Drain on trailer battery while towing

[Legacy Posts]

I have read many of the posts on towing and running the fridge DC but not sure if this falls directly in to that category. It tends to be rather warm here in the Sacramento Valley (except today and we have rain) and not running the fridge when driving causes it warm up quite abit. Some of our trips can be 4 - 5 hours one way and it is nice to keep things cold.

But I wander... This last weekend we were out two nights in a park with shore power. On the way back we used the fridge on DC. While cleaning things up I noticed our little voltmeter read 7.2 :-(. I double checked with real voltmeter only to confirm. Have I fried my 1 year old battery? I am towing this with a 2002 Chevy Tahoe with the trailer package. Prior towings with our '89 Dodge van did not produce this result! Boy do I need help. :o

[Legacy Posts]

Your refrigerator probably pulls at least nine amps on battery. The charging system in your tow vehicle does a poor job of charging the trailer battery under ideal conditions.

In the top right of the screen is the search button. There is much information on the subject on this site.

Most battery shops can load test a battery. That is the best way to check a battery..

[Legacy Posts]

but you diffentaly shortened the batterys life . check the water level and do a slow recharge 2 amps or less check water daily see how the battery responds in a day or two . stop chageing and measuse voltage if less then 12 after a day of chargeing you my have lost it
if 13 your are doing great somewhere inbetween is somewhere inbetween , one of those low amp desulfateing charges at wally world is a good charger for this . One big word keep your reciept .
if they are still made by excide/everedy they burn out at a high rate i have had to replace mine every year . they are great about sending replacments under warranty i will give them that.

[Legacy Posts]

I may have the solution.

<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3f468e6015fa1VCS.JPG/>

This is a voltage switch. It allows you to set the disconnect and reconnect voltages for 12 volt systems. I am setting this one up to run my refrigerator on DC when towing. I can adjust it to disconnect when the Tahoe is not running (12.9 v or less) and reconnect when the Tahoe is charging the RV battery (13.3 v or more). Sweet Eh? There is no way to over discharge your battery from running the refrigerator.

They can also be used to protect the whole house battery overall. Minimum is then set to 11.9 volts at which time the battery is totally disconnected until it is re-charged to what ever you determine is best for your use (say 12.5 volts or more). A fully charged battery at rest (not on a charger) should be 13 volts.

I’ll let you know how it works.

[Legacy Posts]

Paul what Nick said is so true, the fridge will quickly eat a battery. I started towing with the fridge in gas for that purpose and turn it off when approaching a gas station.