Trickle charger to replace Converter?

[zul]

One day into a week long zion trip and all the low voltage stuff goes down... no lights and no water pump. The battery runs the low voltage 120v stuff but as the batt wore down we figure the converter is not charging. We checked the main fuses and all looks good ther. AC and micro were working from shore power but ... dead batt... fridge loosing cool... argh.

So the fix: $200-$300 on a new convrter? Um.. not now.

So ... can a 120v trickle charger do the job for $30-$40??

Please help if I am way out there w this idea but $$ seems to be a good cheap fix until I can afford the 3 stage converter!!?

[time2roll]

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Solar-Panel-100W-Grid/dp/B00BFCNFRM/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1380...

Looks pretty good to me. 100w might be a bit light depending on use.

Here are some more to compare:
http://www.solarblvd.com/Solar-Panels-&-Systems-12-Volt-Solar-Panels/c1_269/index.html

[beemerphile1]

You can probably do better than that solar kit.

Type solar into the forum search box and sit back. You will find not just hours but days worth of reading.

[zul]

Great suggestions to further my research ...

Die Hard 50/20/2amp charger: $46 shipped from Amazon.

OORRR ....

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Solar-Panel-100W-Grid/dp/B00BFCNFRM/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1380041678&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=100w+solar+panel+travel+trailer

'Complete' Solar Kit with 'Do It Yourself' (DIY) setup. It only has a 10amp charge controller instead of a 2 or 3 stage charge controller but for $206.99 shipped to my door?!?!!!

We boondock most times and live in AZ where sun is plentiful. This would/could be problem solved ?!?

Thanks for all the help and info.

[69_Avion]

My Avion C-11 originally came with a trickle charger. We changed it out to a better charger in the early 1970s. When I rebuilt the camper, I went to a Schumacher "Ship n Shore" automatic charger. For what I do, I don't need a converter. A good quality charger will do anything I need. If you are using a lot of 12v power you may want a converter. For my small camper, the automatic charger works great.
When I plug the camper into my generator the battery charger automatically will go to the correct setting to charge the batteries. I don't even have to worry about it. By the way, the charger was about $45 after I shopped around for it.

[beemerphile1]

Trickle won't do it, you need 10 amp or more.

[04fxsts]

Had pretty much the same thing last time out. Got home and put battery on charger to bring it up, should have been charging according to tests. Cleaned the terminals to the battery with a wire brush and now all is fine. Best part of the fix is that it was cheap. Jim.

[krobbe]

Letting the battery voltage drop below 12.00Vdc(50% charge state) will shorten the life of the battery. A trickle charger doesn't have the capacity to bring the battery to full charge in normal usage. A few hundred dollar converter will help to extend the battery life and save the cost of buying new batteries over the long term.
Here is a 12v battery voltage State of Charge chart:
12.6+ = 100%
12.5 = 90%
12.42 = 80%
12.32 = 70%
12.20 = 60%
12.06 = 50%
11.9 = 40%
11.75 = 30%
11.58 = 20%
11.31 = 10%
10.5 = 0%

[poncho62]

My popup converter blew a while back. I used a trickle charger for the weekend......If you charge the battery overnight when you are not using the power, it should last during the day when you do.

[westend]

I would suggest that you further diagnose the reason the converter is not charging the battery. It may be that your battery is not functioning correctly and the converter refuses to charge your depleted battery. You could experiment to find if this is happening by charging your house battery with a battery charger, using jumper cables to your vehicle, or by buying a new battery.
A small trickle charger will not deliver enough charging to meet your immediate needs.

[time2roll]

You need at least 5 amps to run the RV in a reasonable manor. 10+ amps is way better. Any portable automatic charger should be fine. Slap it direct on the battery. No need to disconnect anything. Pick up an extension cord to plug in if needed.

1.5 amp maintainer would mean no lights etc. for a week while the battery charges.

[Trackrig]

A trickle charger isn't going to charge your batteries if you're using them. A trickle charge puts out .5 to 2 amps per hour depending on model - that's only good for keeping already charged batteries charged and handling the parasite loads like the gas detector. The convertor will put out a 30 - 60 amp charge.

You either need to buy / borrow a good battery charge (10 amps min)or buy a new convertor.

Bill

[spike99]

Within my previous TT, it had a 12 Volt - 140 Amp Converter. I replaced with simple out/in 145 Amp Progressive Dynamics model with NO wire changes. If wondering, its output in 45 Amps. re: - click here - A 12V trickle charger (on battery) is often 1 Amp (or less). Normal battery charger (on battery) is 10 Amps / 5 amps with slow rate 2 amps trickle charger.

With above in mind, I might use a normal battery charger at 10/5 Amps and run all items on their 110/120 Volt settings "if stuck on a long weekend". But if not an emergency, I'd replace with properly sized Convertor. Do shop around (ebay and such) because selling prices of RV Convertors do dramatically vary.

Hope this helps.