charging camper from 7 pin while while towing

[kstine98]

Does anyone know if/ how fast a camper trailer battery will charge while being towed by the Gladiator?

I have the Sport S Max tow with the factor 7 pin, and have installed the Tekonsha trailer brake system. I have 2 6V AGM batteries hooked in series on the camper.

Just wondering if I need to add a direct charging wire to my batteries from the Jeep to get them charged while towing.

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[KVJ]

@kistine98

Start here to learn all about it. Hope it helps. I'm no electrician.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/charge-wizard/

 

[KVJ]

Also this:

 

[AzRob]

I dont know how or if this will work for you but it is pretty much what you are asking about.

We have this installed in our Jeep Wrangler that we tow behind our motorhome. It takes the power from the plug into this unit and keeps our battery charging while we are towing and have our supplemental brake on. Im not quite sure what your system is or what you are trying to do, but I don't think you can just run a wire.... you need something like this device to do the charging. The problem will be this appears to be designed to charge a car battery and you might have to contact them about your 2 6V AGM batteries to see if it is compatible and if it will work.

The good news if it will work its only $85 and a fairly easy install.

Here is a link to the web page. When you click, the middle of the page has a large black image and near the bottom of it is a button for a video..... this might help you.

https://rvibrake.com/products/towed-battery-charger-plus?variant=13115309260823

Good luck

 

[KVJ]

I have the progressive charge wizard in my camper for 6 years.

 

[Whiplash2130]

I went to an RVI dealer about 6 months ago who told me that he would just run a wire directly to the 7 pin connector if I were him. He said don’t waste your money. My Gladiator has been running just fine ever since.

 

[sarguy1941]

IF you have a factory tow package your battery will charge when your vehicle is running. The amount of time to charge will depend on how low the battery is. When we had our 5th wheel i would start up the truck in the morning while we took showers and made breakfast to top off the battery before driving. Its not ideal but will help maintain. The trailer should already be set to charge via 7 pin plug.

 

[Phljeeper]

I have two batteries in my travel trailer and have never had to add anything. Both batteries charge the whole time we are traveling. Not sure how long it will take from empty but they seem to charge well.

 

[EJS]

I have two batteries in my travel trailer and have never had to add anything. Both batteries charge the whole time we are traveling. Not sure how long it will take from empty but they seem to charge well.

We drove about an hour and a half back home today with the fridge on in our travel trailer, and the battery remained 100%

 

[eaglerugby04]

I was installing a camera system in my trailer the other day. I had it hooked up to my van since it looked like it might rain and the JT was stripped down. I left it plugged into the van overnight. By the next day the battery in the van was dead. Not sure what was draining it specifically but guessing it was trying to charge the trailer battery. I have left the van plugged into my landscape trailer before and never had it kill the battery.

All this to say my travel trailer is pretty stock and I know wouldn't have anything fancy in it. Are we sure that by default most of them wouldn't pull power? Van obviously didn't come with the trailer wiring so it might not have protections to prevent drain the way a regular tow vehicle would.

 

[sarguy1941]

I was installing a camera system in my trailer the other day. I had it hooked up to my van since it looked like it might rain and the JT was stripped down. I left it plugged into the van overnight. By the next day the battery in the van was dead. Not sure what was draining it specifically but guessing it was trying to charge the trailer battery. I have left the van plugged into my landscape trailer before and never had it kill the battery.

All this to say my travel trailer is pretty stock and I know wouldn't have anything fancy in it. Are we sure that by default most of them wouldn't pull power? Van obviously didn't come with the trailer wiring so it might not have protections to prevent drain the way a regular tow vehicle would.

So if your van wasn't factory done someone probably just ran a direct wire to the 7 way. Most new vehicles (Ford/Chrysler) have the battery wire thru a relay. When you shut off the vehicle it break the connection to the trailer. All of my Ford Trucks have been like this and limited testing on the JT was the same. The reason for this is to eliminate a dead battery as you found out.

 

[eaglerugby04]

So if your van wasn't factory done someone probably just ran a direct wire to the 7 way. Most new vehicles (Ford/Chrysler) have the battery wire thru a relay. When you shut off the vehicle it break the connection to the trailer. All of my Ford Trucks have been like this and limited testing on the JT was the same. The reason for this is to eliminate a dead battery as you found out.

That makes sense. Good to know I shouldn't leave it plugged in like that to a trailer. Luckly though it is incapable of pulling my camper.

 

[kstine98]

Took the gladiator to the Camper store today. They checked my 7 pin, and it does not actively charge. He told me to check my fuses but I couldn’t find anything in the owners manual that referred to a seven pin charger. Any ideas? He seemed surprised that it didn’t charge. I do have the factory max tow.

 

[KVJ]

So it looks as the red/black wire would be the charge wire and should be fused. Was the vehicle running when the RV guy checked it? Based on what @sarguy1941 said.

 

[kstine98]

So it looks as the red/black wire would be the charge wire and should be fused. Was the vehicle running when the RV guy checked it? Based on what @sarguy1941 said.

yes, vehicle was running.

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