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Old 05-11-2012, 05:39 AM   #1
paddler67
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battery

hello
help. what is going on.
my batteries are not charging while towing but do charge when hooked to shore power. we been traveling 4 days and battery light shows 2/3 charged when unhooked from truck.

will find a McD on sat to check on inf.
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Old 05-11-2012, 06:38 AM   #2
bncinwv
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You will not get any noticeable charge from the truck when you are in transit. There is a trickle of voltage there but it is far from charging strength. If you are running anything in the rig (fridge, lights, etc.) it will drain the battery down. The newer rigs will drain the battery simply by leaving the remote system energized. The only way to effectively preserve battery power is to disconnect the batteries while in transit. This is the reason that we opted for a generator on both rigs (new rig, built in, old rig, portable) since we run the fridge, lights, etc. when in transit. As a matter of fact, the normal drain on our new rig from the fridge would run the battery down within 24 hours if the batteries were not charged via generator (This is why we have two batteries now). Other experiences may be different, but this is what I have found regarding ours.
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Old 05-11-2012, 06:54 AM   #3
Art-n-Marge
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Maybe the charge line isn't working either? You don't provide what you have as TV or RV (but in this case, the RV doesn't matter).

Besides what Bingo states there have been some reported instances that the charge wire (hot wire?) from the connector is not hooked up, loose or became disconnected and the batteries are not getting trickle charged.

Maybe there is a fuse on the TV that is blown preventing trickle charging? I'd be very concerned about how and why this occurred so replacing the fuse might not be the only solution if what caused the fuse to blow is not addressed.

There have also been reports that if you have a Chevy/GMC truck (does the model year make a difference?) that the fuse in the vehicle that allows this is not in place - apparently it wasn't provided by the factory. Hopefully someone who's had this problem (I learned about this one in this forum) can provide better details on this one.

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Old 05-11-2012, 07:14 AM   #4
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Can anyone tell me if the tow vehicle provides power to the Monty to push out the slides when the umbilical cord is hooked up? Thanks.
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Old 05-11-2012, 07:20 AM   #5
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Check your plug with a volt meter. Check the terminal for the battery,See if you have voltage be like 12 /12.5 Volts. then start the truck the voltage should be higher.

No voltage fuse has blown or not installed or bad connection

If you do not have a Volt Ohm Amp meter get one will be your best friend owning an RV
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Old 05-11-2012, 07:22 AM   #6
kdeiss
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[quote]Originally posted by Chasnracin

Can anyone tell me if the tow vehicle provides power to the Monty to push out the slides when the umbilical cord is hooked up? Thanks.

Yes if every thing is hooked up correctly
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Old 05-11-2012, 10:29 AM   #7
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Different trucks act differently. GM/GMC tend to ship *WITHOUT* a fuse in the charge line. You have to install one before the TV will charge the battery in the trailer. Ford has a relay in the charge line which cuts off the voltage when the key is off. The key has to be on to get 12V on the charge line.

Some of the answers presented here may or may not be correct depending on the OP's truck manufacturer. It helps us all if you specify the vendor and year of your TV.
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Old 05-11-2012, 03:07 PM   #8
brooksider
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I hd to run a new wire to the connection {male end in bed of truck{ to have 12 volt. There has ben an issue with GM trucks,
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Old 05-11-2012, 05:17 PM   #9
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Chasinracin
"Can anyone tell me if the tow vehicle provides power to the Monty to push out the slides when the umbilical cord is hooked up? Thanks"
I'll have to differ with the previous endorsement. The battery in your fiver should supply power to open your slides. That (maybe)12 gauge wire running most full length from your truck supplying charging power to your fiver battery will not open your slides very many times before you cook it. The slide pump pulls 40 plus amps ... usually way more for short periods ... the charge wire in the tow package has no where near the capacity to carry that kind of current. If you are solely depending on the umbilical from your truck to operate the slides, you're asking for trouble.
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Old 05-11-2012, 06:05 PM   #10
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Agreed. Using just the umbilical cable doesn't work well at all to extend slides.
I bought a long set of high quality jumper cables that I keep in my TV in case the batteries in the RV should ever fail. I also use them to extend the slides when my batteries are removed for the season. They are thick heavy duty cables (about twice as thick as the wires that connect the batteries to the RV). Works like a champ!

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quote:Originally posted by dieselguy

Chasinracin
"Can anyone tell me if the tow vehicle provides power to the Monty to push out the slides when the umbilical cord is hooked up? Thanks"
I'll have to differ with the previous endorsement. The battery in your fiver should supply power to open your slides. That (maybe)12 gauge wire running most full length from your truck supplying charging power to your fiver battery will not open your slides very many times before you cook it. The slide pump pulls 40 plus amps ... usually way more for short periods ... the charge wire in the tow package has no where near the capacity to carry that kind of current. If you are solely depending on the umbilical from your truck to operate the slides, you're asking for trouble.
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Old 05-12-2012, 03:36 PM   #11
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[quote]Originally posted by CORattler

Agreed. Using just the umbilical cable doesn't work well at all to extend slides.
I bought a long set of high quality jumper cables that I keep in my TV in case the batteries in the RV should ever fail. I also use them to extend the slides when my batteries are removed for the season. They are thick heavy duty cables (about twice as thick as the wires that connect the batteries to the RV). Works like a champ!

X2 on this one. Keystone had an 80amp fuse installed in our line under warranty. Wouldn't want 80amps being pulled down my trailer cable. If I need to extend the slides in an emergency I have one of those jump start batteries. Take it back to the battery compartment, hook up the jumper clamps that it has on it and the slides do what you want them too. Also handy if I need 12v power (power a 12v air pump, etc.) since it has a cigarette lighter plug on it.
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Old 05-13-2012, 02:01 AM   #12
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As mentioned, if your truck is a GM (Chevy or GMC) you MUST put a fuse into the fuse panel for the power line going to the trailer.
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Old 05-14-2012, 04:39 AM   #13
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Not knowing what make of truck you have, I can only say what I've learned from ours. We have a 2008 GMC. It turns out that the truck WAS shipped with the fuse for the trailer plug in place, however it still didn't work, no voltage. Dealer informed me that there is a jumper wire that has to be installed before it will work. They installed it for free. The wire (on ours) is a 10 gage wire, and the fuse is a 40 amp fuse. It will maintain and even charge the batteries, albeit a lot slower than the trailer's own charger. And definitely NOT a large enough wire to run the slides motor, or the landing gear.
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Old 05-14-2012, 05:54 PM   #14
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On our 2007 GMC the fuse was not included...Once we installed it, it does charge the house batteries.
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