Dry camping batteries charging

[carl.swoyer]

So I'm going to install a 7 pin outlet on the fifth wheel and charge my four deka batteries from the trucks second plug in at the bumper. I have been told it will only put out 2 amps or 14.6 volts , but while traveling that's better than running the lp Onan . I a hoping for a significant improvement in this department.

Carl & Christine, 2012 Landmark Rushmore, 2005 Silverado crew cab lt 8 foot bed 6.6 lly /Allison -custom dual exhaust-198000 miles !

 

[danemayer]

Why do you need a 2nd plug? Power from the truck flows to the batteries through the 1st plug.

 

[carl.swoyer]

Because they are two separate banks of batteries. 4 deka agm batteries just for dry camping will be on the new charging line

Carl & Christine, 2012 Landmark Rushmore, 2005 Silverado crew cab lt 8 foot bed 6.6 lly /Allison -custom dual exhaust-198000 miles !

 

[Silverado23]

Why not install a solar panel on the roof to charge your dry camping batteries?

 

[Bones]

So I'm going to install a 7 pin outlet on the fifth wheel and charge my four deka batteries from the trucks second plug in at the bumper. I have been told it will only put out 2 amps or 14.6 volts , but while traveling that's better than running the lp Onan . I a hoping for a significant improvement in this department.

Carl & Christine, 2012 Landmark Rushmore, 2005 Silverado crew cab lt 8 foot bed 6.6 lly /Allison -custom dual exhaust-198000 miles !

Why don't you just install battery isolators to keep your banks separate.

 

[carl.swoyer]

According to my dealer putting the second pigtail on will allow the alternator to maintain about a 2amp charge to each bank at the same time .

Carl & Christine, 2012 Landmark Rushmore, 2005 Silverado crew cab lt 8 foot bed 6.6 lly /Allison -custom dual exhaust-198000 miles !

 

[Bones]

The Battery Isolator will allow you to charge both banks if the batteries are equal. If one battery is lower then it will charge that one faster by allowing more amps to go to it and charge. The isolator will not allow you to drain the other battery it is connected to. So lets say you want to run stuff of the secondary battery and accidentally drain it you will still have a good battery to use for your jacks and so on. Your tech is also wrong on how many amps you can pull from the truck. On stock trucks you should be able to pull any where from 20 amps to 30 amps of power from the truck. This will be indicated from your fuse block of the truck. By adding a second pigtail you will not get more power. You can only get the amount of power that the system will provide from the truck because both connectors on the truck get their power from the same circuit and are governed by the same gauge wire. That is not saying you can't add a second pig tail if you so wish. I'm just giving you another option that should add reliability and stability to your system and provide protection. There are a lot of people on here that have done many things and hopefully they can chime in on what they have done and what might not work well too. Lots of good information on here and help.