Leaving your Truck Plugged In or Not???

[plshilo]

Guys..... We are headed to the Canadian Maritimes and will be taking one of the Long (16 hour) Ferry trips. So the question is do you think we should leave the truck plugged in or not....we have a Big Country 3560SS and only need 12 volt to convert to run the freg. As any ideas would Help, byb the way we are already on the road......

 

[jayc]

We always leave our truck plugged in to the trailer and have never had a problem. I have heard of some truck's batteries running down overnight when hooked up, but it has never happened to us,

 

[danemayer]

Depends on whether the truck passes power to the RV while the engine is off. Some do, some don't.

If yours does, here's what you should consider: the residential refrigerator could deplete your RV batteries in less than 16 hours, and then the truck batteries could be run down as well. You could end up with dead batteries in truck and trailer. And depending on how well the refrigerator stays cold without power, you could lose perishables.

Would a 16 hour ferry ride do it? Maybe, maybe not. Might depend on ambient temperature and how efficient the refrigerator is.

Might be better to deal with the perishables in another way - maybe a cooler, and turn the refrigerator off, or turn the refrigerator's inverter off.

But if your truck doesn't pass power when the engine is off, you don't have to worry about the truck batteries. But you may deplete the RV batteries and have a warm refrigerator.

 

[NYSUPstater]

Take some 1 gallon size milk or water jugs (either---filled with water) and freeze them and then place them i the fridge and freezer. Try to limit the amount of times the fridge will get opened till you are able to plug back into shore power.

 

[porthole]

Guys..... We are headed to the Canadian Maritimes and will be taking one of the Long (16 hour) Ferry trips. So the question is do you think we should leave the truck plugged in or not....we have a Big Country 3560SS and only need 12 volt to convert to run the freg. As any ideas would Help, byb the way we are already on the road......

Your Ford uses relays for many electrical circuits, including the trailer hook up. Not running - no connection.

You can verify it with a test light.

 

[wdk450]

Don't most (or ALL) ferries REQUIRE you to turn off your propane while on board? This has been my experience with the Washington State Ferries. If so (unless you have an inverter system and a BIG battery storage system) your refrigerator/freezer is going to be OFF for those 16 hours. I would see about getting as much bagged ice as you can fit into the refrigerator section (ice blocks melt much slower than ice cubes) and some Dry Ice (frozen carbon dioxide) for your freezer section. I would try to minimize the contents of the refrigerator/freezer to make more room for the ice(s) and minimize any possible spoilage if things don't work out right.

I found this website about RVing to the Canadian Maritimes online. The section "Getting Onboard" talks about having to turn off the propane before driving on the ferries: https://www.trailingaway.com/rving-to-newfoundland/

 

[GregP]

Bill is right about having to turn off the propane while the unit is in transit on the ferry. You will have no access to the rig once you have boarded until departure from the ship. I would suggest depleting your refrigerator contents and planning on shopping once off the ferry. I know that when we travelled from Newfoundland to Cape Breton a couple of years ago, we were not allowed to transport any root veggies from the Island to the mainland due to the risk of transferring some agricultural ailment. Don't know if this still applies or not, but you might want to check.

 

[jolar3329]

Disconnect the truck. 2 years ago my converter failed on an over night stop in cold weather. In the morning both of my trailer batteries and both truck batteries were depleted. Needed a jump start. My truck is a 2012 Dodge 3500.