How to mount batteries on my TT tongue.

Fred,
We don't have WD bars. Is that a problem? We towed it up here to Sonora from Sacramento and there was no problem.

I'd suggest to get a decent battery box that you can lock, install a disconnect switch, Install a circuit beaker if you don't have one.

Solar and RV battery charging is like peanut butter and jelly. You could buy just a small 100W module, leave it unmounted and wire up a couple of connectors. Install a $20 solar controller to have a decent portable battery charger. Lean it toward the Sun when camped and have a spot for it to hang when traveling.

Fred,
Our tow vehicle is a 1-ton 2000 Dodge Maxivan. I don't really want to swap out those wires. I'm an engineer but that sounds like a pain. I was planning on unplugging the umbillical when parked.

I wanted to use two 6 v batteries and bought a big plastic box for them. would not fit as the bars were too close together. what we did is cut one bar off and re-welded it in another spot to fit the box. easy to to just remove the propane tanks before cutting or welding.

You will need at least 2 batteries.

You might also want to upgrade the wires from the car engine to the trailer connection. It comes with #12 wire factory installed, but this should be #8 wire with a relay that comes on when the engine is running only, so it will not deplete the car engine battery when parked.

You could use a 30 amp fog lamp relay, it will work fine. A 30 amp or 40 amp automatic reset circuit breaker will protect the wire. If the wire comes directly off the alternator, where voltage is closer to 14.5 volts, it will give the best charge rate while driving. Then to the circuit breaker, then to the relay, and to the trailer connection at the back of the truck.

Also you mention not towing before? Do you know the trick to tightening the weight distribution bars without very much effort? If you hitch up the ball onto the truck, lock it in place, then raise the front of the trailer about 4" - 6" to take weight off the hitch, and then hooking up the WD bars will be really easy, with very little pressure on the bars in the 'raised' position. Lower the jack, and put it away, then there will be plenty of pressure on the WD bars.

For camping sites, look here. FreeCampgrounds.com They offer many free or less than $15 a night camping areas. Many are BLM land out west that are free and very scenic.

If you will be camping in the cold, my suggestion is to buy a Olympic Catalytic heater. I have a 6,000 Btu for my 27' class C and my 30' Bounder and it keeps it warm at 19F outside without running the furnace much. You might want the smaller BTU model. It works on low pressure propane, and I tied mine into the gas line going to my oven.

I would also recommend installing a pair of solar panels.

SunElec.com had a 140 watt solar panel on sale recently for $229 that has a aluminum frame, and is 12 volt nominal - 21 volt open circuit. So you can use a PWM controller that is cheap, I bought a 20 amp model for only $15.

Have fun traveling and camping!

Fred.

Well, we'll be driving every couple of days, I guess. And the plugging in at campgrounds with hook-ups. I looked at a solar panel today, too. That would be a good way to go. Just more money, right? We don't want to haul around a generator.

How will you charge them when off grid?

As far as what kind of camping, probably some of each. We're looking at the whole US over 8 months or so. So, we're checking out the campgrounds and, since we're on limited funds, we're looking at some boondocking too. We don't plan on having a TV, maybe dvds in a laptop occasionally. So reading lamps (I've replaced the incandescents with LED-type.) and the heater fan should be the drain on the batteries.

We installed an aluminum box on my sons TT tongue and installed 2 six volt batteries and a blue seas disconnect switch. The battery switch lets you completely disconnect from all the small loads like the monitor, radio, or propane detector while in storage.

I'm pretty sure he bought it at Tractor Supply but I cant find it. It had slashed corners so that it fit the tongue.

Blue Seas

These switches come in off/one/both settings or simply on and off.

What type of camping will you do? Campground? Boondock?