how do you monitor trailer battery voltage?

[shawnzy]

Im just wondering if anyone put a voltmeter gauge on the trailer somewhere to keep track of battery voltage?? I had the battery run out from putting the slide out 3 times other day, so I plugged it in to charge it up maybe it wasn't fully charged when I purchased it?? I just don't want to ever forget about it and run out because my jack is battery powered..

Thanks
Shawn

[tenbear]

Here is what I did. Bought all the meters and switches on eBay. Installed them over a period of a year or so. The water heater switch and genny control are OEM.

[crcr]

I bought an LED digital volt meter off Amazon, here, and mounted it in a small project box from Radio Shack. The volt meter was $6.50 shipped on my Prime account, and the project box was about $5 as I recall. I pulled constant hot under the stove hood and mounted it under a kitchen cabinet. I checked the volts at the batteries with a hand held volt meter, and it was identical to the hundreth with the read out on the volt meter, so very accurate.

As someone else mentioned, the volt meter also provides a nice night light.

[westend]

Roy B wrote:
The only thing I really miss with this installation is an alarm when my Battery Voltage drops below a pre-set value

Roy, this is easily done but I would bet that you disable it after limited use. As much as a guy is interested in charge state, a quick look at a hardwired meter becomes all that's necessary.

When you get your off-road rig set up with solar, you'll probably be wanting an amp hour counter like the Trimetric or Victron. My Morningstar controller has a PC interface so, if I chose to, I could have instant metering, updated graphs, or other measurements available on a screen. After using the meters and PC to see how everything behaves for a period of time, even pressing the backlight button on the Victron seems like too much effort, lol.

[NashTT]

Factory supplied with solar. Don't know about quality, but has functioned OK for two yrs.

[wwest]

With just a few 100 milliohms in the circuit to the TT the TT battery will never charge above 60-70%. Sometimes you need to "boost" the charging voltage from the tow vehicle in order to do this.

400W DC to AC inverter plus a good battery charger will often help.

[johned]

+1 on the "Voltminder". I've been using the "old" version for two years to monitor the state of my two golf cart batteries charged by my portable solar setup. The "Voltminder" plugs in to a 12 volt socket. Inexpensive and simple. Meets my needs.

[BubbaChris]

ah64id wrote:
Yes the batteries need to sit for at least an hour, many places recommend 4 hours without a load.

Thanks for the clarification.

Best regards,
BubbaChris

[pa_traveler]

Can you just plug voltminder into plug in camper instead of hard wiring? 12volt or 120 volt receptacle?

[AH64ID]

Yes the batteries need to sit for at least an hour, many places recommend 4 hours without a load.

[BubbaChris]

A related question from a newbie. If I've had my TT connected to shore power at home, should I disconnect it for a few hours before testing voltage?

That way the converter/charger isn't affecting the reading.

[Sgeorge]

I used the Trimetric 2025 battery monitor. Costly $$$$, but more information than I could possible use. I installed this when i put my solar on to monitor how well it was working.

[time2roll]

johnm1 wrote:
I really like that setup, what is it and where did you get it? In other words more info ... please and thank you.

It is from Martel Meters, quick mount series. You may find a lower cost solution on ebay.

http://www.martelmeters.com/products.php?cat=1

data sheet

[johnm1]

smkettner wrote:

I really like that setup, what is it and where did you get it? In other words more info ... please and thank you.

[GrandpaKip]

Just inside the entrance door, I put in a 12v outlet with a plug in DC voltmeter. Under that is a 120v outlet with an AC voltmeter, then an indoor/outdoor thermometer, the thermostat and the tank/battery monitor. Everything can be checked at a glance. The only thing missing is the solar charge controller which I'll move at some point.