battery life/ovens

[captbanjo]

Hi all. My wife and I are due to get a new 3400RL (coming off-line on June 14th they say) and the thought occurred to me that we may, on occasion, be dry camping (boondocking?) without hookups. Assuming one ran lights, a little television, etc. can anyone tell me the approximate expected amount of days that the battery would stay charged. Also, does running the truck hooked up charge up the battery and do you know how long the truck would have to run for? As a footnote, I was told that the infamous oven problems have been 'cured'. Thanks in advance,

Wayne

[sreigle]

I'm no expert on this but if your truck has the tow package it should have an isolator which prevents the fifthwheel from using truck battery when the engine is not running. I don't know if all brand of trucks have this feature but would bet they do.

If the truck is running it may also charge the coach battery. I think that's also a feature of the tow package and may not be available in all brands.

I guess the bottom line is "it depends".

If anyone has better info or I'm wrong, please jump in.

[DrivesBGM]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

I'm no expert on this but if your truck has the tow package it should have an isolator which prevents the fifthwheel from using truck battery when the engine is not running. I don't know if all brand of trucks have this feature but would bet they do. ...

Don't try this with your GM product! With my 2001 Chevy, the battery feed to the trailer is hot all the time!

Craig

[Montana_657]

Ah Steve .... Don't do this with a Dodge either. There ain't no isolater. Yes, the truck charges the coach battery, but slowly due to the 20+ feet or very thin wire between the alternater and the coach.

My rule of thumb is if I stop for the night and the furnace comes on, I unplug the truck. I also have the Honda on board with a 12 volt chargeing cable. Powering up the coach with the Honda would charge the truck via the converter, but again, 20+ feet of thin wire would make it a very slow charge.