Will Casita drain F150's battery overnight?

[whoot]

When I connect my 2015 Casita to my 2021 F150 with Tow Package, all the Casita's side-lights are on, even when the truck is not running. It looks like the truck is supplying power to the Casita. The Casita has it's own fully-charged battery, so maybe it is using the Casita.

I guess I will have to call Ford and ask them if there is a way to turn off the power from the truck to the trailer, when the truck is not running. Otherwise, I assume I will have to disconnect the 7-wire from the truck, every time I stop for more than a few minutes.

The F150 is fully computerized, so I was half-expecting I could turn off the trailer's power without having to disconnect it.

Any suggestions?

[Perryb67]

Our late 2015 F150 XLT with max tow package did not provide power to our camper when the key was off. Your problem can be corrected. Any dealership should be able to change this.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by whoot

When I connect my 2015 Casita to my 2021 F150 with Tow Package, all the Casita's side-lights are on, even when the truck is not running. It looks like the truck is supplying power to the Casita. The Casita has it's own fully-charged battery, so maybe it is using the Casita.

I guess I will have to call Ford and ask them if there is a way to turn off the power from the truck to the trailer, when the truck is not running. Otherwise, I assume I will have to disconnect the 7-wire from the truck, every time I stop for more than a few minutes.

The F150 is fully computerized, so I was half-expecting I could turn off the trailer's power without having to disconnect it.

Any suggestions?

My 2018 F 150 shuts off the charge line when the ignition is shut off. As to the trailer lights, they stay on for various lengths of time depending on whether I lock the truck doors. You might try connecting the trailer and waiting to see if the trailer lights eventually go off before planning on unplugging every time you stop.

[whoot]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

My 2018 F 150 shuts off the charge line when the ignition is shut off. As to the trailer lights, they stay on for various lengths of time depending on whether I lock the truck doors. You might try connecting the trailer and waiting to see if the trailer lights eventually go off before planning on unplugging every time you stop.

Yes! The side-lights went off after about 5 minutes, and go off immediately if I lock the truck.

So it is probably safe to assume the truck is not charging the RV battery, when the ignition is off and the key is removed?

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by whoot

Yes! The side-lights went off after about 5 minutes, and go off immediately if I lock the truck.

So it is probably safe to assume the truck is not charging the RV battery, when the ignition is off and the key is removed?

Yes, at least that is my experience with a 2018. An interesting fact - the charge line on my truck does not come on until the F 150 is put in gear. If you just start the truck and have it in park or neutral, the charge line is dead even with the truck engine running. Makes trouble shooting interesting...

[Mike_L]

The marker lights on my trailer operate with the park lights on my tug. They aren't powered by the trailer battery. The park lights on some newer vehicles stay on for a short period of time after the vehicle has been shut off so the trailer marker lights would stay on as well. Your vehicle battery should be isolated from the trailer battery when the vehicle isn't running so your trailer won't drain the vehicle battery. If your trailer marker lights stay on after the vehicle park lights go off, you have a wiring problem.

[FlyGuy]

The morning AFTER I picked up my 2010 Spirit Deluxe at the factory in Rice, TX, the three way fridge had been running in "Auto Mode" had drained my tow vehicle's battery. I learned that overnight, I had to switch the fridge to propane to keep it cold and NOT drain my 12VDC tow vehicle battery. As already stated. wiring can be changed so that NO "juice" will flow once the ignition is switched off.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by FlyGuy

The morning AFTER I picked up my 2010 Spirit Deluxe at the factory in Rice, TX, the three way fridge had been running in "Auto Mode" had drained my tow vehicle's battery. I learned that overnight, I had to switch the fridge to propane to keep it cold and NOT drain my 12VDC tow vehicle battery. As already stated. wiring can be changed so that NO "juice" will flow once the ignition is switched off.

The auto mode should only switch the fridge between 110v and propane. This is so when you unhook from shore power your fridge turns on the propane mode. To put fridge on 12v you should have to push the button intentionally. If this is not the case then the fridge manufacturer has changed something stupidly. Our Casita fridge has propane mode, auto mode to switch between propane and 110v, and 12v. The battery will get depleted quickly when not being charged and even many tow vehicles will not keep up with the 12v fridge. When on auto mode if the propane is not on and it is not hooked to 110v then it should not start but give you an error.

[BenBark]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

Yes, at least that is my experience with a 2018. An interesting fact - the charge line on my truck does not come on until the F 150 is put in gear. If you just start the truck and have it in park or neutral, the charge line is dead even with the truck engine running. Makes trouble shooting interesting...

Jon, I agree, that could make trouble shooting interesting. I like to think my trouble shooting skills are average or better but am curious how you figured this one out. I believe you have the same Victron BM-712 battery monitor that I have with the bluetooth app on your phone. You could be monitoring the battery voltage and see it go up when you put the truck in gear. I'll check this on my Tacoma in the morning. I believe my charge line gets hot and stays hot as long as the ignition is switched on.

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by BenBark

Jon, I agree, that could make trouble shooting interesting. I like to think my trouble shooting skills are average or better but am curious how you figured this one out. I believe you have the same Victron BM-712 battery monitor that I have with the bluetooth app on your phone. You could be monitoring the battery voltage and see it go up when you put the truck in gear. I'll check this on my Tacoma in the morning. I believe my charge line gets hot and stays hot as long as the ignition is switched on.

I discovered the "problem" after replacing a perfectly good fuse and still no power to the trailer. I have a 7 pin tester and it showed a dead connection. I moved the trailer 6" to remove the chocks, and looked down at the tester - the power was now live on pin 4. It stays on when you go back to park or neutral.

As to the Tacoma ( I had a 2016 Off Road before I purchased the larger Escape 21), it is on & off with the ignition.

[Joe Romas]

Driving lights are one thing and battery charging is another thing completely.

Unless you are electrically savvy and KNOW for sure your truck shuts off the battery charge line when the truck is off your best to disconnect the 7 pin connector when your parked for more then a few minutes.

On some trucks it even varies with the options on the truck let alone different brands and years.
Then there's how the different Dometic refrigerators operate over the years.

[Darwin Maring]

Just disconnect and dont worry about it.

[THene1713]

Originally Posted by whoot

When I connect my 2015 Casita to my 2021 F150 with Tow Package, all the Casita's side-lights are on, even when the truck is not running. It looks like the truck is supplying power to the Casita. The Casita has it's own fully-charged battery, so maybe it is using the Casita.

I guess I will have to call Ford and ask them if there is a way to turn off the power from the truck to the trailer, when the truck is not running. Otherwise, I assume I will have to disconnect the 7-wire from the truck, every time I stop for more than a few minutes.

The F150 is fully computerized, so I was half-expecting I could turn off the trailer's power without having to disconnect it.

Any suggestions?

Sounds like some wire connections crossed at harness? What should happen is all running lights die w/ HL switch, Brake Lights die w/ brake switch and 12vB+ is turned off by RELAY controlled by IGN; same for Turn Signals, just separate relay? LUCK

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by THene1713

Sounds like some wire connections crossed at harness? What should happen is all running lights die w/ HL switch, Brake Lights die w/ brake switch and 12vB+ is turned off by RELAY controlled by IGN; same for Turn Signals, just separate relay? LUCK

Again, it is not crossed wires, but Ford's timing on the relays. With my 2018 F 150, shutting off the ignition immediately kills the charge line (pin 4) but leaves the running lights on until I lock the truck or after 1-2 minutes. Eventually, everything disconnects.

[Josh Robinson]

Originally Posted by whoot

When I connect my 2015 Casita to my 2021 F150 with Tow Package, all the Casita's side-lights are on, even when the truck is not running. It looks like the truck is supplying power to the Casita. The Casita has it's own fully-charged battery, so maybe it is using the Casita.

I guess I will have to call Ford and ask them if there is a way to turn off the power from the truck to the trailer, when the truck is not running. Otherwise, I assume I will have to disconnect the 7-wire from the truck, every time I stop for more than a few minutes.

The F150 is fully computerized, so I was half-expecting I could turn off the trailer's power without having to disconnect it.

Any suggestions?

It's not unheard of for a truck 7 pin connector to have a permanent hot wire but it's not common. I don't speak Ford, but the easy fix would be to disconnect or switch that wire, or if you want that option and want to have the ability to charge the truck battery from the trailer solar panel, then a DC to DC charge controller install would be the answer.



I'd call Ford directly.