Overnight parking power

With what you're planning on running I doubt that you would even kill the trailer's battery, let alone the truck's battery as well. That is if you're starting the night with a full battery.

I have yet to kill the battery on the truck overnighting in a parking lot. As long as you aren't running a ton of stuff then you should be ok. I have a constant hot line and leave the 7 pin in all night. If I did actually run the truck's battery down then I could use the genny to get going. I've never had to do that though.

Cdaddy wrote:
We are just running a fan and keeping a LED light on for the kids. Should I leave the power hooked to my tow vehicle for the night or unplug?

With a Ford. You don't have to worry about it. I leave mine hooked up all the time. The truck doesn't send power to the TT unless the switch is on.

Also with just one light, and a small 12V fan. You should have enough power for one night. Mine will last a weekend, running the fridg mother board, and a light now and then.

Cdaddy wrote:
We are just running a fan and keeping a LED light on for the kids. Should I leave the power hooked to my tow vehicle for the night or unplug?

If it is easy to unplug , then unplug. I can go 4 days with one battery running led lights ,fridge(gas with 12v assist for control) ,water pump and a bit of radio. So one night will not drain a decent house battery.
Part of leaving and getting road ready includes checking that trailer brake and signal lights work , so you cannot forget to plug in .

Buy one of these. AND a small inverter plug.
AND >

I can run a small TV almost all night on it and a lamp.

Then just recharge it when you are parked for the next time.

I keep one charged and ready on board my RV all the time in case of emergency.

It will also charge your phone and air up a tire. And it has also started 6 dead MH's in my travels!

I don't leave home RV'ing with out it. :C

Mfan wrote:
I'm not sure why a note on the steering wheel, wouldn't you notice that your lights aren't working when you check them before leaving?

2X

I'm not sure why a note on the steering wheel, wouldn't you notice that your lights aren't working when you check them before leaving?

GM trucks up through the 2013 1500 series and 2014 HD series do not isolate the trailer charge circuit - it's live all the time, unless an isolator has been added.

As you already know, its not a big deal to unplug a connector. What you don't know is what's going on inside the battery of your TT or TV . Why take the chance , its such a simple action to divide the two . Place a ribbon or something on your steering wheel to remind you to plug back in before you depart.

As far as i know, GM vehicles do not have OEM isolators built in . You can add one for $16.00 .
This is what we can't see :
As a battery normally ages the active positive plate material flakes off due to the expansion and contraction that occurs during the discharge and recharge cycles. Sediment 'sludge' builds up in the bottom of the batteries case and can short the cell out.
Deep discharges, heat, vibration, over charging, under charging and non-usage accelerate this aging process. Another major cause of premature battery failure is lead sulfation. It is accelarated by NOT allowing a battery to fully charge . Its common in an RV deep cycle battery due to poor charging habits or TV batteries when we DO NOT drive long enough to fully charge the battery.
Sulfation occurs over time and that time might be when you are in the middle of nowhere running whatever you running.

stevemorris wrote:
we always unplug the trailer from the truck.

no dead battery in the truck, ever!

and tag the steering wheel as a reminder to plug back in.

we always unplug the trailer from the truck.

no dead battery in the truck, ever!