Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Lewis
Santiago-
Can you add a little more info about how you get the charge from your truck's alternator to your trailer? How does the dc-to-dc step up charger help? Thanks.
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Hello Mike,
I offered details on Post 37, that should help but I am more than happy to answer further questions after your review of Post 37.
Meantime, I will say this - I ran wire from truck battery to hitch, connected to trailer and continued running wiring to back of trailer. There I have the 40 amp DC to DC step up charger that through its built in circuitry is able to take whatever feeble voltage it sees coming from the truck and steps it up to a steady and consistent 14.4v that will bulk charge. This is stage 1. Like any decent 3 stage charger, it runs stage 2 and 3 (float) at appropriate time. Basically its a DC transformer that steps up voltage. Without it you are at the mercy of whatever leftover voltage the truck battery can deliver.
One rule we must all follow whether you do what I did or just charge directly from the truck battery is to use as heavy a wire gauge as you can muster. I used 4 AWG to keep voltage drop reasonably low.
This dc to dc charger works great. I was not terribly worried over the performance as this set up is used extensively on caravans in Australia. Other brands in the UK, I spent much time discussing my build with the manufacturer and almost met one of their representatives when he was visiting our country. Very good people to deal with and they speak English. He was shocked to hear that in the states products like theirs are rare. I think the Ausies, Zealanders and European RV industry is way ahead of the North American RV industry. Next go around, I will be using an 120 amp DC to DC charger as AGM batteries thrive on high charging rates. That means that after dry camping for a couple of days, the batteries will be fully charged before the truck gets out of the campground ; > ) Mike you know I am pulling your leg, but batteries will top up three times faster.