1974 Trillium 12v

[Barry Konkin]

so it looks like the previosu owner of out Trillium used it more like a firbeglass 'tent' than as a trailer.
There seems to be no 12v system in the darn thing.

Can anyone give me a '12v 101' recommendation on what I need to buy (converter etc.) to get this up and runnning?

If there are any local (Vancouver BC) owners who woudl be willing to open up their eggs to show me how its done, I'd be grateful for the help. I'll bing a digital comera to take some pics and a six-pack of cold ones!

thanks

Barry
Steveston BC

[Booker B.]

Hi Barry,

Does your 110v power your 12v lights now? As I mentioned in our PM, my trailer came without 12v too but with a power matic 110v->12v converter. This meant that when we were plugged into 110 we had 12v lights. If your 110v is powering your lights then you have some sort of converter on board.

There are a couple of approaches you can take depending on if you want to be charging the battery directly when you are hooked up to shore power or not. Some people purchase a stand alone 12v 3 stage charger (Canadian Tire sells them) and then hook them up to charge the battery.

I went the route of installing a 3 stage charger into my trailer so that the 110v hookup charges the battery when we are connected to shore power.

Depending on what route you go there will be different approaches to your setup.

[Booker B.]

Whoops, and I should add that yes, I can take pictures of my converter install - note that I did not do the converter install myself as previous owners had hacked the wiring several times and it was a total mess.

I have upgraded a couple of 12v lines in the trailer for a porch light and power point so I know the wiring fairly well now.

[Barry Konkin]

Hi Barry,

Does your 110v power your 12v lights now? As I mentioned in our PM, my trailer came without 12v too but with a power matic 110v->12v converter. This meant that when we were plugged into 110 we had 12v lights. If your 110v is powering your lights then you have some sort of converter on board.

There are a couple of approaches you can take depending on if you want to be charging the battery directly when you are hooked up to shore power or not. Some people purchase a stand alone 12v 3 stage charger (Canadian Tire sells them) and then hook them up to charge the battery.

I went the route of installing a 3 stage charger into my trailer so that the 110v hookup charges the battery when we are connected to shore power.

Depending on what route you go there will be different approaches to your setup.

Booker - when I'm hooked up to shore power, the 12v lights (I assume they are 12v - they are little lights on the side of the the cabinet over the stove) do NOT work.

The wiring in the trillium we bought is also a mess - I think the battery was used in the right rear wheel well under the dinette - there is some copper stapping there that looks liek it was for a battery - but I can't see any battery terminals or any wires there...

I am prepared to re-wire the whole 12v system - and any pics you have would be great.

Barry

[Daniel V.]

Plenty of experts here on this subject, and I'm certainly not one of them.

But from another newbie's perspective, I'd say that a lot of it depends on what you're planning to run on 12V. This will determine the size, type and storage location (inside or outside) as well as charging needs. For instance, we pretty much use 12V only for one light and one fan behind the fridge (total less than 1.5A), so we kept things extremely simple with just one small 48AH sealed deep-cycle battery that I installed inside and hooked up to the vehicle's charge line. It also has a small 1.5A trickle charger permanently attached to it to keep it topped up when we're plugged-in. Nothing else. We love our fiberglass tent with lights.

[Barry Konkin]

Hi Barry,

Does your 110v power your 12v lights now? As I mentioned in our PM, my trailer came without 12v too but with a power matic 110v->12v converter. This meant that when we were plugged into 110 we had 12v lights. If your 110v is powering your lights then you have some sort of converter on board.

There are a couple of approaches you can take depending on if you want to be charging the battery directly when you are hooked up to shore power or not. Some people purchase a stand alone 12v 3 stage charger (Canadian Tire sells them) and then hook them up to charge the battery.

I went the route of installing a 3 stage charger into my trailer so that the 110v hookup charges the battery when we are connected to shore power.

Depending on what route you go there will be different approaches to your setup.

Booker:

My idea is to go with the same setup that you have - I woudl like the shore power to charge the battery when we are hooked up to 110v.

I'll check out the link that you gave me and order up the convertor.

Do I need a fuse box / panel to run this?

thanks

[Booker B.]

Hi Barry,

The converter comes with a fusebox for 4 wire runs but you need to get a breaker with it. I bought it from the same company but it's a standard breaker. The fusebox on the WFCO is handy as a red LED lights up when the fuse is blown.

I use the converter for only lights and the power point for charging my cellphone - my family is all readers so we use the 12v a lot at night. However, I did want something that was 'relatively' maintenance free during the camping season. We like to bolt for a trip pretty quickly so during the camping season I just leave the trailer plugged in at home. I was hoping to leave it charged in over the weekend but several people (and my RV mech) recommend pulling the battery and doing a trickle charge top up over the winter once in a while.

[Doug Mager]

Barry, I've sent you a private message re: your electrical woe!!!

[d_wildemann]

I had this model a couple of years ago. The electrical connections were all made under the passenger's side rear panel. There was the 110V into a small connector which then was run to the other side, across the back, and powered the 3-way frig. In mine, I put my battery on the passenger side in a box, added a 12V battery charger, hooked via a toggle switch located near by, to keep it charge. I then put in fuses on the battery and ran them to the 12 volt circuits running along each side. The trailer stop, etc. were part of the wiring harness if I remember correctly. I added new wiring for these and brought the wires inside the trailer near the battery. Let me know if I can provide any more help.

Don

[brendadave]

Booker:

My idea is to go with the same setup that you have - I woudl like the shore power to charge the battery when we are hooked up to 110v.

I'll check out the link that you gave me and order up the convertor.

Do I need a fuse box / panel to run this?

thanks

You might want to consider this charger they just started carrying...seems nice and small, and looks like exactly what you would need.

[Don N]

Barry, how did you make out with your wiring? I am in the process of installing a 12 volt battery on the tongue and running the lead into a covered box with studs in it. Then I can run a fused 12V lead to power the lights or a seperate receptacle. I will also run the black 12V+ wire from my 7 pin trailer plug to this stud, figuring it will charge this battery while we are driving. Unhook the plug when we are parked and it won't run down my TV battery. Hadn't planned on using a converter to charge the battery while on shore. Is this something I should be looking at?

[Doug Mager]

Don ....a great idea, but you should make sure that your tow vehicles charging system (alternator) has enough POWER to be charging thatsecond battery. Failure to do this may cause you to find you haven't recharged your trailer battery while your're in transit.....
You must remember also that IF your fridge is set to 12V that the fridge will continue to run (cool) while your tow vehicle is not runniing. This could cause your tow vehicles battery to run down as you've pulled over somewhere along the road.

[Don N]

My TV has a 105 amp alternator on it. I NEVER use any of my appliances on 12V, either propane or 110V so I am not worried about killing the TV battery. Also would unhook the trailer plug when we are parked and just hook back up if I want to top up the battery charge. Might look at putting something inline to control the voltage charge, like an isolator, etc.

[Thee Jimbo]

Originally Posted by Doug Mager

Don ....a great idea, but you should make sure that your tow vehicles charging system (alternator) has enough POWER to be charging thatsecond battery. Failure to do this may cause you to find you haven't recharged your trailer battery while your're in transit.....
You must remember also that IF your fridge is set to 12V that the fridge will continue to run (cool) while your tow vehicle is not runniing. This could cause your tow vehicles battery to run down as you've pulled over somewhere along the road.

Hi Doug

If you are still on, how can one make sure their alternator is strong enough. I have a 1997 pathfinder, without a towing package, but plan on addding a line to charge my trailer battery via a 7 way connector. Any input would be really helpful, even if it means getting a stronger alternator.

Thanks. jimbo

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Thee Jimbo

Hi Doug

If you are still on, how can one make sure their alternator is strong enough. I have a 1997 pathfinder, without a towing package, but plan on addding a line to charge my trailer battery via a 7 way connector. Any input would be really helpful, even if it means getting a stronger alternator.

Thanks. jimbo

You don't need to worry about the amperage of the alternator, you need to worry about getting the full voltage to the trailer battery. Generally, this is done by using heavy gauge wire (at least 10 gauge), all the way from the TV battery to the trailer battery.

Another alternative is to use a DC/DC charger which actually steps up the voltage automatically even with a smaller wire.

DC Input Battery Chargers for 12 volt Lead Acid and SLA Batteries useful for electric golf trolley

[Thee Jimbo]

Excellent. Thanks and thanks for the link. Bill check it out!

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by Thee Jimbo

Bill check it out!

Who is Bill?

[Thee Jimbo]

Cell phone error. "I'll" check it out!!!!