Well I have most things fixed, adjusted and tweaked just like I want. Had the trailer plug moved into the box last week and cleaned up the wiring. As a last item to fix I added a LPG detector to the camper, when I was doing this I decided to disconnect the camper battery to make working a little safer (usually I work with live wires as it makes things a lot more interesting ). When I disconnected the battery in the camper I tested the wiring and found that I still had power coming from the truck. I had thought that I would only get power when I was driving? Will this not drain both batteries or is there a cutoff that will come into play when the power drops to a certain level on the truck battery? Do I need to add a isolator to the line to prevent the truck battery from draining? I also thought if this was the case that I could add a second battery to the truck to just run the truck and then I would have two 12v batteries for the camper (one under the hood of the truck and one in the camper).
Any ideas?
As a side note, when doing work on the TC I found that it originally did not come with any batteries. Looks like the TC battery connection was an add on.
I have a 2001 2500HD. From the factory on my truck the battery connection to the 7 pin RV connection was HOT all the time. On the truck at least there is no cutoff etc. I ran all my batteries down once when I left the refer on DC.
I solved the problem by installing a 30 amp 12 VDC relay that is activated automatically from a source which is powered only when the ignition switch is ON.
Add you second battery and put an isolator under the hood add a switch to turn that extra battery on to either charge it or run it into the TC.You will also need to put a battery cut off switch on your house battery. That's what I did and it works great.
I leave my trailer, 7 pin 5er, all the time when we camp. Sometimes over a week at a time. My trailer will batteries will be dead, 2 optima blue tops, in the morning if the heater runs when its really cold outside. I have never had any issues. I even leave the trailer plugged in when the generator is running and when the trailer is in front of the house and plugged in to the house.
Never had an issue with truck starting or trailer. I have 2 red tops in the truck. I have heard for years not to do this but I have friends with gas motors and 1 battery and they do the same thing and don't have issues. We camp 1 to 2 times a month year round.
I had a 2002 2500HD with the aux battery option. It came with a second battery on the right side of the engine compartment wit an isolation relay mounted on the firewall. This relay would isolate the starter battery, but allow the aux battery when the key was turned off. I would think your easiest approach would be to get the mounting brackets and the isolation relay from GM or your local junkyard (if you are lucky enough to find one with that option) and wire according to the factory aux battery wiring diagram. I would recommend using a RV battery instead of the starting type battery that came with the aux battery option. Also, I would recommend going to 10 gauge or better to the Camper from this battery instead of the stock 12 gauge wire.
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). When I disconnected the battery in the camper I tested the wiring and found that I still had power coming from the truck. I had thought that I would only get power when I was driving? Will this not drain both batteries or is there a cutoff that will come into play when the power drops to a certain level on the truck battery? Do I need to add a isolator to the line to prevent the truck battery from draining? I also thought if this was the case that I could add a second battery to the truck to just run the truck and then I would have two 12v batteries for the camper (one under the hood of the truck and one in the camper).
