Battery recharge after dry camping trip

A $19.99 trickle charger will work. Leave it plugged in all the time. My truck keeps mine charged on the road and you can hook a larger battery charger, 30 AMP maybe to bring it to full charge. For everyone: Check the water in batteries unless they are Gelcell and fill to ring with distilled water. Make them last a long time.

RooDude09 wrote:
What is the best way to recharge the batteries after a weekend trip dry camping? Our trailer is brand new and I put two 6volts on it. They working great on the trip battery meter at 2/3 with nothing running but specific gravity was at about 1200 in most cells which with the four ball type hydrometer would be no balls floating. (I have both types). Tried the small solar panel 1.5watt for two weeks but no change. So I ran the cord and plugged it in and it's been charging for 24 hours but not much change in the SG. Some cells are a little higher than than before others don't show much change. Should I just leave it plugged in for a while till they're fully charged or hook up my 12 volt battery charger?

The problem you are having is the voltage on your charger is not high enough. The cable you have connecting the two 6 volt batteries is much lower resistance that a lead strap that would be used if your batteries were constructed as a single 12 volt battery.
MM49

Voltage was at 13.6 but it was after 24 hours with the trailer plugged in. I beleive I read that on my meter with it still plugged in

What voltage are they reading while on the charger? That would tell you if your charger is working or not.

Is your TV wired to charge the batteries? If it is a 3 hr drive should bring the batteries up to 70%.

Here are some solar kits. Even the smallest will recharge fine upon return and provide decent power while camping. The larger two panel kits are more value per watt and may make the generator obsolete.

https://www.solarblvd.com

RooDude09 wrote:
... battery meter at 2/3 with nothing running but specific gravity was at about 1200...

Here is Handybob's description of the standard stock battery meter:
"First of all, you can’t believe the little “idiot light” panel that came in your rig. That thing is very optimistic and tells you the batteries are full at 13.4 volts, when they are actually nowhere near it (14.4 volts). It works by looking at the voltage present on the wiring, which will be much higher than the battery voltage while charging & much lower than the battery voltage when running loads. If it says your batteries are “full” while you are charging, you could be anywhere from 40% to fully charged. People that run their generator until the idiot light says “full” are only getting their batteries up to about 40 or 50%. They start their evening at the point my system would get down to after a week of rainy days. Last, if the monitor says your batteries are “fair” when you are not running anything, they are DEAD. So, how can you tell if your batteries are really getting fully charged? The most accurate way is to test the battery electrolyte with a hydrometer."

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/the-rv-battery-charging-puzzle-2/

You did good by testing.

You'll find much better battery system monitors by searching discussions in the Tech Issues sub-forum.

I hooked up my normal battery charger and in a matter of a few hours on 10 amp setting the SG came up. I think every one is right about the WFCO charging slowly because when I checked the voltage the batteries were being charged at it was at the lower 13.6 volt charge. Good to know though. There is only one dry camp area around here and that is at the beach. It's kinda cool being self contained. I ran the radio most of the day, the tv off of a small inverter and even charged our cell phones with no power problems on a weekend trip.

Hi,

I find Zamp over priced. I would use other parts.

RooDude09 wrote:
This new trailer has a built it plug on the side for solar. The sticker says I have to use Zamp solar panels not sure why it just seems like it's just a plug you still have to buy their regulator and panel

Yep, you need more than a 1.5W solar charger. If you camp the way you are all the time then it`s time for a good solar setup.

I use a 2W (500Ma/.5A) solar charger (more of a maintainer) for my battery whenever the trailer sits. the front of the trailer faces the south and the charger is mounted to the propane tank cover at a 45deg angle. I no longer come back to a low battery.

And yes the batteries need to be charged ASAP. does your truck charge the batteries when you tow?

Get your self a good charger. I`m not dry camper, but I think a minimum of 80 watts and direct sunlight should be good to recharge during the day, this only if you use normal 12V accessories and don`t run an inverter to power a fridge or microwave.