How do I keep it up....my battery I mean.

[docdave]

My old camper has a battery that only charges when the truck runs. It's a '93 Hallmark, and the power system only has an 12v/off/110 switch...no charging when plugged in. I was thinking of attaching a small, battery maintainer type charger to the wall and plugging it into the camper system when plugged in, and using a 12v accessory plug to try and keep the battery topped off while sitting, and using minimal power for occasional lights etc. Otherwise, I expect there are better charger/controllers that are available to accomplish the same thing.... what are your thoughts?

 

[tanglefoot]

If the camper's parked outside when not in use, it's tough to beat the convenience of a solar charger. I use a 10-watt panel and a charge controller (about $50 total). It keeps the camper battery topped off in between trips and all winter and even keeps up pretty well while camping (I don't have a furnace or other draws though). I didn't bother with a connection to the truck.

An inexpensive, automatic charge maintainer also does the job well. I have a 2-amp Black and Decker (~$20) smart-maintainer that is easy to use and works great. I used to use it before the solar charger.

 

[1stDeuce]

I had my '93 hallmark wired to charge when the truck was running, and it was never very good at keeping the battery happy. Mostly because the truck doesn't run much when I'm out camping, and if I started it to let it charge, the voltage was pretty low by the time it actually got to the battery, so it wasn't charging well anyway. (I was charging through the trailer connecter at the front of the box, so about 30' of 12ga wire... Not so good for voltage drop...

I bit the bullet and put a 85w solar panel on the roof, and I can honestly say it's the best mod I have made so far! We charge phones, watch movies, and of course run the heater and fans, and I have ZERO worries about having a dead battery now. I don't even have the camper battery wired to the truck anymore, as the solar is way more than enough to keep the battery topped off. I did revise the wiring so my fridge can only get 12V from the truck. This way I can never accidentally run the camper down. Solar will NOT keep up with a 3-way fridge in 12v mode... My truck is relayed to power the trailer connector only when running, so I can use the 12v mode running down the road, and switch to gas once I hit camp. Never happier!! There some very brief install details in my camper thread.
If you're electrically inclined at all, I'd suggest putting in a fuse box too... Hallmark's wiring was not so sweet in my camper, though everything did work...

I got all the solar stuff from Solarblvd.com. I think I paid about $100 for the panel and brackets, and $25 for the charge controller. Pretty cheap for never having to worry about it again!
Chris

 

[docdave]

Very helpful, thanks.