battery charger

[Dan L]

I was wondering if anybody knows of a battery charger/maintainer that uses 12v and 120v. I'm thinking about installing an onboard charger in my scamp, but would like to be able to run my tow vehicle charge line through it as well. I don't like the idea of running my tv charge line straight to the battery and risking overcharging it. My other thought was to use a power inverter to run the charger when charging on the go. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Byron Kinnaman]

First off it's impossible to overcharge your trailer battery from the charge line. When was the last time your cranking battery was "over charged"? The safest way to charge the house battery while under tow is with the charge line from the tow vehicle.

If your Scamp has a "converter" it already has a battery charger. If don't have a converter then a simple maintainer will work just fine.

If you're going to connected to 120 most of the time no need to worry about charging the battery at all since the converter should take care of your 12 volt needs. Boondocking then other methods like a solar panel work great.

[Dan L]

I don't have a converter or any 120 in the trailer. I only charge when I am at home and only use the tow vehicle charge on rare occasions. The life of the battery will be shortened if you charge it fast to 100% and then continue to charge it. This is why I would like some sort of smart charger on my tow vehicle line. I figured if I powered an inverter with the charge line, I could plug the onboard charger into it.

[Byron Kinnaman]

The tow vehicle doesn't continue to charge your trailer battery any more than it continues to charge the cranking battery. When the batteries get to full charge the tow stops charging, period..... People have been charging their trailer batteries for many years from the tow vehicle with no ill effects. You're trying to solve a phantom problem.

It's just sillyness to to try to attempt to do otherwise, but go ahead if you insist.

[Bob Miller]

Read Carefully...

"Unless it is a defective charging system, your TV's charge line can't overcharge your trailers battery."

The bigger problem is that of undercharging from the TV's charging line.

Using a Disneyesque system to run an inverter to run a battery charger will only waste energy that could be going to the battery.

[Bob Miller]

BTW: It sounds like this is a good time to investigate a Progressive Dynamics PD-4045 and bring your trailer up to date, even Scamp has started doing it.....

[Dan L]

That does sound like a good idea, Bob. I was planning on putting in a converter in the future, but I might as well just do it now instead of spending the money on a charger I won't use later on. Can I use the pd 4045 as a main breaker where the shore power comes in, or do I still need a separate main breaker? Also, do you run the tv charge line through it, or does that go directly to the battery?

[Jared J]

The main breaker goes in the pd4045. You can hook the charge wire up to the pd4045 or the battery, it doesn't matter.