Help!

PaulaS

I am the proud owner of a brand new T@G and can’t wait to start camping!! Can someone help me understand the battery and when I need to have it on? I will mostly be camping with electricity. Do I need to have the battery on or off when I am plugged in? In between camping trips, do I need to plug in at home to keep the battery charged? I’m new to this, so I appreciate any help in understanding how it all works!!

Fourman110

I believe you need it on whenever you want to use power or charge the battery.

Verna

@PaulaS, at home, you will need to charge your battery between trips. I use a Battery Tender Jr as a trickle charger to charge and keep your battery charged.

An inexpensive battery monitor that plugs into your 12V accessory plug (formerly known as a cigarette lighter plug) can help you maintain your battery’s charge. The battery should not be allowed to go below 12.2V that is considered 50% of the battery’s available charge.

Michigan_Mike

@PaulaS said:
I am the proud owner of a brand new T@G and can’t wait to start camping!! Can someone help me understand the battery and when I need to have it on? I will mostly be camping with electricity. Do I need to have the battery on or off when I am plugged in? In between camping trips, do I need to plug in at home to keep the battery charged? I’m new to this, so I appreciate any help in understanding how it all works!!

Paula, the trailer comes equipped with the electric converter and the converter (different than an inverter) is basically a battery charger, provides 110 volts AC power to the trailer when it's plugged into shore power and also provides 12 volts DC power to all your 12 volt accessories (e.g., LED lights, TV/DVD player, etc).

Verna is correct, go to Walmart or a nearby auto parts store or Amazon and purchase a 12 volt DC LED volt meter to monitor the battery voltage. The trailer can be plugged into shore power from time to time and this will charge the battery up. Keep in mind that the trailers accessories WILL drain the battery as LED circuits, the TV/DVD, stereo, etc. do consume energy when the trailer is sitting idle and within 2-3 days you will see that the battery voltage has dropped off.

So as Verna noted, monitor the voltage, charge the battery as needed, never allow the battery voltage to drop below 12 volts as over time this will damage the battery and reduce its efficiency. A battery tender will maintain and float the battery charge and is a great alternative. The factory recommends monitoring the charge and plugging the trailer in as needed for 2-3 days (at a time) as this will help preserve the electric converter and extend its life.

PaulaS

I really appreciate all of your good advice! This is exactly the information I was looking for! 62 year old single camper, and a previous tent camper, so it’s all new. Boy am I going to have fun!! Thank you all!

OutdoorEd

Welcome, PaulaS! Happy trails!