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Old 01-02-2020, 05:08 PM   #1
lightsout
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Using a Jump Starter to assist low batteries with Slides and Jacks in a pinch

Our 3791RD has been sitting at the dealers service dept for nearly 2 months now waiting for parts to come in for warranty work (I cannot believe how slow Keystone is to provide parts).

I stopped by to get something out of the 5er and the batteries were totally dead they left the battery switch on while parked and completely drained the batteries, hopefully they did not damage them.

I got to thinking while I have a portable generator that would take a while to charge the batteries especially from dead I got to thinking would a heavy duty Jump starter work to help out low batteries.

My question is has anyone ever tried using a portable heavy duty jump starter to assist in operating your Slides or Jacks?

I was thinking this might do the job 3400 Peak Amps. If something like this would work it would make a great back up option.

Note: I realize this likely would not work with totally dead batteries but maybe on batteries that have some juice left

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JFHMVG/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

 
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Old 01-02-2020, 05:45 PM   #2
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Can't comment on the booster, but everyone needs to know that even if the battery switch was off the batteries would still be dead. Things like the propane detector and others can only be disconnected by removing the negative fro the battery.
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Old 01-02-2020, 06:09 PM   #3
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Your jump starter provides a short period of high amp boost to get your vehicle started. It is not designed to supply the continuous amps required for the duration of slide operation.

Plug in to shore power if the dealership has it a available in their parking area (my dealer does) or use a generator.
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Old 01-02-2020, 06:34 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by JABURKHOLDER View Post
Your jump starter provides a short period of high amp boost to get your vehicle started. It is not designed to supply the continuous amps required for the duration of slide operation.

Plug in to shore power if the dealership has it a available in their parking area (my dealer does) or use a generator.
You missed my point the dealer has charged it however many storage locations we will use do not have power available and frankly for the generator to charge the batts would take quite a while.

After posting this I read in the reviews of the above jump starter where it was used to power the hydraulics of a dump trailer that had a dead battery and it worked flawlessly.

So it obviously does have the amps to provide some continuous power... the question is it enough for slides and jacks.

The battery pack is basically two small batteries both 12v 22AH (44 combined).

My guess is the slides and jacks do not require high cranking amps which should make the jump starter last longer, question being can a Heavy duty jump starter handle 5 slides and 6 jacks...
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Old 01-02-2020, 06:35 PM   #5
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Teh batterie3s are a pair of 12VDC 18AH batteries. Kinda pricey at almost $400
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Old 01-02-2020, 06:57 PM   #6
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Teh batterie3s are a pair of 12VDC 18AH batteries. Kinda pricey at almost $400
I have a 3500 Predator gen, however we do not boondock so prefer not to pack it. I bought the gen for this type of senario and since I have a 12K standby at home I really have no need a portable at home except in situations like I described.

I agree it is pricey however it might be worth every penny in a pinch and 1/2 the cost of the Gen I really do not need, it also weights a lot less then the generator which is also important.

Again a generator will take quite a while to provide enough charge to open or close 5 slides and jacks. I prefer to be prepared without having to sit and wait a couple hours for enough charge.

I suppose another option is to ad a battery switch and two Trojan 6v like the Marine industry does which would allow for a totally Isolated battery bank as a back up which is about the same cost.

Hmmm, however the portability would be nice if it would power the slides and jacks which is the real question.
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Old 01-02-2020, 06:59 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by lightsout View Post
You missed my point the dealer has charged it however many storage locations we will use do not have power available and frankly for the generator to charge the batts would take quite a while.

After posting this I read in the reviews of the above jump starter where it was used to power the hydraulics of a dump trailer that had a dead battery and it worked flawlessly.

So it obviously does have the amps to provide some continuous power... the question is it enough for slides and jacks.

The battery pack is basically two small batteries both 12v 22AH (44 combined).

My guess is the slides and jacks do not require high cranking amps which should make the jump starter last longer, question being can a Heavy duty jump starter handle 5 slides and 6 jacks...
Your original post stated your batteries were dead. But there are different definitions of dead when it comes to a deep cycle battery. A 12v battery is only about 75% charged at 12v Fully charged is 12.6v. If your batteries are at, say 10v, your booster will help. Will it run all the slides in and out and your levelers before running out of power ? I doubt it.
If your batteries are at maybe 5v or below, I doubt anything will happen.
This is coming from personal experience.
I had my rig at the dealer to fix a slide. They parked it away from a power source. When I went to inspect the work and the batteries were below 10v, the slide would not operate. The service writer brought out a booster. It did not supply enough power. (Don’t know the booster output amps).
We moved the rig to a power source, plug in and was able to operate the slide.
Just saying
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Old 01-02-2020, 07:09 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by JABURKHOLDER View Post
Your original post stated your batteries were dead. But there are different definitions of dead when it comes to a deep cycle battery. A 12v battery is only about 75% charged at 12v Fully charged is 12.6v. If your batteries are at, say 10v, your booster will help. Will it run all the slides in and out and your levelers before running out of power ? I doubt it.
If your batteries are at maybe 5v or below, I doubt anything will happen.
This is coming from personal experience.
I had my rig at the dealer to fix a slide. They parked it away from a power source. When I went to inspect the work and the batteries were below 10v. The slide would not operate. The service writer brought out a booster. It did not supply enough power. (Don’t know the booster output amps).
We moved the rig to a power source, plug in and was able to operate the slide.
Just saying
Thanks for the input, do I understand correctly that when plugged in there was enough power to operate the slides without time to charge?

Totally Dead batteries I understand will require some charge time. When we 1st purchased the 5er we had it in a storage yard for 3 weeks with no power hooked up, was able to open the slides and went to close them found the slides would not function below 11.5 v, on the last large slide I would have to stop and allow batts to regen a bit took a while but got them in.

I only have 2 group 27's and I am switching to 4 Trojan 6v so will have better performance but still would like the security and having a quick fix which is why the Jump Start crossed my mind.

I am near capacity with a 3791RD pulling with a 2019 Ram 3500 SRW, so weight management is very important.
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Old 01-02-2020, 07:28 PM   #9
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[QUOTE=lightsout;1170466]Thanks for the input, do I understand correctly that when plugged in there was enough power to operate the slides without time to charge?

You understood correctly. “Dead” batteries at the dealer. Moved to a power source, plugged in and operated the slide. No waiting and I have the same model rig as you.
I’ve done the same thing with a generator at my storage lot when, 2 years ago I left the batteries connected for 5 months. Parasitic draws drained the batteries. Hooked up the gen and went straight to operating everything.

Crazy thought... the booster you were referring to was close to $400. How about a Predator 2000 gen for about $450 ? I know you have a 3500 gen. More portable than your 3500. More power than your booster. Don’t have to remember to charge your booster.
Downside...it’s not a portable booster and you would now own 2 gens. Again, crazy thought.

Your move to 4-6v batteries is a definite plus.
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Old 01-02-2020, 07:36 PM   #10
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[QUOTE=JABURKHOLDER;1170469]
Quote:
Originally Posted by lightsout View Post
Thanks for the input, do I understand correctly that when plugged in there was enough power to operate the slides without time to charge?

You understood correctly. “Dead” batteries at the dealer. Moved to a power source, plugged in and operated the slide. No waiting and I have the model rig as you.

Crazy thought... the booster you were referring to was close to $400. How about a Predator 2000 gen for about $450 ? I know you have a 3500 gen. More portable than your 3500. More power than your booster. Don’t have to remember to charge your booster.
Downside...it’s not a portable booster and you would now own 2 gens. Again, crazy thought.

Your move to 4-6v batteries is a definite plus.
Thanks for that clarification as it was my understanding that the batteries needed to charge after plugging in charger, looks like that is not the case and somehow he charger picks up the load or lack there of. Interesting...
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Old 01-02-2020, 07:38 PM   #11
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Worked for me.
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Old 01-02-2020, 11:52 PM   #12
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CW killed my batteries after it was there for 6 month getting serviced. Once I got it back the batteries would not hold charge, purchased 2 larger batteries so far so good. Yeah 6 months !!
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Old 01-03-2020, 05:49 AM   #13
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How about longer jump starter cables and turn your truck around. Cheaper, less maintenance, and most likely less weight.
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Old 01-03-2020, 06:16 AM   #14
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I have a low end Harbor Freight jump starter with an AGM battery that I've used several times with a small 12VDC transfer pump. It's lasted just fine. I don't know if it would survive a bigger hydraulic pump though. As Jeff above mentioned, a longer set of jumper cables might be the best solution. I would make up a set, using some standard stranded wire matching the wire size at the pump along with some cable clamps.
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Old 01-03-2020, 10:38 AM   #15
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How about longer jump starter cables and turn your truck around. Cheaper, less maintenance, and most likely less weight.
I looked at that 1st however I would need long Cable to allow me to get the 5er on the truck, However battery to battery via cables with clamps on both ends first is not a good connection for transferring max power battery to battery, second long cables will also have some line loss.

In the reviews of the Jump Starter there were some who stated that there were unable to get their motors to crank with jumpers, however the Jump starter had no problem even starting diesels on heavy equipment.

First though I have decided to test and see if the generator will provide immediate power to a low 12v system. I will run the batts down to about 11v and then test it out and see if I have to immediate power or I need to wait to charge.
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Old 01-03-2020, 05:28 PM   #16
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I looked at that 1st however I would need long Cable to allow me to get the 5er on the truck, However battery to battery via cables with clamps on both ends first is not a good connection for transferring max power battery to battery, second long cables will also have some line loss.

In the reviews of the Jump Starter there were some who stated that there were unable to get their motors to crank with jumpers, however the Jump starter had no problem even starting diesels on heavy equipment.

First though I have decided to test and see if the generator will provide immediate power to a low 12v system. I will run the batts down to about 11v and then test it out and see if I have to immediate power or I need to wait to charge.
Just as a point in fact the inverter on our 5r will allow the battery voltage to drop to 10.5vdc b4 shutting down while running the reefer.
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Old 01-03-2020, 06:07 PM   #17
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Just as a point in fact the inverter on our 5r will allow the battery voltage to drop to 10.5vdc b4 shutting down while running the reefer.
When I had it in storage for 3 weeks after bringing 3 of the 5 slides in the meter was dropping to 11.5 and the slides were then operating intermittently, whereas I could get it to move 6" then it stopped I would have to wait a minute for the batts to re gen voltage then another 6" and repeat, this is why I suggested 11.5 as that seems to be the point of intermittent operation. This is what prompted me to buy the Predator after this close call. While I was able to get the slides closed and jacks up then down onto the truck it was close and took finessing the batteries. There was no power anywhere close.
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Old 01-03-2020, 07:57 PM   #18
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First and foremost ... all you have to do to remedy flat batteries while sitting at storage for months is remove the negative battery cable or install another cutout switch at said cable. If I unhook my negative cable while sitting in storage from say Dec to early March ... they are still good to operate slides and level up once the negative cable is hooked back up. It eliminates parasitic drains.
Second ... although it works in a pinch, using the converters charge capability to make up for discharged batteries really puts a strain on the converter. The hydraulic pump draws a boat load of amps especially in colder months. The converter just isn't made for that kind of amp draw for very many cycles.
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Old 01-04-2020, 11:53 AM   #19
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First and foremost ... all you have to do to remedy flat batteries while sitting at storage for months is remove the negative battery cable or install another cutout switch at said cable. If I unhook my negative cable while sitting in storage from say Dec to early March ... they are still good to operate slides and level up once the negative cable is hooked back up. It eliminates parasitic drains.
Second ... although it works in a pinch, using the converters charge capability to make up for discharged batteries really puts a strain on the converter. The hydraulic pump draws a boat load of amps especially in colder months. The converter just isn't made for that kind of amp draw for very many cycles.
Not sure which converter you are referring to?

I am not concerned with any long term storage, we own at a private RV resort and store our 5er there typically for 1-week to a month at a time, whereas I would prefer not to have to disconnect cables every time, this is why I am considering a back up solution for that rare event the batteries are very low when I show up to move it from storage to our camp space.
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Old 01-04-2020, 03:51 PM   #20
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jaburkholder stated several replies up that he had low batteries at a dealership and simply plugged into 110 VAC supply source to get his slides in. When you plug your RV into shore power or a generator ... both are supplying 110 VAC. (unless you use the tediously slow 12 VDC charging capability on any generator.) Your slides and or hydraulic pump are 12 VDC. The converter on board your RV takes 110 AC and converts it to 12 VDC allowing you to tap off that somewhat limited amperage wise source to get things going without fully charging your battery(s). The converter I was referring to is the one in your fiver. If using a generator to charge near dead batteries, many people plug a regular battery charger into it and charge the house batteries way quicker.

It takes every bit of 20 seconds to remove the negative battery cable. Just get you a marine disconnect right near the battery cable easy peasy. Way cheaper than a genset and you don't have to lug it around.
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