NEWBIE - 12V Power and charging battery while towing

[WKYRIDER]

I want to use 12V power in my trailer. Small things like 1 or 2 lights, vent fan, small desk fan.

A few questions:

1. How long could I run the vent fan and/or desk fan.
2. I've read the sticky on recharging a battery while towing. Still confused. In simpleton terms. How do I do this. I tow with a 1 ton dodge ram. I have all size pin connectors for trailer hookups. My trailer currently runs off of a 7 pin connector (lights & brakes).

I would like to hook up a deep cycle battery to only run the interior lights and fans inside of my trailer. How would I go about doing this.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[wlooper89]

Welcome to the forum! The length of time a battery can power things like lights and fans will depend on the battery size and the load of the items powered. A battery will be rated for a given number of ampere hours, the number of amps it can provide for one hour. So if your load is 5 amps a 30 AH battery can power that for about 6 hours before needing to be recharged. If the number of watts for a light or fan is known the amps can be calculated by the simple formula amps = watts/volts. For example a 12V, 15W light would be 15/12 = 1.25 amps. My porch lights and galley lights draw about .9 amps each. My reading lights are a little over .5 amps each. I have not used a 12V fan and am not sure how much current a fan will use.

If your truck is prewired for towing it may already have the correct wiring for the 7-pin connector at the hitch. There should be a black wire for 12V positive and a white wire for 12V negative. Those two are normally #10 AWG wires in a 7-pin connector. The white wire is used for trailer brake and running light negative and also can go to the trailer battery for charging, connected to the battery negative terminal. The black wire goes to the trailer battery positive terminal and most people put a fuse in that wire near the trailer battery, usually a 25 or 30 amp fuse.

Bill

[dh]

I have a Jeep Wrangler with the factory wired 7 pin connector.

Assuming Chrysler does things the same aross the board, the 7 pin should already be wired on you Ram for battery charging, and the only "dead" pin should be for the break controller, which can be purchased seperately and plugged into a harness under the dash.

[dh]

I might mention this, think about how and where you will be using your tear, having your TV as the only charge source may not be your best bet, depending on your style of camping. Personally, I would look into something like the WFCO converters/chargers if you are looking at a lot of time in camp grounds. Again, it is up to you and your preferences.

[WKYRIDER]

I might mention this, think about how and where you will be using your tear, having your TV as the only charge source may not be your best bet, depending on your style of camping. Personally, I would look into something like the WFCO converters/chargers if you are looking at a lot of time in camp grounds. Again, it is up to you and your preferences.

What are the WFCO converters/chargers? Can these be mounted outside or do they need to be mounted inside. (I have a cargo trailer that im converting into a camper. I need its main function to be a motorcycle hauler, but i would like to be able to stay in it.)

[TPMcGinty]

I want to use 12V power in my trailer. Small things like 1 or 2 lights, vent fan, small desk fan.

A few questions:

1. How long could I run the vent fan and/or desk fan.
2. I've read the sticky on recharging a battery while towing. Still confused. In simpleton terms. How do I do this. I tow with a 1 ton dodge ram. I have all size pin connectors for trailer hookups. My trailer currently runs off of a 7 pin connector (lights & brakes).

I would like to hook up a deep cycle battery to only run the interior lights and fans inside of my trailer. How would I go about doing this.

Thanks in advance for the help.

I have a vent fan and two wall mounted recirculation fans that I run every night when I'm camping in the summer. I have run them 3 nights straight without draining my battery.

[WKYRIDER]

I want to use 12V power in my trailer. Small things like 1 or 2 lights, vent fan, small desk fan.

A few questions:

1. How long could I run the vent fan and/or desk fan.
2. I've read the sticky on recharging a battery while towing. Still confused. In simpleton terms. How do I do this. I tow with a 1 ton dodge ram. I have all size pin connectors for trailer hookups. My trailer currently runs off of a 7 pin connector (lights & brakes).

I would like to hook up a deep cycle battery to only run the interior lights and fans inside of my trailer. How would I go about doing this.

Thanks in advance for the help.

I have a vent fan and two wall mounted recirculation fans that I run every night when I'm camping in the summer. I have run them 3 nights straight without draining my battery.

What size fans are you using? Brands?

[NutmegJoe]

I did a test and purposely ran my radio all day and my fantastic fan all night once for 5 nights in a row and my fully charged battery handled it just fine.