kalynzoo wrote:
In the 2014/15 Journey or Meridian when plugged into shore power will both the house and engine batteries charge on these new motorhomes?:? I ask because in my 2005 Adventurer the engine battery is isolated and does not charge on house power, I installed a trickle charger to keep it charged. I presume the 1000 watt solar panel is for the house batteries...but that would be unnecessary if the coach is attached to shore power most of the time. Looking to purchase one of the above in the next few weeks, probably will have to special order to find it just right.
Thank you
Kalynzoo,
Well Sir, your concern and question is legitimate. You see, prior to about late '05, early '06, Winne and Itasca both DID NOT charge the chassis batteries via whatever system, be it an "Inverter/charger" or, "Converter", when plugged into shore power or, running the generator. For some reason, of which I still, to this day, cannot fathom WHY? I mean, are you kidding me? There are many, many stories of how a zillion Winne and Itasca owners have had there chassis batteries go dead after just a short while in storage, yet the coach, in many cases, was plugged in.
So, sometime around those dates mentioned, the company decided to start installing the "Trik-L-Start" as an augment system to keep the chassis batteries charged, while being plugged in. You, in my opinion, did well, in terms of adding a trickle charger to your present rig. I did the same exact thing. I hardwired a NAPA, three stage charger to the hidden compartment, at the foot of the bed. Then, I hard wired it to an open breaker, in the 110VAC breaker panel, right next to that charger.
Then, I ran the charging leads, out through the bulkhead and, to the appropriate terminals on the chassis batteries. It works absolutely flawless. And, if and when I ever need to disconnect that charger, all I have to do is, turn the breaker off.
Anyway, based on the action of the factory on or about those dates mentioned, I suspect that, each and every Winnie and Itasca that has been produced since then, DOES have chassis battery charging systems, in place, that charge off of shore power. I do not have proof of this but, again, WHY would they stop adding a system, in later coaches, that they knew they needed in the earlier ones and started installing?
But, if it were me, and I was looking at the ones you're thinking of, I'd seriously NOT TAKE THE WORD OF A SALESMAN, but go directly to, either an RV service tech or, find an owners manual of the coach(s) in question, and dig for that information.
Scott
