12V Power

[tersct]

My 5th wheel does not power off of my vehicle when connected to it. A couple of times after it has set for a period of time, with no power connected to it, the 12V battery needs an assist to get the front jacks to raise for movement. This usually happens when I leave it at a dealership for repair work. When this happens they have had to use a battery pack (?) to raise the jacks. Who can tell me what type of pack they are using? Is it just a rechargeable battery pack or is it something else? Thanks.

[time2roll]

PNW_Steve wrote:
Now I am curious....

I am aware of the designation of one of the pins on the 7 pin connector is 12v supply.

I assumed that it was not used as none of the truck/trailer combos that I have owned have charged the trailer from the truck charging system.

How common is it to have that feature from the factory?

If you have a factory 7-pin trailer connector then you have the feature.

May need a fuse or relay installed in the fuse box to use the feature. Owners manual has details.

[enblethen]

It depends on how the trailers are wired.

[laknox]

PNW_Steve wrote:
Now I am curious....

I am aware of the designation of one of the pins on the 7 pin connector is 12v supply.

I assumed that it was not used as none of the truck/trailer combos that I have owned have charged the trailer from the truck charging system.

How common is it to have that feature from the factory?

I've never heard of that, except for small utility trailers that have brakes. They have a separate breakaway battery that has to be charged by itself. Every camp trailer I've ever heard of has a charger that charges the house battery while towing. One of the selling points of our 30' PJ flatbed was that it =did= have an on-board charger, but we also have a hydraulic dove tail with a full-size battery to power it. If you have a factory-installed trailering package, then everything should already be ready to go, including the hot 12v power connector.

FWIW, we have several PulseTech 10-12w solar chargers on our equipment and I use one on my FW. I was very pleasantly surprised that my batteries were still full of electrolyte and fully charged after sitting for 6 months.

Lyle

[enblethen]

PNW:
Very common! The difference is whether the particular truck requires a wire to be terminated, fuse installed or hot from the factory.

[laknox]

Terryallan wrote:

tersct wrote:
My 5th wheel does not power off of my vehicle when connected to it. A couple of times after it has set for a period of time, with no power connected to it, the 12V battery needs an assist to get the front jacks to raise for movement. This usually happens when I leave it at a dealership for repair work. When this happens they have had to use a battery pack (?) to raise the jacks. Who can tell me what type of pack they are using? Is it just a rechargeable battery pack or is it something else? Thanks.

What vehicle do toy tow with. "Most" need a relay installed to charge the trailer. and then will only charge the trailer when the ignition switch is on / motor running.

If you have a factory towing package, then that relay should be present. Ford and Dodge don't have a hot power connector with the key off; GM does.

Lyle

[laknox]

tersct wrote:
My 5th wheel does not power off of my vehicle when connected to it. A couple of times after it has set for a period of time, with no power connected to it, the 12V battery needs an assist to get the front jacks to raise for movement. This usually happens when I leave it at a dealership for repair work. When this happens they have had to use a battery pack (?) to raise the jacks. Who can tell me what type of pack they are using? Is it just a rechargeable battery pack or is it something else? Thanks.

From my experience:

Jacks and, usually, slides are directly connected to the battery and bypass any battery disconnect.

If you're not getting charge from your truck when running, then you likely have a battery disconnect that's OFF. I found this out the hard way with my old Komfort, so now make sure my disconnect is ON when towing. If you have a Ford or Dodge, the charge connector won't work with the key off. GM's plug is always hot, even with the key off.

Lousy dealer that's either not plugging your rig in or not using the disconnect, letting your batteries go flat. They do you NO favors and are killing your batteries by doing so. Make it absolutely CLEAR to them that they are to either plug your rig =properly=, i.e. with the disconnect ON (won't charge otherwise, as I personally found out), or to turn the disconnect OFF when it's not being worked on or plugged in. Tell them that they'll be giving you new batteries if they keep killing them.

There is parasitic draw (smoke, gas sensors, stereo, TV) on your batteries that will kill them in just a couple weeks if you don't have a disconnect. Be willing to bet that all but the cheapest rigs built in the past 5 years have factory disconnects.

Lyle

[PNW_Steve]

Now I am curious....

I am aware of the designation of one of the pins on the 7 pin connector is 12v supply.

I assumed that it was not used as none of the truck/trailer combos that I have owned have charged the trailer from the truck charging system.

How common is it to have that feature from the factory?

[salem]

You didn't say what type of tow vehicle, or if you did I missed it. On some trucks, such as my Chevy, the company installs a dummy fuse in the fuse box. The big fuse box under the hood up by the firewall. You have to take out that fuse and install the one that comes with it. Not sure why they do this, but that's the way it was on my '05. Worth taking a look at.

[cavie]

1st have the battery load tested.

[stufarmer]

Sounds like a perfect reason to consider a Solar Panel or two ..

[Terryallan]

tersct wrote:
My 5th wheel does not power off of my vehicle when connected to it. A couple of times after it has set for a period of time, with no power connected to it, the 12V battery needs an assist to get the front jacks to raise for movement. This usually happens when I leave it at a dealership for repair work. When this happens they have had to use a battery pack (?) to raise the jacks. Who can tell me what type of pack they are using? Is it just a rechargeable battery pack or is it something else? Thanks.

What vehicle do toy tow with. "Most" need a relay installed to charge the trailer. and then will only charge the trailer when the ignition switch is on / motor running.

[time2roll]

How do you know the truck does not charge the 12v trailer battery? Get that fixed while at the dealer.

Detectors and some electronics will run your battery down when not connected to a power source. This is normal and common. You need to disconnect a battery terminal or install a switch to prevent this from happening. Typical for a dealer to let the battery go dead and sell you a new battery sooner than later. Overly discharging a battery as you describe will permanently reduce capacity and shorten the battery life.

Dealer may use a jump box direct on the battery or just a common shop battery wheeled around with jump cables just to temporarily operate the 12v systems for the fix or get you off the lot.

The 12 Volt Side of Life

[Lwiddis]

Solar! Repeated deep discharges from use or “just sitting” without full daily recharging are battery murder.

[enblethen]

It could be something like this Battery pack
Some shops use a large battery fixed to a hand truck.
I carry one of the battery packs in each of my vehicles for winter use and on the road for emergencies. Not only for me, but for others that have difficulties. Harbor Freight quite often have them for less then $40.