One of the most important things for a trailer is ensuring proper maintenance of battery health. The amount of frustration that a dead trailer or problematic battery brings is huge no doubt. And sometimes these things are enough to ruin pretty plans in just a few moments. This is why you must be aware of how to charge a trailer battery while driving. So that even if such circumstances arrive, you’re able to deal with it. Let’s talk about the whole matter in detail today…
Here’s How to Charge a Trailer Battery While Driving Without Any Problem.
Depending on what specific problem your trailer battery is facing, the solution will be varying each time. And so, let me go through the most common issues that arise causing a situation where you’ll need to charge trailer battery. Including that, the way to charge it will also be provided. Keep on Reading…
If the Battery Fails to Get Fully Charged.
Do you know what is the most common plan that most people think of first and give up on after trying it once? Going for a 7-way connector and their vehicle to charge the dead trailer battery. Usually, this plan is cursed to be a big failure.
The main reason here is actually the gap between the camper battery and the vehicle alternator. Usually, it’s too far of a distance that prevents the trailer battery to charge fully from a depleted condition. Maybe going for a maintenance charge can be possible. But it will barely help in avoiding the DOA condition at campsite. Also, you will end up with not more than 80% of charge through this route.
Now by all this discussion, you probably have guessed that a trailer battery is not going to charge with your vehicle’s alternator. Well, that’s not completely true. The main culprit behind here is a 7-way connector. You need something more than that.
Go for a DC to DC battery charger for actually giving your trailer battery what it needs. This would make a direct connection with your battery contrary to what 7-way does. And so, your trailer battery will leave the depleted state by getting right power to charge properly.
Some models can also draw power from the solar panels along with a vehicle alternator. However only when it’s available. To sum it all, these chargers work best in a situation of boondocking or simply driving.
If Tow Vehicle’s Battery Gets Drained by The Trailer One.
Some of us have this terrible habit of forgetting to turn the car’s lights off and it stays like that for whole night. And then the dead batteries end up becoming an inconvenience that could not be blamed for any other thing.
When you find out about these dead batteries in the middle of nowhere, things become two times worse. And this happens a lot to people on a boondocking adventure. Sadly, with a 7-way connector, you may want to maintain the trailer battery. But if you forget to make the disconnection later on or simply go for a battery isolation solenoid after turning your vehicle off, this is quite normal to happen then.
In such circumstances, you usually need to choose between two routes. The first one needs you to disconnect trailer as soon as reaching campsite. And then there’s an alternative way of using battery isolation solenoid.
This will make the power get drawn from battery of vehicle. Only when the vehicle is running basically. This simple, inexpensive, and better inclusion can help you preserve the battery of your vehicle better.
And then, bothering much about the unplug thing will not be necessary anymore. Some battery charges come with built-in isolation functions. You can also get those. These are really good at charging your trailer battery fully while you can drive with peace of mind.
One Thing to Note!
Monitoring your trailer battery’s charging condition is very important. Make sure it never drops below 50%. This is very critical for your trailer battery’s lifespan overall. Some models may not have a built-in indicator. In such a case, don’t hesitate in getting a battery monitoring system.
Also Read: How to Reduce Tongue Weight on a Trailer?
Wrap Up
With a proper idea on how to charge a trailer battery while driving you can avoid any negative after results easily. But first rule here is getting right knowledge regarding the whole thing. Also, you will require the correct tools that can actually help in sorting such a situation.
The information that this piece of writing intended to provide you. I hope you’ll be able to make good use of it. Also, pay attention to storing the battery for a long time by following some simple but useful tips.
Disconnecting the battery once it gets full charge, getting sign of grime or corrosion sorted, adding distilled water whenever there is a need and similar maintenance habits will help you achieve such milestone easily.
