Help - jacks are draining my batteries
My 2020 camper came with HappiJacs which consume a ton of power from my 2 deep cycle batteries. Once the batteries are drawn down after removing the rig (3000 lb dry weight) from my truck, it's nearly...
Forum Discussion
Thanks everybody for the feedback. I'd like to provide a little extra info for the two most common themes in the responses I have received: converter & batteries.
The converter is a Progressive Dynamics PD4045 Mini Mighty, the link below is the manual. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to be "right sized" for the task & rig. I had an RV tech test/trouble shoot the entire electrical system to try and help figure this out, and he concluded the same and said that the converter is working as it should. So it seems counter-intuitive and unnecessary to spend the $ to replace it with a bigger/better/newer one? I'm also a little reluctant to rewire/install a bypass switch as some have suggested, as the jack manual specifically say not to do this.
https://www.progressivedyn.com/wp-content/uploads/Support/manuals/110145-English.pdf
The batteries (2 x grp 24 wet cell deep cycle Interstates) were new when I bought the rig (Adventurer 86FB, no slides, 3000 lbs dry, new as well) in May 2021. The date on both batteries is April 2021. The terminal connections are good, fluid levels in all the cells are good, so is specific gravity, and they handled load tests perfectly. I checked these myself, also had RV tech check them and took them to Interstate dealer twice. Every test/measurement says that they are fine, so it seems counter-intuitive and unnecessary to spend the $ to replace them?
This is not a new issue. It's been happening since I got the camper in May 2021. I always leave for a camping trip with full batteries; we stay plugged into shore power when at home between trips during the camping season. I always load onto the truck at least 24 hours before we hit the road to ensure the batteries are topped off after loading. I've checked the charge plug from truck bed to camper, and it's fine. When we arrive at camp site, I unload right away using cordless drill to get the legs to the ground then using jacks from there (with engine running and gens running). Sometimes we load back onto the truck a few days later to move camping places. Gens are 2 new Honda 2000's and run great, I usually run them for 2 hours both in the morning and night. Sometimes the issue is a little better/worse depending on conditions and where/how long we camp. We live and primarily camp in Colorado, where temps can be 80 during the day but wake up the next morning in the 30's and need to run the furnace.
The converter is a Progressive Dynamics PD4045 Mini Mighty, the link below is the manual. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to be "right sized" for the task & rig. I had an RV tech test/trouble shoot the entire electrical system to try and help figure this out, and he concluded the same and said that the converter is working as it should. So it seems counter-intuitive and unnecessary to spend the $ to replace it with a bigger/better/newer one? I'm also a little reluctant to rewire/install a bypass switch as some have suggested, as the jack manual specifically say not to do this.
https://www.progressivedyn.com/wp-content/uploads/Support/manuals/110145-English.pdf
The batteries (2 x grp 24 wet cell deep cycle Interstates) were new when I bought the rig (Adventurer 86FB, no slides, 3000 lbs dry, new as well) in May 2021. The date on both batteries is April 2021. The terminal connections are good, fluid levels in all the cells are good, so is specific gravity, and they handled load tests perfectly. I checked these myself, also had RV tech check them and took them to Interstate dealer twice. Every test/measurement says that they are fine, so it seems counter-intuitive and unnecessary to spend the $ to replace them?
This is not a new issue. It's been happening since I got the camper in May 2021. I always leave for a camping trip with full batteries; we stay plugged into shore power when at home between trips during the camping season. I always load onto the truck at least 24 hours before we hit the road to ensure the batteries are topped off after loading. I've checked the charge plug from truck bed to camper, and it's fine. When we arrive at camp site, I unload right away using cordless drill to get the legs to the ground then using jacks from there (with engine running and gens running). Sometimes we load back onto the truck a few days later to move camping places. Gens are 2 new Honda 2000's and run great, I usually run them for 2 hours both in the morning and night. Sometimes the issue is a little better/worse depending on conditions and where/how long we camp. We live and primarily camp in Colorado, where temps can be 80 during the day but wake up the next morning in the 30's and need to run the furnace.
