monitoring trailer battery

[droid_ca]

I know you can get a gauge that tells you how much is still left in your batteries but is it possible to have one in your tow vehicle to tell you how much or what percent you are at in regards to recharging while towing? What amount of extra wiring would that entail ? Is there a kit of some sort?

Thanks

[eamarquardt]

It would not be complicated but there are several factors that will get in the way. If you're driving down the road, your trailer battery is connected to your vehicles charging system so you'll read your charging voltage. If you disconnect the trailer battery so you can read it independently you won't get an accurate reading unless you let the battery sit for an hour or so (don't quote me on the time frame but you can't read the voltage immediately). If you run two wires from your vehicle's battery to your tow connector it would be easy to install a switch in your vehicle to isolate the trailer battery and get a reading. Again, though, if you've just disconnected the trailer battery from your charging system the reading won't be accurate.

So, it's pretty easy to do but the voltage, under the circumstances you want to read it, won't be an accurate indication of your battery's state of charge.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus

[H.A.]

.

[bdosborn]

Trimetric 2025 RV (among others) will measure battery capacity. The install in the TV would get complicated. Why not install the meter in the trailer, look at it before you go somewhere and check it when you stop? That's what I do with ours.

Bruce

[Shadow Catcher]

I went with a Victron battery monitor http://www.victronenergy.com/battery-monitors/bmv-600s and bmv-602s and one of the read outs is state of charge in percent. It attaches with a standard phone cord to the shunt on the battery. Therefore it would be possible to have the meter in the TV with relative ease and read what is happening. To get an accurate reading you have to measure what has gone into and come out of the battery.

[H.A.]

I went with a Victron battery monitor http://www.victronenergy.com/battery-monitors/bmv-600s and bmv-602s and one of the read outs is state of charge in percent. It attaches with a standard phone cord to the shunt on the battery. Therefore it would be possible to have the meter in the TV with relative ease and read what is happening. To get an accurate reading you have to measure what has gone into and come out of the battery.

Better than my Rube Goldberg idea of placing my reversing camera to watch the charge controller.
Seriously, cameras are not such a jackass idea, Its done all the time on our boats to view critical stuff from the wheelhouse.

[droid_ca]

cameras can be a good thing I heard of a cargo trailer where a snowmobile got loose and did some major damage inside...he now has a camera inside of his trailer....As for the monitoring device just thought it might be a good thing to have inside the tow vehicle...now if you had an electric heater would that be safe to run while towing or is that still a no no

[H.A.]

now if you had an electric heater would that be safe to run while towing or is that still a no no

If you mean electric space heating within the trailer whilst driving, Sure it could be done plenty safely.
Would not at all be practical in our scope of tow vehicles with small traveltrailers, But could be easily done.

[droid_ca]

now if you had an electric heater would that be safe to run while towing or is that still a no no

If you mean electric space heating within the trailer whilst driving, Sure it could be done plenty safely.
Would not at all be practical in our scope of tow vehicles with small traveltrailers, But could be easily done.

I was thinking in the terms of winter camping turn the heat on half hour before you get to camp just to take the chill out of the trailer not long term

[Martiangod]

You could switch the spare wire in the 7 wire plug to turn on a 12 volt heater from the TV, then it wouldn't be running off the trailer battery, but your running charging TV instead.


Hmmmm, now something else to incorporate into the trailer...Damn you!!!

[droid_ca]

You could switch the spare wire in the 7 wire plug to turn on a 12 volt heater from the TV, then it wouldn't be running off the trailer battery, but your running charging TV instead.


Hmmmm, now something else to incorporate into the trailer...Damn you!!!

Thats an awesome idea thanks for sharing it

[droid_ca]

droid, really how hard is it while out beating around the bush in the snow in the winter time.

to pull over and get out and go reach into the teardop and turn a heator on.

I know its the princepal of like remotes and the tv.

but really how much extra wires and stuff do you want to have in a tow vehicle and extra switches and stuff.

its really for me not that hard to just stop and turn a heator on.

slow

I wanted to know about monitoring battery levels as my trailer isn't going to be a teardrop and I'm going to have some pretty hefty batteries inside and a for the monitoring I'd like to know how long it would take to charge my batteries as I'm sure it will be more then 15 minutes....The heater is just a good idea for preserving items that you don't want freezing on you as that can destroy some things...but thanks for your very thorough answer to what you do, but as every TD is different so is every Owner

[Martiangod]

Well switching on a half hour before needed puts less strain on your charging system, a system that is already working to capacity in the winter driving. As for being a gadgit, not really on my recent winter cross country run, it would have been nice to take the chill off before we stopped rather thenclimbing ito a chilled bed on rest stops, sure the furna e was more then adequet to heat, but rest stops didnt include an hour warm up time before going to bed, so i for one will be implimenting this

[droid_ca]

my tow vehicle has a rather small alternator (55amps) but I have found a kit that boosts it up to 140amps..so I'm thinking that might help for the extra power draw of say an electric heater, I would then put it on a plug that could be operated by a key fob remote control....was thinking that might be one of my best solutions

[GuitarPhotog]

but I have found a kit that boosts it up to 140amps.

I hope that kit includes a new alternator because the laws of physics sort of prevent you from getting 140A out of a 55A alternator without it, or some equally potent form of magic

<Chas>