Best way to power my pop up

[euro.love]

Well I have been thinking about it for a few days and I wanted to get some input on how to run power to my camper. Here is my pop up http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13650
I have a sure power isolator and am getting a odyssey or die hard platinum deep cell within the next week. I am going to keep my Waeco cf-50, shower, and misc other small 12v lights. So my question is what would be the best way to run charging power to my camper? I was thinking just running a bank of like 3 or 4 12v outlets. What are the best outlets to use, wire thickness, fuse types, etc? I am new to this whole thing and want to set myself up the right way the first time. I think I am going to mount the battery in the bed of the truck, unless I can find room in the engine bay. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Martyn]

We use 12 volt marine quality 12 volt outlets. You can use standard 12 volt plugs with these or a locking plug. They are very simple if you are going to flush mount them, just drill a hole insert the socket and either use the ring nut at the back to tighten them up or screw or rivet a front plate to hole them in place.

If you can not flush mount, then you have to fabricate a small box to put one in.

The gauge of wire will depend on what you are going to run off the socket and how far the socket is away from your power source. For normal usage 12 gauge should work.

Make sure each socket is fused.

 

[euro.love]

Sounds great. So simply marine outlets. I also wanted to add I am thinking about getting a solar panel to help charge the battery. And one other thing. What if I want to go out with my truck and leave the camper powered? Can I mount my deep cell in the camper and just run wires for charging only? I think thats what I would like to do. That way I can leave it setup if I ever have to run out or go on a little wheelin mission.

 

[Martyn]

Mount the deep cell in the camper.

Use a 7 pin RV socket on the vehicle and plug on the trailer, it's standard kit now for trailers. The 7 pin gives you 12 volt back to the trailer from the vehicle.

Wiring on the vehicle 10 gauge fused back to the socket.

Wiring on the trailer 10 gauge fused to the battery.

The trailer should be grounded through the wiring harness to the vehicle as well as to the trailer chassis.

When you have the trailer hooked up to the vehicle the deep cycle in the trailer will be getting a charge from the alternator.

Prior to your trip make sure the deep cycle is fully charged, we use marine grade chargers. You want to use a smart charger that will go from 6 or 10 amp full on charger to trickle charge automatically by sensing the condition of the battery.

You can see what we are using at http://www.adventuretrailers.com/12volt_solar.html we'd be glad to supply the parts if you want us to.

Solar is the most expensive option. You need a panel and a control unit. The smaller the panel the more expensive it is per watt. Things start to make sense with an 80 watt panel. Do your power requirement calculations first and work from there.

 

[Funrover]

Thanks for starting this thread, I was getting read to ask similar questions!

 

[Dave]

Prior to your trip make sure the deep cycle is fully charged, we use marine grade chargers. You want to use a smart charger that will go from 6 or 10 amp full on charger to trickle charge automatically by sensing the condition of the battery.

You can see what we are using at http://www.adventuretrailers.com/12volt_solar.html we'd be glad to supply the parts if you want us to.

This is the route I'm planning to go, in addition to the 7-way charge option. I like the idea of having the on board charger so that if I ever find myself overnighting somewhere with power hookups, I can keep the batteries topped off over night.

For instance, a lot of times when we make long drives out west, we'll stop at a KOA for the night along the way simply because they are fairly cheap (compared to a decent hotel), have decent showers, and are usually right off the highway.

I'm using the Cabela's branded ProSport 20 amp charger. It's built for dual banks, but I e-mailed their tech support and they said it's fine to run both leads to one battery.

Llink