Charging batteries ?

[Petmoose]

I presume that while driving down the road and you have the fifth wheel connected to the truck, you are charging the batteries ? The reason I asking is that I have a Norcold refrigerator/ freezer 120V/12V system and want to leave it plugged into the 12 volt system while driving In order to keep everything cold/frozen. Obviously I want to have power in the batteries to move the slides out once we reach our destination. I have 2 each 6 volt golf cart batteries in place of the standard 12 volt one that comes with the unit. Any thoughts on my approach ? Thanks in advance for your comments.m

[rohrmann]

Unless you have a very rare fridge, when in the 12 volt mode, you are actually in the gas mode, and the 12 volt side is just providing temperature control and operates the ignition when cooling is called for. We run on gas all the time when traveling and have no issues. You just have to make sure you have propane in the cylinders. It would help when asking for help, to provide your year and model trailer, and in the case of the fridge, the make and model of that would also help.

[Petmoose]

Sorry I was not clear in my question. The frig is a small chest unit from Norcold. It allows you to either use it as a frig or freezer. It’s an older model MRFT 60. I want to plug it into a 12 volt DC plug while driving to keep everything cold and then when camped plug it into the normal 120V AC. My question is that when the camper is plugged into the truck and driving down the road that the truck is charging the batteries? So if that is the case then I should be ok and not running the battery in the camper down. ..I hope .

[RMcNeal]

I believe that the truck should be supplying a trickle charge through the 7 pin connector. Just make sure and check it with a meter. I had a fuse blown in my truck and didn't know it until I checked it thankfully before killing my battery. We have a residential fridge running on an inverter. Depends on how much juice the fridge pulls. Since the truck is only supplying a very small trickle charge, it may not be enough to keep up with the draw of the fridge.

[DQDick]

Over the years, not all trucks came set to do that, some had a switch or fuse that had to be in the correct position.