Hi all,
I'm looking to upgrade my regular deep cycle battery to a Trojan t-105. I'll be charging it the majority of time with my existing Renogy 100w solar suitcase kit while boondocking (which is what I do most of the time with occasional shore power use).
My 2011 13' Scamp has the Progressive Dynamics PD9130 controller; I'll be plugging their Charge Wizard into it for better charging of the battery.
My question has to do with charging the battery while underway on the road. I know my 7 pin hook up supplies a charge -- does it go directly to the battery or does it route through the controller in the Scamp?
If not, is it recommended that I get a charge controller for the car? Ie Orion's 20A DC to DC one?
Muchero thanks for any clarity!
Ray
PS. I've been full time camping in the Scamp since 2016 and absolutely love it. The Scamp has been a champ handling whatever I dragged it through in remote areas. : )
I believe it goes thru the controller/converter circuits, at least on newer models but maybe all of them... newer models also have a DC cut off master switch inside the trailer that (wiring-wise) is upstream of the controller or converters. When this switch is off, you can't recharge the battery. Call Scamp, they could give you info for your trailer VIN, year model, etc...
Carl
If you have a 7-pin connector, the towing vehicle's alternator should charge the trailer's battery directly. Your battery should charge fully if you are traveling many hours between camping. You can check your trailer battery with an inexpensive voltage or multimeter. If your towing vehicle came with a factory towing package, you may have a heavy-duty alternator to easily handle your vehicle and trailer. When you are connected to shore power, the battery gets charged through the trailer's controller.
My f150 did not fully charge the Scamp battery. I added a dc to dc charger to get a full charge.
The wiring diagram on the Scamp website shows a direct connection from the vehicle to the battery. On my 2002 13' Scamp there are 20A fuses at the battery and at the connection to the Scamp internal circuits.
https://www.scamptrailers.com/wp-content/uploads/OWNERS-MANUAL-2022.pdf
There are several diagrams out here this may be closer to 2002.
@ac0gv: In your schematic, assuming the trailer connection is off to the lower left, it looks like the car's 12V supply goes directly to the battery and to the converter, same as my older schematic.
It's pretty hard to see mine, I wish the forum offered a better way to view attachments.
I looked into this a bit when I was questioning whether the power wire on a new 7-blade plug was large enough. I found multiple posts on various websites and forums that explained that it is really the equivalent of a trickle charge coming from the tow vehicle. Given the voltage drops along the way, it will not fully charge a trailer battery. It should be viewed as a way to maintain rather than recharge the battery. This is what I've read.
What has been people's experience? I haven't driven much with a discharged battery so I don't have personal experience.