Will all these drain my battery???

[TXLX470]

I am planning a raod trip from Houston to Colorado(springs & Rocky mountain) to Moab and back via Durango and Santa fe. Total of close to 3000 miles. I will be towing a Starcraft popup camper(about 3500lb). I am going to wire the popup in a way that my cruser will charge the popup battery as well. Popup has a deep cycle battery which is about 2 yrs old. Then I am going to install a elecrtic brake controller for the popup as well. I will also be running a GPS and a radar detector from the dash 12v out puts and a laptop and small DVD player from the 12v outlet inside the console(between front seats) with a 100w converter and camcorder and camera battery charger from the cargo area 12v outlet. And these are the concerns and questions that I have

1. Will all these gadget will drain my battery

2. Should I start new wiring all the way from the front to the popup or can I use hitch wiring adaptor

3. My black box in side jack compartment was not working. Power was coming to it but was not going out of it. So what I did was I tap the wires before the box and attached the regular 4 pin adaptor for the trailer hitch and has been working fine for regular uhal trailers. But will my popup trailer will draw more current to charge it's battery . Will the current wiring will get overheated

4. Has anyone used a sway bar for a popup to keep it straight while towing? Any good brands???
5. Any PM before I leave.. I have changed Tranny oil and will be changing front and rear Diff oil. Truck has 99000 miles has had it T-belt and water pump changed at 90k.

Thanks in advance for all the input and ideas

 

[NMuzj100]

Sounds like fun!

1. Probably not while the engine is running - but maybe depending on the load you run off the inverter and if the pop-up battery needs a heavy charge. Put it on a good trickle charge prior to the trip. Does the pop-up have a good converter to charge on "shore-power" (if not try bestconverter.com. My long tow trip did kill my OEM Panasonic battery after 9 years and 106k miles.

2. Yes - install an isolated/independently powered circuit-protection trailer converter. Recent trailer wiring thread.

3. how did you wire it ? are both your brake lights and turn signals working correctly ? You could get feed-back from the trailer into the vehicle electrical system without a protective converter. It's happened to others on the board.

4. no experience with anti-sway bars but I had no sway while towing my 2800 lb Jayco. Tow report thread

5. Stop at Slee OffRoad in Golden to make the trip a proper Cruiser Pilgrimage and get last minute mods for Moab. The Spiderco factory outlet a few doors down from Slee is worth a stop too.

 

[TXLX470]

Thanks for the info. Do u still have your Jayco. I got an 05 starcraft 3606 for a good price. May be I will see you in Colorado ))

Yes I will charge the popup battery fully beofore I leave that way it will not draw much current. I think popup has a good converter with surge protect and automatic disconnect when the battery is low.

How did I wire it?-- I tapped the wires coming to the black box. Yes all signal lights, brake lights and tails lights are working the way they are supposed to. I am not sure about any feedback from the trailer to the truck. Is that's what the black box do? ...

Thanks for letting me know about slee shop. May be I can buy my sliders while I am there. Wanted to put them on before I go to moab but they are out of stock.

 

[EdsCruisin]

I am planning a raod trip from Houston to Colorado(springs & Rocky mountain) to Moab and back via Durango and Santa fe. Total of close to 3000 miles. I will be towing a Starcraft popup camper(about 3500lb). I am going to wire the popup in a way that my cruser will charge the popup battery as well. Popup has a deep cycle battery which is about 2 yrs old. Then I am going to install a elecrtic brake controller for the popup as well. I will also be running a GPS and a radar detector from the dash 12v out puts and a laptop and small DVD player from the 12v outlet inside the console(between front seats) with a 100w converter and camcorder and camera battery charger from the cargo area 12v outlet. And these are the concerns and questions that I have

1. Will all these gadget will drain my battery

2. Should I start new wiring all the way from the front to the popup or can I use hitch wiring adaptor

3. My black box in side jack compartment was not working. Power was coming to it but was not going out of it. So what I did was I tap the wires before the box and attached the regular 4 pin adaptor for the trailer hitch and has been working fine for regular uhal trailers. But will my popup trailer will draw more current to charge it's battery . Will the current wiring will get overheated

4. Has anyone used a sway bar for a popup to keep it straight while towing? Any good brands???
5. Any PM before I leave.. I have changed Tranny oil and will be changing front and rear Diff oil. Truck has 99000 miles has had it T-belt and water pump changed at 90k.

Thanks in advance for all the input and ideas

1. I have a similar spate of gadgets and trailer attached to my truck and have no problem. Really the strain is on the alternator/charging system, not battery. Be sure to turn things off or unplug when parking the truck, because it will drain the battery otherwise.

2. You have to run the brake wire to the rear anyway, so you may as well run a battery feed (large guage) the whole way back too. There is loss of power over the distance in a small guage wire. Once you have the power to the rear, feed it to an isolated trailer lights converter and to the 12V socket (clip the oem wire). The brake controller will have it's own battery-direct feed.

3. Do yourself a favor and install a new converter, as per #2 above. It is well worth it.

4. I use an anti-sway bar. Don't worry about the brands, as they are all basically the same, low-tech device. It is a must with a 3500 lb trailer behind the cruiser. Odds are the trailer tongue has pre-drilled holes for the ball mount plate. Any hitch place or etrailer.com will have a special plate that you mount on your tow vehicle hitch for the other end of the bar. All in all it is fairly cheap and very effective. You simply tighten it as much as possible and drive. Be sure to remove it or loosen it before maneuvering into a campsite.

Good luck.

 

[TXLX470]

1
4. I use an anti-sway bar. Don't worry about the brands, as they are all basically the same, low-tech device. It is a must with a 3500 lb trailer behind the cruiser. Odds are the trailer tongue has pre-drilled holes for the ball mount plate. Any hitch place or etrailer.com will have a special plate that you mount on your tow vehicle hitch for the other end of the bar. All in all it is fairly cheap and very effective. You simply tighten it as much as possible and drive. Be sure to remove it or loosen it before maneuvering into a campsite.

Good luck.

Thanks
Are u using something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Trai...ryZ33653QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD6VQQcmdZViewItem

 

[EdsCruisin]

Thanks
Are u using something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Trai...ryZ33653QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD6VQQcmdZViewItem

Yep, exactly. It is basically two long, straight brake pads clamped around a steel shaft. The lever is deceiving - the pressure plate is somewhat convex so that as you tighten the lever bolt it applies pressure to the pads. The bolt opposite the lever is exactly the same thing, so count on having a stout wrench to use on the either one to tighten or loosen. The lever is simply welded on the head of a bolt, so I feel like it may break off if you torque it too much. Usually I just put a wrench on the opposite direction of the lever and use them together as like a big T wrench, if you know what I mean.

The much easier solution than welding the plate to your hitch is to get this plate that bolts on with the main trailer ball:

http://www.etrailer.com/p-26003.htm