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trvsdad1's avatar
trvsdad1
Explorer
Aug 28, 2014

I never stop learning!

I learned this summer that the reason my new Alpenlite came with two deep cycle batteries instead of one (like our old Lance 1150) is because electric (Atwood/ with remote control) jacks will not operate without two batteries installed in parallel. You can only operate two jacks at a time with one battery installed. (we had a battery short a cell and eliminated it from the system until we got home to replace it.) Also I learned that while plugged into shore power, or generator power neither has an effect on the jacks. They only run off two functional parallel batteries. I read many years ago on this forum that shore power superseded the batteries, that is not the case. I also learned this summer that my shower drains into the Black tank not the Grey. Only Bathroom sink and Kitchen sink drain into Grey. Black is Toilet and Shower. I never stop absorbing knowledge!

23 Replies

  • If your shower drains in to the black tank then I think something is wrong.

    My jacks run off one battery. They will also work without a battery. Your observation sounds unique.
  • My grandpa said "you'll learn something new every day, if your not careful"
  • Interesting tidbit about having to have 2 batteries in parallel to run the jacks. Since 2 12 volts batteries in parallel should look exactly the same to the jacks as 1 battery (i.e. 12 volts), not sure why this would be. Does one battery just run down and the jacks stop working on low voltage?? My jacks will run several up/down cycles on a single battery. You may want to check your fully charged voltage on the batteries to make sure your charging system is working OK.