cancel
Showing results forย 
Search instead forย 
Did you mean:ย 

Solar charging and tow vehicle battery connection

bartlettj
Explorer
Explorer
I'm in the process of installing Renogy 100W flexible solar panels and a charge controller to my TT. It occurs to me that maybe I should be careful about back feeding the tow vehicle electrical system while driving. Has anyone had any issues with tow vehicles interacting with a solar setup while driving down the road? My tow vehicle is a 2012 GMC Sierra 2500HD Z71 Duramax. I guess I can pull the trailer B+ fuse if I need to... I notice I've blown that fuse on my older tow vehicle (Tahoe) if I connect the 7 way to the truck, and with the trailer still plugged into shore power start the engine.
5 REPLIES 5

BarneyS
Explorer III
Explorer III
Moved to Tech Issues forum from Towing.
2004 Sunnybrook Titan 30FKS TT
Hensley "Arrow" 1400# hitch (Sold)
Not towing now.
Former tow vehicles were 2016 Ram 2500 CTD, 2002 Ford F250, 7.3 PSD, 1997 Ram 2500 5.9 gas engine

bartlettj
Explorer
Explorer
time2roll wrote:
No issues.

In fact a couple years ago my alternator went out in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. Continued to drive on several hours until I came to Gillette WY and could get a new alternator. I am sure the solar was feeding the truck 12v system. May have still made it but the start battery was still in good shape on arrival.

In storage my solar back feeds the truck and keeps the battery fully charged.


That's quite a feature, actually! I know the Duramax CRD injectors are pretty power hungry so I wouldn't want to have to limp very far without an alternator in the middle of nowhere.

scrubjaysnest
Explorer
Explorer
Ours back feeds anytime the CC output goes above the alternator output. No issues since 2012 with both a TT and now a MH.
Axis 24.1 class A 500watts solar TS-45CC Trimetric
Very noisy generator :M
2016 Wrangler JK dinghy
โ€œThey who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.โ€ Benjamin Franklin

pianotuna
Nomad III
Nomad III
My solar back feeds all the time. No issues after nine years.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

time2roll
Nomad
Nomad
No issues.

In fact a couple years ago my alternator went out in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. Continued to drive on several hours until I came to Gillette WY and could get a new alternator. I am sure the solar was feeding the truck 12v system. May have still made it but the start battery was still in good shape on arrival.

In storage my solar back feeds the truck and keeps the battery fully charged.