Lance Camper Wiring to Truck

Here Get busy.

pjay9 wrote:
Why run refer on inverter? Doesn't yours have a 12v selection?

It's FREE power while going down the road.

I would guess it does not have 12v, which is a rarity except on Lance campers.

NRALIFR wrote:

pjay9 wrote:
Why run refer on inverter? Doesn't yours have a 12v selection? Mine is 3 way, 12v 120v gas. I have always run the refer on 12v while running down the road and never had a battery low charge issue, unless I stop someplace for a few hours and forget to switch it to gas. The Lance has a heavy charge wire from the factory. Pls repeort on warm start. How long to cold compared to plugging in at home to get it cold. Do you know...when on 120v is it a different heater sustem than the 12v system...if it is that could be a substansial difference in cooling faster...interesting...wish I knew more about all the refer stuff.

I've run my fridge from an inverter for years after giving up trying to keep the LP flame lit on the road. My fridge is also 3-way, but down here in the south when the ambient temps get up above 90 or so, the 12v element won't keep up and the fridge would gradually get warmer while on the road. The LP flame works fine when parked, and while driving at low speeds. It just gets blown out at interstate speeds.

The AC heating element in my fridge is (IIRC) rated at 325 watts. My inverter panel and my Trimetric both show closer to 350 watts when the fridge is on AC. The DC element is considerably less, and is really only intended to "hold" a pre-cooled fridge temp. But, as I said it really didn't do a very good job of even holding the temp so I quit using it. The AC and DC heaters are completely separate systems, and in fact I've unplugged the DC heater on mine so I don't accidentally put it in DC mode. I always pre-cool the fridge on LP or AC. It's been my experience with the 3 absorption reefers I've owned that they seem to cool best on LP, slightly less on AC, and substantially less on DC.

The heavy-duty charge circuit on my truck consists of 6 gauge wires run from the alternator through a CB and a continuous-duty solenoid all the way to the dedicated TC plug in the bed. The solenoid separates the truck from the camper when the engine isn't running. The wires in the camper umbilical are still the Lance 8 gauge, so I could probably get a little more out of it if I upgraded those to 6 gauge as well. It's on my to-do list.

:):)

Understood and educated, THX!!! I have run with Gas for days even when moving at highway speed, I must be lucky with it not blowing out. Good luck to you.

I found a splitter for 5th wheels and gooseneck guys that T's into the OEM Dodge molex connections and gives you a bed mounted 7 way plug. It splits the wiring near the bumper plug and then you run it back to the front side of the bed, drill the hole, and mount the receptacle. $80 on ebay and another $25 for the male 7 way plug with 11' of cable. Probably too much cable but it was easier to spend a couple bucks more to be too long than get something too short.

smooth1 wrote:


For the 7-way plug connections... do you have a short wire coming off the camper to a jumper wire that connects to the rear of the truck. Or, do you run a long cord off the camper and plug it in at the bumper once the camper is on the truck. Less connections with the long wire off the camper, but it may be easier to connect with a jumper.

I made a 'jumper' or 7-pin extension cord. I also have one for my extended hitch.

AMAZON.COM has a selection. Just search 7 pin extension cord.

I just did an Edit and got a double post. :h

smooth1 wrote:


For the 7-way plug connections... do you have a short wire coming off the camper to a jumper wire that connects to the rear of the truck. Or, do you run a long cord off the camper and plug it in at the bumper once the camper is on the truck. Less connections with the long wire off the camper, but it may be easier to connect with a jumper.

I made a 'jumper' or 7-pin extension cord. I also have one for my extended hitch.

Thanks guys. It looks like there are (3) ways to get this done. Use the Lance plug, 7-way standard plug, or heavy duty charge and then separate running lights plugs. I think I will go the 7-way plug route and I will still get some charging out of it.

For the 7-way plug connections... do you have a short wire coming off the camper to a jumper wire that connects to the rear of the truck. Or, do you run a long cord off the camper and plug it in at the bumper once the camper is on the truck. Less connections with the long wire off the camper, but it may be easier to connect with a jumper.

I was going to leave the lance plug in the truck bed, but maybe I just replace that with a 7-way plug...

pjay9 wrote:
Why run refer on inverter? Doesn't yours have a 12v selection? Mine is 3 way, 12v 120v gas. I have always run the refer on 12v while running down the road and never had a battery low charge issue, unless I stop someplace for a few hours and forget to switch it to gas. The Lance has a heavy charge wire from the factory. Pls repeort on warm start. How long to cold compared to plugging in at home to get it cold. Do you know...when on 120v is it a different heater sustem than the 12v system...if it is that could be a substansial difference in cooling faster...interesting...wish I knew more about all the refer stuff.

I've run my fridge from an inverter for years after giving up trying to keep the LP flame lit on the road. My fridge is also 3-way, but down here in the south when the ambient temps get up above 90 or so, the 12v element won't keep up and the fridge would gradually get warmer while on the road. The LP flame works fine when parked, and while driving at low speeds. It just gets blown out at interstate speeds.

The AC heating element in my fridge is (IIRC) rated at 325 watts. My inverter panel and my Trimetric both show closer to 350 watts when the fridge is on AC. The DC element is considerably less, and is really only intended to "hold" a pre-cooled fridge temp. But, as I said it really didn't do a very good job of even holding the temp so I quit using it. The AC and DC heaters are completely separate systems, and in fact I've unplugged the DC heater on mine so I don't accidentally put it in DC mode. I always pre-cool the fridge on LP or AC. It's been my experience with the 3 absorption reefers I've owned that they seem to cool best on LP, slightly less on AC, and substantially less on DC.

The heavy-duty charge circuit on my truck consists of 6 gauge wires run from the alternator through a CB and a continuous-duty solenoid all the way to the dedicated TC plug in the bed. The solenoid separates the truck from the camper when the engine isn't running. The wires in the camper umbilical are still the Lance 8 gauge, so I could probably get a little more out of it if I upgraded those to 6 gauge as well. It's on my to-do list.

:):)

JumboJet wrote:
My TCs have all been re-wired to a 7 pin. I have a 7 pin in the bed of the truck and one at the bumper.

Same here.

When I bought our current Lance 855s I had the dealer whack off the Lance plug and replace it with the standard 7 pin.

I never use the refrigerator on 12v and I have never found the batteries under-charged due to the thinner wire.

Why run refer on inverter? Doesn't yours have a 12v selection? Mine is 3 way, 12v 120v gas. I have always run the refer on 12v while running down the road and never had a battery low charge issue, unless I stop someplace for a few hours and forget to switch it to gas. The Lance has a heavy charge wire from the factory. Pls repeort on warm start. How long to cold compared to plugging in at home to get it cold. Do you know...when on 120v is it a different heater sustem than the 12v system...if it is that could be a substansial difference in cooling faster...interesting...wish I knew more about all the refer stuff.