Battery Issues Part 2- Lance 650

In this thread and the other, you were ask questions about you existing equipment. Did I overlook your responses? We need info to help you.

I will try to respond directly to this post.

horseshoesnhappyhrs wrote:
... I also have a battery charger and I can attach that to the "EZ Charge" outlet. I'm assuming I jump start it like a car right?

I am not familiar with the "EZ Charge" outlet. Give it a try. What will work is Jumper Cables connected to your TC battery/ies and a fully charged battery. You could park your truck beside your TC, use the jumper cable from truck to TC to raise the jacks. Leave the truck running when you do this. You can then disconnect the cables and back under the TC. When under the TC, I see four methods to lower the TC.

1 Re-connect the jumper cables and lower the TC. If your cables are too short, you may need to connect a second jumper to add length.

2 You might be able to lower the TC manually, if your jacks have that feature.

3 Depending on your trucks wiring system, you might be able to connect the TC's electrical cord to the truck. This alone may provide enough battery voltage to lower the TC. You might let the truck run for an hour to put a little charge in the TC battery.

4 After backing under your TC, remove the truck battery and install it in your TC. Lower the TC, put the batttery back in the truck.

horseshoesnhappyhrs wrote:
3) Should I get a generator? I've been battling battery issues all year. Have had my battery replaced 3x and added solar panels.

Shooting from the cuff, I say yes on the Generator. Do not just go buy a generator, you need to know which generator and why. Depending on your TC's setup, A/C, size, charger amperage requirement, the size generator you need will be $1000 or $4000. You will need to load and unload the generator. The smaller generator will easily fit in your back seat, the smaller gen will use half as much gasoline. A big advantage to the $4000 generator is it should have electric start. I'm talking about the Honda or Yamaha generators, not construction generators.

I strongly suggest starting a new thread on generator options for your TC.

horseshoesnhappyhrs wrote:
I have never gone camping to where I could plug into electric because all of my base camps are in the middle of nowhere. My biggest reasons for needing a battery is I like to use my propane heater, the electric jacks and being conservative on my trips so the battery doesn't die.

I all of your 12 volt components are working properly, I think your furnace is killing your battery. Posts have been previously stating not to use your refrigerator on 12 volts. Unless I missed it, you never said you do or do not.

This is from your other thread:
horseshoesnhappyhrs wrote:
I feel a bit relieved to know that the battery usage appears to be normal based on what everyone has said. I didn't realize the furnace uses that much battery and I do use it quite a bit during the night. I think before I spend any more money, I should just save up and get a generator.

Reddog1 wrote:
That could be a tough decision. I can say it is cheaper to save battery usage than it is to increase/replace it. The furnace easily uses 15 to 20 AH per day. A Wave3 heater (about $300) uses no battery power. A decent generator will cost about $1000.

horseshoesnhappyhrs wrote:
I do have another question though, should I try to get in the habit of plugging my Lance into the 120V outlet in the garage for about 12 hours before and after a trip? Could a deep cycle charge help my battery out?

Reddog1 wrote:
More information is needed on the charger you have in your TC. Post the make and model number, or a photo. We could then better advise you. Simply stated, any time you can plug in to 120v is a good thing.

Wayne

horseshoesnhappyhrs wrote:
I've done 2 trips in the past year where I wished I had AC. I've been told it would be silly to get a portable generator for my camper but I can store it in the tack room of my horse trailer. If so, what would you recommend me getting?

I don't think it is silly at all. If you want to run your A/C, a generator is a must. Without running the A/C or other 120 volt appliance, you might just need to add more solar and a Wave3 heater.

This post is much longer than what I intended. I think maybe the information you have received must be overwhelming. At your request, I will make a simple to the point post. I don't recall your acknowledging my previous posts.

Wayne

I have a camper of a similar size with a single battery (which I believe you have as well) and have no issues with my single battery. BUT, I have been Rving for a long time and understand the whole 12 volt thing, amp hours, and what draws down a battery and how fast. With you having solar (unknown wattage) to help charge, there must be something either drawing down your battery unknowingly, or you just are not up to speed on how careful you need to be with a single battery. Another possibility is that your solar setup is far too small and not doing what you thought it could do. These are not faults, just some knowledge you need to learn.
Nobody on these forums were born with the knowledge of how our rigs run, they either were shown or learned from their own mistakes. Me included.
So, in my opinion you should check to see if your battery is toast and if it is replace it again. But, if it is being drawn down by something you are unaware of, you need to find out what that is right away. That can be as simple as a light on in a storage compartment. Otherwise you may kill another battery again very soon.
Next, you really need to understand amp hours, how much is being used with each part of your camper (lights, furnace, pump,etc) and gauge your usage accordingly.
Lastly, to help with understanding your battery levels and what you are using you should consider getting a good quality battery monitoring system. (ex: Trimetric meter, Victron, etc) They tell you an amazing amount of battery info with very accurate readings. No more wondering what the battery status is. Turn something on, get immediate results of what is being used. It will also keep track of whats going back into the batteries while charging from any source. Think of it like a gas gauge in your truck. This is the single most important piece of equipment in my camper while camping without hookups.

Good luck.

More question than answers, whether battery bad or not unknown- having tested is the only way to determine, short of letting set to see if it takes charge.
But yes if battery is dead even plugged in jacks will not work until its up a bit. Charging thru converter takes a while-hours, using jacks with low battery will force converter to try to supply load which they are not designed for. The recommendation using jack in pairs, or singularly, verses all 4 is one to heed. Cut the load on a marginally charged battery.
Do your jacks have a manual crank? Save battery for the actual lift off truck (if it will).

I dont under stand why solar isn't keeping battery charged. Camper not in use battery should not go flat even after several days. Though I didn't see a size/capacity on panel(s) even cloudy panels supply slight charge. Only drain should be maybe a detector-minimal

Whoever told you getting a small generator is a silly idea- is silly. With trailer in tow you have room if you have the means. A rack or other for when trailer not in tow, other than back up allows pursuit of A/C or whatever.

Though operator inexperience can go a long ways to create problems that others may not have- something doesn't sound right with system.
It could be a simple as another dumped battery. Its really hard on them if regularly discharged too low- never getting fully recharged.

Going through 3 or 4 batteries n less than a year is not normal . Either there is something wrong with the 12v system or it is being abused , or both . Since you are new to the camper world it is nothing to be ashamed of , you need to educate yourself . Don't keep throwing money at it until you have some understanding . There is a very good read you can get on the internet with the basics of batteries and 12v systems, ( The 12v Side of Life ). Read that first , then take the camper back to the dealer and have them check the camper electrical systems and thoroughly explain how to use it , until YOU understand . Ask more than once if you have to . They owe you that much . They can also load test the battery , and check if you are getting any charging from the truck .

Some converters will work without a battery and some will not so it depends on which one you have .

As far as getting the camper loaded you will probably have to charge the camper battery first even if it is only temporary . Take it out and charge it at home or borrow a battery . With the battery charged and also using the jumper port try using the jacks two at a time , or even one at a time instead of all at once . Keep going around a couple of inches at a time until it is high enough .

Driving your truck will never fully charge your battery.

Good advise on having a battery store check your battery.

And when your camper is plugged in (if ever) you need to check the battery voltage to see if the camper is over charging it.

I bought one of these generators. Its a little on the noisy side and weighs just under 100 lbs. Works great and no gas cans.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BKI0UW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I would pull the battery and take it somewhere to be tested. A battery store may be best. After using the camper charge the battery all the way up. Get yourself a volt meter. Should be able to find one for less than $20. The key is to charge it after using it as soon as possible.
The way you are using the camper it sounds to me that you need a generator. Actually 2 if your A/C needs more than 2000 watts. After buying a single big generator I found that 2 smaller 2,000 watt gens are more versatile. If you just need to charge batteries in the field you can use a good heavy duty extension cord and set the gen away from the camper. If you need the A/C you can run the 2 gens parallel with a factory kit. The 2 smaller 2,000 watt gens are much easier to move around than one big one. You may also get an extended run kit that will run the 2 gens for a couple days without refueling. IPI makes several. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=ipi+industries+extended+run

For gens Honda is considered the best by many but they're pricey. Yamaha is about the same price and quality. Smarter Tools, Champion, and Generac are worth looking at as well.

dead battery= no electric jacks even if on 120

your battery(s) are probably toast. Make sure that the replacement is a true deep cycle battery not a car start battery

are you running the fridge on DC? don't, AC or Propane only is the way to go.

Generator. the size will depend on your AC unit. a 2000 watt will only run a 9200 BTU AC anything bigger will need at least 2400 watts up to 3000
you can also get a front hitch reciever then a locking generator tray from torklift which lets you run the generator from the front bumper without having to lug it around