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I can't find my pervious post.
We just picked up the new travel trailer, the fridge is 12v only ( have solar, based on weather, I travel late morning into the night. Once again does our trucks, or mine ( 2019 F250 Diesel Lariat tow pkg), while driving with trailer attached, send 12v to the trailer battery??
Is it a full 12v or trickle? Does truck have to been in "D" with someone in seat, door closed,
can you tell me the color of the wire on the truck trailer plug that sends the 12v or position? ..so I can test it.
My concern is my travel pattern can be long day, evening with no solar, not sure how it works in rain, can the truck keep up with fridge demands by keeping battery charged.
Battery: Battle Born Lithium 100Ah
I thought of running a line to the trailer battery from the Factory Uplifter Switch in which I can manually send a charge if needed during night travel or low solar intake periods.
Yes, the truck will output 12v to the trailer while driving. Stock wiring will support roughly 15 amps, maybe a little more. You need a DC to DC charger installed to regulate the current flow to the battle born. Victron is a popular brand but pricey. Renogy is a more affordable brand.
I can't find my pervious post.
We just picked up the new travel trailer, the fridge is 12v only ( have solar, based on weather, I travel late morning into the night. Once again does our trucks, or mine ( 2019 F250 Diesel Lariat tow pkg), while driving with trailer attached, send 12v to the trailer battery??
Is it a full 12v or trickle? Does truck have to been in "D" with someone in seat, door closed,
can you tell me the color of the wire on the truck trailer plug that sends the 12v or position? ..so I can test it.
My concern is my travel pattern can be long day, evening with no solar, not sure how it works in rain, can the truck keep up with fridge demands by keeping battery charged.
Battery: Battle Born Lithium 100Ah
I thought of running a line to the trailer battery from the Factory Uplifter Switch in which I can manually send a charge if needed during night travel or low solar intake periods.
looking forward to some ideas and solutions
Thanks, Rick
You have solar for the camper? Is it permanently mounted to the camper in some way (ie, roof)? If so, the panel and controller are still collecting energy while you're driving. But the controller will not do it's job while you're plugged into the truck because it will read a full battery and put it in Float mode. The controller will store energy and should keep the battery topped off through the night.
I'm a little confused as to the nature of your question or what problem you're trying to solve. Yes, the truck will send current to the camper battery. Is it not supplying enough current for a full charge? I don't see a point in adding chargers and wiring when you've got that built into 7 pin and you have solar.
Also worth noting is type of battery you have can be drained to 0% with little to no ill effects on it, unlike a lead acid battery. So even if you're cruising around at 80% for a day or something, that's not exactly a problem for that particular battery.
If you plug into shore power first to get the fridge cold then while driving running it on 12 volts you'll be fine. The fridge won't run all the time but the 7 pin will feed the battery when driving to keep it charged. It might not be enough to keep the battery "fully" charged but if you are going to a campground that has shore power then you plug in or use your solar
I myself run on propane while driving so I'm sure my battery is fully charged because I have a pop up and I need battery power to raise the top
I make sure if running on propane to shut it off when gassing up my rig.
I have a truck camper not a tow behind
Yes, the truck will output 12v to the trailer while driving. Stock wiring will support roughly 15 amps, maybe a little more. You need a DC to DC charger installed to regulate the current flow to the battle born. Victron is a popular brand but pricey. Renogy is a more affordable brand.
Look for a 15-20 amp DC to DC charger.
Yes I do ! LOL Beer thirty.
I have a Renogy and it powers the fridge and keeps house batteries charged while driving like I was plugged in.
You have solar for the camper? Is it permanently mounted to the camper in some way (ie, roof)? If so, the panel and controller are still collecting energy while you're driving. But the controller will not do it's job while you're plugged into the truck because it will read a full battery and put it in Float mode. The controller will store energy and should keep the battery topped off through the night.
I'm a little confused as to the nature of your question or what problem you're trying to solve. Yes, the truck will send current to the camper battery. Is it not supplying enough current for a full charge? I don't see a point in adding chargers and wiring when you've got that built into 7 pin and you have solar.
Also worth noting is type of battery you have can be drained to 0% with little to no ill effects on it, unlike a lead acid battery. So even if you're cruising around at 80% for a day or something, that's not exactly a problem for that particular battery.
Thank you, my concern is the fridge not getting its required power to maintain its required temperature when traveling, since it's solely dependent on a battery and I can be traveling in the evenings. I always had propane option.
I also never had solar. Want to get informed on others experiences with this 12v fridge while traveling.
Can you clarify...
"But the controller will not do it's job while you're plugged into the truck because it will read a full battery and put it in Float mode". Are saying with the truck attached this doesn't allow the solar to fully function?
If you plug into shore power first to get the fridge cold then while driving running it on 12 volts you'll be fine. The fridge won't run all the time but the 7 pin will feed the battery when driving to keep it charged. It might not be enough to keep the battery "fully" charged but if you are going to a campground that has shore power then you plug in or use your solar
I myself run on propane while driving so I'm sure my battery is fully charged because I have a pop up and I need battery power to raise the top
I make sure if running on propane to shut it off when gassing up my rig.
I have a truck camper not a tow behind
I ran a test..(no solar no truck voltage)
-Trailer not connected to truck
-Refrigerator brought up temperature
-Refrigerator left on highest setting
- Noted battery level 13.66v
-Removed shore power at dark 8:30pm
-Checked battery, before sunrise, 5:30am
- Noted battery level 13.07v
Thanks again for you information and time. I feel comfortable now about traveling with this 12v refrigerator
Yes, it does provided it is not starting out room temp. I just did a 400 mile trip and it kept the fridge at 1*. If you start out with a warm fridge though, you might wind up draining the battery since there isn't enough amperage from the truck to keep the battery topped off and run the fridge at full power.
I ran a test..(no solar no truck voltage)
-Trailer not connected to truck
-Refrigerator brought up temperature
-Refrigerator left on highest setting
- Noted battery level 13.66v
-Removed shore power at dark 8:30pm
-Checked battery, before sunrise, 5:30am
- Noted battery level 13.07v
Thanks again for you information and time. I feel comfortable now about traveling with this 12v refrigerator
I wouldn't feel comfortable at all... It all depends on how good your solar panel is, and how much sunshine there is going to be... at least you do have a good battery, but, 2 is always better than 1. JMO... I camped with a friend that had a 12 volt fridge, & 2 batteries, (lead acid marine) and a solar panel, but no shore power where we went but 2 sunny days into the camping trip his batteries were dead... and, by the way, 13 volts on your Lithium 100 Amp battery means that it's more than 1/2 used up as I understand it, in 9 Hrs, there are 24 Hrs in a day, so...
Here is an approximate voltage/state of charge chart that is specific to LiFePO4.
Guessing the state of charge based on voltage can be difficult. LiFePO4 has a fairly flat voltage across most of it's discharge curve. The below graph may not match exactly with each vendor's cells, but I'm showing it here so you can see how flat the voltage can be from 90% to 20% state of charge.
A quality LiFePO4 battery should have a BMS that will cut off the discharge at a certain voltage. This should prevent the situation where the 12 volt refrigerator drains the batteries to zero. In my trailer I have the 12 volt circuit to the trailer's main distribution panel set to cut off at 12.0 volts. The BMS is set for a lower value than that so I can still power critical items that aren't on the trailer's main distribution panel. The inverter has a similar low voltage cutoff (~12.0 volts). The BMS should be the last line of defense.
I wouldn't feel comfortable at all... It all depends on how good your solar panel is, and how much sunshine there is going to be... at least you do have a good battery, but, 2 is always better than 1. JMO... I camped with a friend that had a 12 volt fridge, & 2 batteries, (lead acid marine) and a solar panel, but no shore power where we went but 2 sunny days into the camping trip his batteries were dead... and, by the way, 13 volts on your Lithium 100 Amp battery means that it's more than 1/2 used up as I understand it, in 9 Hrs, there are 24 Hrs in a day, so...
I don't dry camp, I mainly concerned about going from one place (RV Park with full hookups) to the next, on trips averaging 400 miles, with opening fridge for a meal and traveling at night..thats it so with those numbers, ill take it ill be be on shore power on arrival
I wouldn't feel comfortable at all... It all depends on how good your solar panel is, and how much sunshine there is going to be... at least you do have a good battery, but, 2 is always better than 1. JMO... I camped with a friend that had a 12 volt fridge, & 2 batteries, (lead acid marine) and a solar panel, but no shore power where we went but 2 sunny days into the camping trip his batteries were dead... and, by the way, 13 volts on your Lithium 100 Amp battery means that it's more than 1/2 used up as I understand it, in 9 Hrs, there are 24 Hrs in a day, so...
Originally Posted by HRTKD
Here is an approximate voltage/state of charge chart that is specific to LiFePO4.
Guessing the state of charge based on voltage can be difficult. LiFePO4 has a fairly flat voltage across most of it's discharge curve. The below graph may not match exactly with each vendor's cells, but I'm showing it here so you can see how flat the voltage can be from 90% to 20% state of charge.
A quality LiFePO4 battery should have a BMS that will cut off the discharge at a certain voltage. This should prevent the situation where the 12 volt refrigerator drains the batteries to zero. In my trailer I have the 12 volt circuit to the trailer's main distribution panel set to cut off at 12.0 volts. The BMS is set for a lower value than that so I can still power critical items that aren't on the trailer's main distribution panel. The inverter has a similar low voltage cutoff (~12.0 volts). The BMS should be the last line of defense.
thanks for the detailed info, I'll keep graph on my ph
at least you do have a good battery, 
but, 2 is always better than 1. 
JMO... I camped with a friend that had a 12 volt fridge, & 2 batteries, (lead acid marine) and a solar panel, but no shore power where we went but 2 sunny days into the camping trip his batteries were dead... 
and, by the way, 13 volts on your Lithium 100 Amp battery means that it's more than 1/2 used up as I understand it, in 9 Hrs, there are 24 Hrs in a day, so... 
