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Old 10-04-2006, 06:50 AM   #41
bsmeaton
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The factory tow vehicle harness has a 30A charge line switched by the ignition. The Monty accepts that charge line in the factory pig tail. To test it, disconnect the batteries, plug into the truck with the engine running and see if you have 12v supply to the Monty. If not, check the truck fuses, or the wiring to the plug installed in the truck bed (only thing not factory installed).

Brad
 
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Old 10-04-2006, 07:40 AM   #42
LonnieB
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10-4 Brad, Thats what I am going to do when I get home. I hate to talk about anything without facts.
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Old 10-04-2006, 10:26 AM   #43
dsprik
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This sounds like a dumb question - only there aren't supposed to be any dumb questions...

If you plug in your tv and you have lights on your Montana, doesn't that mean you are also charging the onboard battery?

If I understand you correctly, Brad, the factory pigtail has a seperate line running through it that is used strictly as a charge line only, and it is totally seperate from the running lights wiring? This would make sense. Then just because the running lights were on, this has no bearing on whether or not this "charge" line is active at all, right?
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Old 10-04-2006, 11:17 AM   #44
LonnieB
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Thats correct dsprik, there is a wire that supplies electricity to the clearance lights, and a SEPARATE wire, or circuit for the charging system. This circuit should be " hot " when the ignition is in the " run " position, only. The clearance light circuit is " hot " when the headlight switch is in one of the " on " positions, park lights, or driving lights, regardless of ignition position.

On Edit- It still stands - there are no dumb questions, I hope this clarified, rather than confused your question.

One More Edit- Sorry Brad, the question wasn't posed to me, but I was sitting here doing nothing, so I answered it.LOL
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Old 10-04-2006, 11:27 AM   #45
dsprik
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Thanks, Lonnie. So where's this notorious fuse on my 2002 GMC 2500 that I need to double check? I remember a while back this being a topic of discussion...
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Old 10-04-2006, 11:42 AM   #46
LonnieB
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dsprik, check under the hood on the drivers side fender well, that's where all the trailer tow fuses are on my Ford. It's been a long time since I worked on a GM, but I seem to remember it in the same basic location.
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Old 10-04-2006, 11:55 AM   #47
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Curious. I just popped out to check my '07 Chev 3500. Between the pins at approx. 1 and 7 o'clock, there is 12 volts with no key in the ignition, and the truck locked. Nevertheless, I did notice that even after several hours driving from our boondock campsite on Monday, the trailer batteries (two Trojan T-105 6 v. Golf Cart) were still far from fully charged. Maybe the charging voltage through that connector is not high enough to effectively charge the trailer batteries.
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Old 10-04-2006, 11:58 AM   #48
LonnieB
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dsprik, I just looked at a chevy here in the shop. The fuses are under the hood, on the drivers fender. A big black plastic box with a lightning bolt molded into it. On the engine side of the box is a lock symbol, grasp the lip of the cover and lift it off. Hope this helps.
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Old 10-04-2006, 12:16 PM   #49
LonnieB
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OntMont, I just went out and checked the same Chevy I checked awhile ago, and my Ford. The pin is not hot on either one unless the key is in the " on " position. Yours may be wired differently. As far as charging 2 golf cart batterys to a full charge with the TV alternator, I would think it would be asking too much, even over a several hour period, if the batteries were very low at all.
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Old 10-04-2006, 12:57 PM   #50
bsmeaton
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Dave,
Lonnie's right. The running lights, left turn, right turn, and electric brakes run straight through to thier destinations without ever contacting the Montana batteries. (There is an emergency brake away circuit to the brakes that DOES use the Montana battery). The other three pins are ground, charge, and backup lights (backup lights not used on Montana).

John, My 06 Ford charge line is switched, and it sounds like Lonnies Chev is too, but my 01 Ford was not- on all the time. I think that is what you are seeing, and if it has power it should be charging.

Brad
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Old 10-04-2006, 02:42 PM   #51
Cat320
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LonnieB mentioned where the fuse box is located...the fuse you need to check is in the upper left corner. If there is a red plastic gadget in there...you don't have a fuse. I know you need it for the trailer brakes to work, don't know about charging the RV battery.
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Old 10-04-2006, 02:43 PM   #52
dsprik
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Thanks, guys... I will check in the AM - in the daylight - for this area. I am familiar with that fuse box under the hood. Just have to get my tester out and start playing around.
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Old 10-09-2006, 12:59 AM   #53
bob
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Good morning best way to have enough battery is to build a house battery bank in my boat I use 2 31 series optima deep cycle wired in parall it works great
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Old 10-09-2006, 05:55 AM   #54
vabluebird
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After running out of battery power at a State Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Oct., after two days, we got a second battery. I believe DH calles it a Marine battery. We haven't had the opertunity to check these out. Has anyone tried using the propane heater? I believe they call it the Buddy or something like that. That could be set up in the bedroom at night and brought out to the living area during the day. If you were not in a real cold place where you needed heat all the time, this might work.
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Old 10-09-2006, 01:31 PM   #55
dsprik
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Salle, if that is the Buddy heater that sits on top of a 20# propane tank, that would not be suitable for indoor use, I believe - carbon monoxide. There are kerosene heaters available, though, that are indoor/outdoor capable. If you have no electricity where you could use ceramic heaters, then kerosene is your second best choice in my opinion. Your furnace fan will take your battery down, but you may not have a problem now with the DH's 2nd battery purchase. If not, don't burn propane inside... it kicks out bad stuff when burned.
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Old 10-09-2006, 06:40 PM   #56
mallardjusted
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There is an indoor "Mr Heater Portable Buddy - outdoor and indoor propane heater". Actually, they have two sizes - Portably Buddy and Big Buddy:

http://www.mrheater.com/
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Old 10-09-2006, 11:00 PM   #57
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Catalytic heaters. I haven't looked recently but over on the Escapees Forum they have had some very long and informative discussions on this subject. For those who do some serious boondocking these things are great. They use very little fuel and provide a good amount of heat.

I am too paranoid about the O2 issue to use one but there are thousands of them in use and they do seem to be safe if used properly. They are a bit expensive but apparently do the job.

Do NOT ever use a straight propane heater inside. Same goes for charcoal grills. I know none of us would ever do such a thing but every year we read about dozens of people who die or are injured from improper use of these devices.

HamRad
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Old 10-10-2006, 04:16 AM   #58
Steve and Brenda
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Hi all, I'm new to Montanas but have pulled RVs for some time now. I'm going to apologize in advance but electronic engineering is my discipline and I get wordy.

The goal of any wilderness camper is to manage your battery capacity and charging during daylight hours. The preferred battery is a marine battery because they deliver constant current before draining. Auto batteries drop in voltage and are not linear. Golf cart batteries are 6 volt cells which take up extra space in order to create a 12 volt circuit. The first modification I'm doing on my 3475RL Montana is to add a second deep cycle battery in parallel with the original battery and if that battery is not a good deep cycle battery I'll replace it. Batteries in parallel gives you more available current at the same voltage, in this case 12 volts DC.

The method to figure out what you need for a wilderness camp is called amp-hours. The larger the amp-hour rating the longer you'll have light and heat at night.

There are several ways you can reduce the draw on your batteries. One popular way is to change your 12 volt incandescent lamps in the RV with equivalent LED lamps. The original lamps, part number 921, range from 20 to 27 watts. Using the formula Amps = Watts/Volts you can see that a candelabra with three lamps pulls almost 7 amps from the battery. Similar LED lamps using the same wedge based 921 connection draw 30 milliamps (thousandths of an amp) for the same light. The drain on the battery goes down to less than 3/4 of an amp!!! http://superbrightleds.com/specs/T13_specs.htm gives you samples of lighting options using the 921 base LED lamp. LEDs are a little bit more in cost as compared to the original lamps but since they will last for years, are so shock resistant and do not suck power they are a must.

Keeping everything as DC as possible is another way to save power. You never get something for nothing as the story goes and the same thing is true for converting DC to AC. Power inverters draw more DC power to give you a relatively small amount of AC power. A small DC powered TV will last longer than the same size TV using a power inverter.

I used solar chargers in my former rig, IPC Solar has the chargers and voltage control regulators to prevent gassing and overcharge as said in previous posts. The solar chargers should exceed your expected daily amp-hour drain to ensure full power at night.
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Old 10-10-2006, 07:12 AM   #59
bsmeaton
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Steve,

Very informative post - thank you. You have provided several new considerations for boondocking that I hadn't thought of.

Careful when discounting golf cart batteries. Two 6v golf cart batteries take the same if not less space than 2 deep cycle 12v batteries, but can produce significantly higher amp/hour ratings. In some cases - nearly double. Using lifeline RV batteries as an example, a deep cycle 12V GPL-315 13"X6"X9" is rated at 105 Amp/hrs@20hr with 340 minutes of discharge at 15A. A deep cycle 6V GPL-4C 11"X7"X10" is rated at 220 Amp/hrs@20hr with 856 minutes of discharge at 15A.

When comparing both types using a two battery system:

2(12V) 680 minutes at 15A
2(6V) 1,712 minutes at 15A

By the way - love your bowtie!

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Old 10-10-2006, 08:41 AM   #60
bsmeaton
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Steve,

Very informative post - thank you. You have provided several new considerations for boondocking that I hadn't thought of.

Careful when discounting golf cart batteries. Two 6v golf cart batteries take the same if not less space than 2 deep cycle 12v batteries, but can produce significantly higher amp/hour ratings. In some cases - nearly double. Using lifeline RV batteries as an example, a deep cycle 12V GPL-315 13"X6"X9" is rated at 105 Amp/hrs@20hr with 340 minutes of discharge at 15A. A deep cycle 6V GPL-4C 11"X7"X10" is rated at 220 Amp/hrs@20hr with 856 minutes of discharge at 15A.

When comparing both types using a two battery system:

2(12V) 680 minutes at 15A
2(6V) 1,712 minutes at 15A

By the way - love your bowtie!
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