Trailer tongue box battery setups?

[ukaviator]

Hey Guys,

Interested in how you all have setup your trailer battery 12v electrical systems and what your running off those trailer battery setups.

Pictures, schematic diagrams, components used, type of batteries etc etc would all be helpful.

Thanks

 

[ntsqd]

Do you really need them in a box? My TrailBlazer was given two welded-on Optima battery trays when it got it's new frame.

What do you want/need from the battery(ies) and how will they be charged? Just from the tow rig, tow rig & solar, tow rig and shore power, only shore power, only solar, etc., etc., etc.

 

[Ebag333]

No designs or anything yet, but I'm planning on storing all of my electronics in my trailer tongue box. So battery pack, wiring, shore power adapters, etc will all live in there. The idea being to isolate as much as possible to that one area to keep the wiring as clean as possible to the rest of it.

 

[ukaviator]

Do you really need them in a box? My TrailBlazer was given two welded-on Optima battery trays when it got it's new frame.

What do you want/need from the battery(ies) and how will they be charged? Just from the tow rig, tow rig & solar, tow rig and shore power, only shore power, only solar, etc., etc., etc.

Well thats what im going to decide after I hear others pro's and cons on their setups.
Im planning on running some LED lights in and around the trailer and perhaps run some outlets for some misc other 12v things - like charging cell phone, or running a 12v electric blanket for winter camping.

The idea being to isolate as much as possible to that one area to keep the wiring as clean as possible to the rest of it.

Exactly what I was thinking. Please post up what you end up doing and the ideas your mulling over

 

[rusty_tlc]

After putting a rock into my tongue mounted battery and cracking the case I added a piece of OSB in front to protect it. IMHO you need something around your battery if you tow it off road.

I'll be following this thread as I need to do something a little more permanent.

 

[skersfan]

I have a tear drop that I built. The batteries are located over the axle for balance. I run a trickle charge from the FJ, 10 gauge wire to the 7 blade connector, run the wire to the batteries. I run two Chairman Solar batteries 120 amp hours. I have a 110 watt solar panel that connects via Marinco inlet wired to a standard drop cord. It is 75 foot long for the truck/trailer to be in shade, solar in the sun. I have a Morningstor 15 amp digital solar controller to run the whole trailer on 12 volt. The inline from the truck is not connected to the solar controller. I also use a Marine dual 6 amp onboard battery charger ran by house power or generator. I have a honda 2000 in case I need it. The wife likes to use the micro wave so it does get used and while operating charges the two solar batteries.

On 12 volts I run a stereo system with indoor and outdoor speakers, 3 florescent lights, fantatastic fan, Dometic 40, shur flow on demand pump, two out door lights and the igniter for the water heater. 3 12 volt porst if needed. I also have two 750 watt inverters on the system.

Unfortunately it is to burried in the trailer to see any of it very well with pictures. I have used this type of set up for over 3 years and have never gotten close to running down the batteries.

 

[Butch1979]

Goal Zero

I'm thinking about using Goal Zero Extreme 350 adventure kit to run the limited electrical items I'm going to have on my trailer. Seems very compact and clean with limited engineering and design needed by myself (read, easy to plug and play).

Thoughts? Anybody used some of the larger Goal Zero equipment?

 

[yellowgeko]

Yes I am really intersted in this as well. I have seen some set ups and great ideas here but I always come back to the same question for me: How do you get the power to the batteries? I realise solar is always an option but I wanted to know if there was a way to do a shore power and/ or charge from the alternator on your rig while driving so its always charged when you get there.

 

[ntsqd]

On getting charge to the trailer battery(ies) while under way I would suggest using a Voltage Sensing Relay (VSR) or Automatic Charge Relay (ACR) mounted in the engine bay. Two mfg names for essentially the same thing. Can pass the charge wire thru a 7 pin trailer light connector or go with an Anderson forklift connector. Pay attention to the ground between the truck and the trailer, it's frequently over-looked and does give grief when not soundly grounded. These relays sense when the battery between it and the source of the charge (solar, alternator, whatever) is fully charged before turning on. When the charge source stops (engine off, clouds over the solar, etc.) they disconnect. This means that your starting battery(ies) will be fully charged by the alternator before the ACR/VSR allows the alternator to charge the trailer battery(ies). With a dual sensing version the solar or shore powered charger will have to bring the trailer battery(ies) to a full state of charge before it will allow charging of the truck's battery(ies). The single sense versions only sense from one side, so one of those properly installed will charge the trailer battery(ies) with the alternator, but will never charge the truck battery(ies) from any source at or on the trailer.

BEP Marine makes the VSR that I'm most familiar with. Blue Seas makes the ACR that I've looked at. Both offer them stand alone or combined with a marine battery bank switch. West Marine carries the Blue Seas products and either Waytech Wire or Del City Wire (I forget which) carry the BEP products. The BEP products where recommended to me by an OZ who works in the business of building serious Outback exploration rigs.

 

[ethernectar]

I'm thinking about using Goal Zero Extreme 350 adventure kit to run the limited electrical items I'm going to have on my trailer. Seems very compact and clean with limited engineering and design needed by myself (read, easy to plug and play).

Thoughts? Anybody used some of the larger Goal Zero equipment?

Am running a Yellowtop for onboard power (water/minimal lights). First trip of the season is in a few weeks for 10 days out in UT. Will be using the GoalZero Nomad 27 and their charge controller to keep the battery topped off. Will be sure to report after the trip.

 

[yellowgeko]

ntsqd

Interesting, so basically from what I am understanding; you have a dual battery (or more) set up that can charge through the seven pin connector.

 

[Butch1979]

Look forward to report

Am running a Yellowtop for onboard power (water/minimal lights). First trip of the season is in a few weeks for 10 days out in UT. Will be using the GoalZero Nomad 27 and their charge controller to keep the battery topped off. Will be sure to report after the trip.

Awesome! Enjoy the trip, and let me know what you think about the Goal Zero products. I'm thinking about just using all Goal Zero (to include the 350 battery and converter) in order to keep things simple.

Battery cost about the same as a nice optima.

 

[ntsqd]

ntsqd

Interesting, so basically from what I am understanding; you have a dual battery (or more) set up that can charge through the seven pin connector.

Yes, but it won't self jump-start or anything like that. Only charge thru the trailer connector. That's not unusual at all. All RV trailers are set-up this way.

 

[yellowgeko]

Yes, but it won't self jump-start or anything like that. Only charge thru the trailer connector. That's not unusual at all. All RV trailers are set-up this way.

Awesome, I thought that thats what usually happened but never really looked to much into it. Thanks

 

[traveler57]

battery charging setup

I think this question was asked somewhere before. But for my trailer build, I used the VSR from BEP and it is working perfectly for over a year. It closes the circuit for charging from my Jeep (tow harness) when the Jeep is running and when the jeep is off, the circuit opens automatically. very simple and I don't need to mess with anything manually.

I have two 120Ah deep cycles, not optima, but just "RV grade". because they were about 1/3 the price and have more total Ah. So I have around 3-5 days of DC power, for LED lights, and DC fridge.

And for only $70, the VSR was a no-brainer for me.

Note that a lot dual battery setups on the vehicle itself will allow you to start your truck from either battery. For my trailer build this was never the plan, so a lot of excellent vehicle dual battery charging info out there did not apply. But, yes, if I ever did fully drain my jeep's single battery, I could just use my jumper cables in an emergency.

I also have a 45amp DC charger in the front trailer box so if I do happen to end up a in commercial campground for 1-2 nights, I can just charge off the AC pole. and to have a full charge before I leave home.

I looked at solar for the trailer for a long time, including GoalZero, but ended up without solar due to the high price of the their big panels, and that fact that 80% of my camping is in the woods, not the desert.

off track a bit, but the GoalZero stuff is very cool stuff-----
I do have their smallest panel (Nomad7) for just charging my cell phone, their NiCd battery pack (Guide10) and their battery speakers (Rockout) and their little LED Light (Luna). I will say the cool factor is great and they are used EVERY weekend. In "true" direct sunlight, my Android phone charges from dead to full in around 60-90 minutes! For me, their products and concepts are absolutely fantastic, and i got mine on sale so they are well worth it.

Note that the Nomad7 panel is very light, and goes onto my pack too, so that I can have a charged phone even on a 2-3 day backpacking trip.

 

[traveler57]

Dual Sensing VSR

forgot to mention that I used the dual sensing VSR, as it made a lot of sense and was the same price.

So, yes, if I had my trailer's charger plugged into an AC pole, and still keep my jeep connected through the tow harness, it would (could) charge my jeep's battery after the trailer batteries reached their full charge.

I have not actually needed to do this yet, but it is nice to have the option if I needed it.



And as my alternative to solar panels, I am leaning toward a generator. My next purchase will be a small 2000W generator like the Honda EU2000I. very small, VERY quite, and it would recharge my dual deep cycles in around 2 hours. but at over $1000 it is still on my wish list for now. but I have seen some clones from Yamaha, Hyundai, Generac, etc. for around $500-700, but they don't have the quality name of the Honda. And this will give me 120VAC and more battery charging power for less money than a properly sized solar panel setup. and it will do it rain or shine, day or night. (sorry for the photo sizing...)

The Hondas can also be connected together to give you 4000-8000watts! and they can also run on propane.