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Old 08-23-2018, 01:48 PM   #1
Lee & Ruth
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Hooking up

Went to hook our Montana up to our pickup. Battery was dead, no big deal. We hooked up the cord to the pickup but the landing won’t move we just get a rear red light and a buzz. Should we let it charge longer? Or is something wrong?
Thanks for the help.
 
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Old 08-23-2018, 01:53 PM   #2
jeffba
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Battery has to be charged to operate the landing gear, especially if it is hydraulic.
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:02 PM   #3
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Just an FYI some of the newer trucks wont charge at Idle the computer shuts down the alt. Best thing to do is get a good battery charger and do it that way.
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:13 PM   #4
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If the battery has been completely drained it may also be damaged enough to need to be replaced.
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:13 PM   #5
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I agree with both above. Also with good jumper cables you can charge more quickly and can usually get enough juice to operate jacks. You can at least get slides in, back jacks up and front set to proper height. Once the truck is hooked up it doesn’t take as much juice to take weight off of front jacks
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:32 PM   #6
Kyle and Lisa
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We usually let the battery do all the work when arriving or leaving a site in order to cycle charging the battery and have had no issues in 11 months fulltime.
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:50 PM   #7
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I have used my Jump Pack before to power the jacks. It has came in handy on lots of occasions.
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Old 08-23-2018, 03:51 PM   #8
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Agree those jump start packs are good to have with you. You can use the battery on your truck to charge the battery on your rv but it might take a few minutes to to get enough charge. I had this problem once when picking it up at the dealer. On the late model Ram's and probably others also you can turn on your cruise control and set your truck to high idle.
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Old 08-23-2018, 04:50 PM   #9
Lee & Ruth
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Thanks everyone...we have a plan. Nothing like being a "newby"
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Old 08-23-2018, 05:57 PM   #10
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Install a solar panel and battery charge controller. Never have to worry about dead batteries again.
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Old 08-23-2018, 11:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hblick48 View Post
Install a solar panel and battery charge controller. Never have to worry about dead batteries again.
Until the smoke blots out the sun. ...been a tough few weeks in the northwest.
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Old 08-24-2018, 08:11 AM   #12
richfaa
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We hook and unhook on C.G power. We did leave the Montana at a dealer 5 days with 2 batteries and they did not have enough power to work the leveling system.
We also carry a jump pack....
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Old 08-24-2018, 08:33 AM   #13
Hblick48
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Until the smoke blots out the sun. ...been a tough few weeks in the northwest.
We're in the Sacramento area, plenty of smoke from the fires. Still enough sun for the panels to generate some power. When the smoke clears up, batteries get fully charged again.
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Old 08-24-2018, 08:41 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by richfaa View Post
We hook and unhook on C.G power. We did leave the Montana at a dealer 5 days with 2 batteries and they did not have enough power to work the leveling system.
We also carry a jump pack....
If your batteries dies after 5 days, you have a parasitic draw or your batteries won't hold a charge anymore. Unless your converter is designed with a battery maintainer, keeping it plugged into shore power can tend to overcharge batteries rendering them unusable.

When I wired up the solar, I put in a battery disconnect. When we're on shore power, I flip the switch which takes the batteries out of the circuit. The solar battery charger properly maintains the batteries. 12 volts from the converter powers all 12 volt items in the rig. I know some will say that isn't a good thing, but it has worked for me.
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Old 08-24-2018, 04:11 PM   #15
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All of the newer units should have a (smart charger/converted) and will not over charge the batteries. Probably been that way for 10+years or more.

Only ?s I have for the OP is where was your unit stored? at your house? Was it plugged into shore power?

If it was not plugged in that explains why you batteries were low on charge. There are some items that draw power all the time like propane detector/co2 detector and will kill you batteries in short order. So you must either leave it plugged in or remove a battery cable to disconnect them.
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