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Topic ClosedCharging your battery from your tow vehicle
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WillThrill View Drop Down
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Posts: 298 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Charging your battery from your tow vehicle
    Posted: 07 Dec 2017 at 3:25pm
Originally posted by henryv

This is all very confusing to the average layman like myself and the lady who just wanted to know what to do. The arguing between experts doesn't help, but adds to the confusion. We are seeking simple answers to make our camping experience more pleasant. My R-pod is solar-prepped, but I won't get much use out of it unless I live in the desert somebody said. I could use jumper cables from the tow vehicle to the camper in a pinch. The best charging system off grid is from a generator. Now, at the risk of stirring up a bee's nest, is this a good final assessment?

There is no room for 'arguing' anymore as I have demonstrated that the 'charge controller and vehicle' approach works.

If you aren't going to be doing it often (i.e. less than once per month while Podding), connecting jumper cables to your Pod is fine.  Once you remove the jumper cables and let the battery sit with no loads for at least 10 minutes, check the voltage.  If it's 12.7 or higher, the battery is probably fully charged or at least very close.  This is far from the ideal way to charge your batteries, but it will work in a pinch and won't do much damage if it isn't done often.

If you are going to need to be charging your Pod's battery more often, then there are several approaches to take.  Shore power and generator power are the fastest and easiest ways to do this, but you may not have a generator when dry camping (many here don't).  Solar panels used with a charge controller can certainly work, but solar panels aren't cheap, and they only work in full bright sun.  Rain, clouds, shade, and dark will either greatly reduce or, more likely, eliminate any power they could otherwise produce.  The method described here, where you attach your charge controller to your tow vehicle and then to your Pod's battery (both with alligator clamps) is both inexpensive to set up (around $30), perfectly 'healthy' for your Pod's battery, can be done any time that you can idle your tow vehicle close to your Pod, and uses a great resource that you already have: your tow vehicle.

If you anticipate needing to run your air conditioner or microwave while dry camping, you definitely need a generator.  Otherwise, a generator is unnecessary.  Solar panels with a charge controller can definitely work, and if there is no sunshine, you can just substitute the solar panels with your tow vehicle, using the very same charge controller.

Does that make sense?
"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien

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Olddawgsrule View Drop Down
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Posts: 1014 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Dec 2017 at 3:39pm
I'll simply say a controlled charge meant to recharge your deep cell battery is the way to go. Will offers a very simple solution that is inexpensive to do and works under a controlled environment.

Is it the 'best', that could be debated, yet it works and well. Kuddo's Will for offering this!
And it's inexpensive (did I mention that?)...
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Olddawgsrule View Drop Down
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Posts: 1014 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Dec 2017 at 3:43pm
Originally posted by henryv

This is all very confusing to the average layman like myself and the lady who just wanted to know what to do. The arguing between experts doesn't help, but adds to the confusion. We are seeking simple answers to make our camping experience more pleasant. My R-pod is solar-prepped, but I won't get much use out of it unless I live in the desert somebody said. I could use jumper cables from the tow vehicle to the camper in a pinch. The best charging system off grid is from a generator. Now, at the risk of stirring up a bee's nest, is this a good final assessment?

I have a thread of power audit. This is important to anyone that wishes to run off their batteries for any prolonged time. It's the first step in many before you purchase anything. What will you use, what do you need to recover. Then how.
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2627 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2017 at 11:16am
Originally posted by Olddawgsrule

I'll simply say a controlled charge meant to recharge your deep cell battery is the way to go. Will offers a very simple solution that is inexpensive to do and works under a controlled environment.

Is it the 'best', that could be debated, yet it works and well. Kuddo's Will for offering this!
And it's inexpensive (did I mention that?)...


Jumper cables are cheaper and simpler and will get the job done. They will provide a quick charge and are probably "gentler" than the built-in WFCO charger. It is exactly what I would do when dry camping if I did not have a generator.
bp
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Keith-N-Dar View Drop Down
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Posts: 1447 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2017 at 3:33pm
I would say so.  You can run the generator during non quiet hours using the charger built into the pod and in a pinch put some charge back into the battery with your TV as long as you don't jumper for to long.  I would say an hour or less.  That is what I do and it has worked fine for years.  This year I added a solar battery maintainer for the time that we are not using the pod.  I disconnect the battery and hook it to the maintainer and it keeps the charge maintained.
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WillThrill View Drop Down
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Posts: 298 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2017 at 3:44pm
Originally posted by GlueGuy

Originally posted by Olddawgsrule

I'll simply say a controlled charge meant to recharge your deep cell battery is the way to go. Will offers a very simple solution that is inexpensive to do and works under a controlled environment.

Is it the 'best', that could be debated, yet it works and well. Kuddo's Will for offering this!
And it's inexpensive (did I mention that?)...


Jumper cables are cheaper and simpler and will get the job done. They will provide a quick charge and are probably "gentler" than the built-in WFCO charger. It is exactly what I would do when dry camping if I did not have a generator.

The WFCO charger is a multi-stage charger that is far better for your Pod's batteries than raw current being dumped into them from your tow vehicle's battery.

Jumper cables might be cheaper, but it depends on the length and especially on the grade.  Most of the jumper cables out there are now made out of cheaper aluminum, but they are very inefficient.  Copper is best but very pricey; a 20 ft. set will easily sell for $80-$100, far more than a 10 amp charge controller and a little 16 gauge wire.
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2627 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2017 at 3:58pm
Originally posted by WillThrill

Originally posted by GlueGuy

Originally posted by Olddawgsrule

I'll simply say a controlled charge meant to recharge your deep cell battery is the way to go. Will offers a very simple solution that is inexpensive to do and works under a controlled environment.

Is it the 'best', that could be debated, yet it works and well. Kuddo's Will for offering this!
And it's inexpensive (did I mention that?)...


Jumper cables are cheaper and simpler and will get the job done. They will provide a quick charge and are probably "gentler" than the built-in WFCO charger. It is exactly what I would do when dry camping if I did not have a generator.

The WFCO charger is a multi-stage charger that is far better for your Pod's batteries than raw current being dumped into them from your tow vehicle's battery.

Jumper cables might be cheaper, but it depends on the length and especially on the grade.  Most of the jumper cables out there are now made out of cheaper aluminum, but they are very inefficient.  Copper is best but very pricey; a 20 ft. set will easily sell for $80-$100, far more than a 10 amp charge controller and a little 16 gauge wire.
Jumper cables are typically 2 AWG or larger, and can handle far more current than would be used if you're just charging a battery or two.

And we're not talking about running your TV for a couple of days, we're only talking an hour or two; which is the most that I would do this sort of thing.

If your batteries are at 50%, even the WFCO takes half a day (6-10 hours) to bring the battery up to full. Running the TV for an hour or two will never get past the bulk stage; that's when you need the most power anyway.
bp
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WillThrill View Drop Down
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Posts: 298 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2017 at 5:48pm
Originally posted by GlueGuy

If your batteries are at 50%, even the WFCO takes half a day (6-10 hours) to bring the battery up to full. Running the TV for an hour or two will never get past the bulk stage; that's when you need the most power anyway.

There are many factors at work here.  Remember that at least half of those 6-10 hours to get the battery up to full are spent in absorption charging (80%-95%) and float charging (95%-100%).  Bulk charging gets the battery up to about 80% state-of-charge, and running either a generator or a tow vehicle beyond that solely for the purpose of charging the battery isn't worthwhile (i.e. far too inefficient).

If you aren't letting your battery get below 50% SOC, then we're just talking about charging it up from 50% to 80%.  30% of one marine battery is roughly 23 amps.  A 10 amp charge controller could do that in two hours and twenty minutes.  The 20 amp controller I referred to earlier could do it in just over an hour, and a 30 amp controller could do it in 45 minutes.

If you want to use jumper cables instead, that's fine.  But please don't deride an inexpensive, easy method that any expert in lead acid batteries will tell you is better for your battery's health.
"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien

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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2627 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2017 at 6:11pm
Originally posted by WillThrill

There are many factors at work here.  Remember that at least half of those 6-10 hours to get the battery up to full are spent in absorption charging (80%-95%) and float charging (95%-100%).  Bulk charging gets the battery up to about 80% state-of-charge, and running either a generator or a tow vehicle beyond that solely for the purpose of charging the battery isn't worthwhile (i.e. far too inefficient).
Our solar sites typically spend a lot more time in bulk charge mode, where the current is highest. Depending on the time of year, they will spend anywhere from 2 to 8 hours in bulk mode. Asbsorption mode typically is two hours; sometimes less. In absorption mode, the current is a lot lower, since the batteries are getting close to full. Whatever time remains during the day is spent in float (AKA maintain) mode.
bp
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Tars Tarkas View Drop Down
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Posts: 1446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2017 at 6:56pm
It seems to me that if you're into techno-solutions and are okay with carrying around some stuff not a lot of people own or even know what it is, the solar charge controller might be a good idea.  I have a solar controller, but unless it's an emergency, I'm not interested in disconnecting it from the solar panels and attaching wires with alligator clips to other things.  Jumper cables are a lot more common, and in my opinion, are nearly requisite equipment for any vehicle.  And if I have to use some extraordinary measure to charge my pod battery I probably don't care a whole lot whether I charge the battery to 80% or 88% or whatever. 

If we're talking about maintaining the battery for a week or more of dry camping, I guess it's a matter of choice, but I prefer a more robust solution: a generator that will recharge the battery while letting me use a Keurig or the air con or microwave.  To each his own.

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