Truck charge camper battery?
I tried a search on this but I didn't come up with anything, maybe wrong search words :) Anyway, for the past couple of years my fridge protocol has been to plug into shore power the night before we l...
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I think the answer to this question lies more specifically with the type of use you anticipate. If you are just going up to camp for a week or two a few times a year than I have to agree with HMS Beagle, run it on Propane. Not sure what type of tank setup you have but in my rig I have two of the standard BBQ tanks and I can go for easily a week if not two without needing to fill up.
That being said, if I was full timing (not sure if that is your case) I could understand why wanting to run on DC would be appealing. It's one thing to get your tanks filled up a couple of times a year, it's another to have to do it a dozens of times throughout the year.
As others have suggested, if you really need to run DC then you need to run the proper wiring to be successful. The question I don't think is dependent so much on your alternator but rather the wire used between the truck and the camper. If you get the right size wire then charging the camper from the truck shouldn't be an issue. That means a trip to the Home Depot and buying some 4, 2 or 1, AWG wire (do your research) and running it from your alternator to your camper (possibly bypassing the umbilical all together). You will of course want the charge controller to ensure the camper battery bank is being maintained properly.
That being said, if I was full timing (not sure if that is your case) I could understand why wanting to run on DC would be appealing. It's one thing to get your tanks filled up a couple of times a year, it's another to have to do it a dozens of times throughout the year.
As others have suggested, if you really need to run DC then you need to run the proper wiring to be successful. The question I don't think is dependent so much on your alternator but rather the wire used between the truck and the camper. If you get the right size wire then charging the camper from the truck shouldn't be an issue. That means a trip to the Home Depot and buying some 4, 2 or 1, AWG wire (do your research) and running it from your alternator to your camper (possibly bypassing the umbilical all together). You will of course want the charge controller to ensure the camper battery bank is being maintained properly.
