairly small by comparison.
http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/DC_wire_selection_chartlg.jpg
Acording to this chart, if the wore was 10awg and allowed to drop below 30A, it could be up to 30ft. But the claim I've heard is that the jacks can draw more than double that. If so, that would require 6awg or 4awg. I know the wires aren't 1/4" thick plus insulation.
