lzcamper
Thousand Oaks, CA
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Does a charger/converter charge both the starter battery and the house batteries or just the house batteries?
Rick
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big dave
Soldotna, Alaska, USA
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Generally speaking, no.
Dave & Rose C
90 Safari Ivory 34' DP
04 Saturn VUE V6
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JFG
TN
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House
Fred
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fncampn
Gardnerville, NV
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Unless your charger wiring has been modified to charge both, the charger in the converter charges the house batteries and the engine alternator charges the starter battery(s). They are two separate charging systems but can be wired to have either system charge either set of batteries.
Cold Weather Camping Mods
A Bunch of Ways to Mod Your RV
'08 Ford F150KR Screw 5.4L LB Auto 3.73LS 4x4
'07 Ford F350 XLT CC LB PSD Auto 3.73 4x4 - SOLD
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Caseydon
Simonton, Texas
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As you've been told, just the house. A convenient way to make it charge both is to install a Trik-L-Start charger. Simple to install, no attention required. In most motor homes, there is a relay that connects the coach and chassis 12 volt systems when the ignition is on. The Trik-L-Start connects across that relay.
Casey
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smkettner
Southern California
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Plug into utility power and the next morning check the voltage on both batteries. If they are both 13.2 to 14.4 volts they are being charged. 12.8 or less and they are not being charged. I also recommend Trik-L-Start if needed.
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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Bad answers on this thread. Many motorhomes such as mine are setup to charge both. Intellitec provides a device to many manufactures that is known as a BIRD. It charges both batteries whenever the voltage is over 13.2 and stops when it drops to 12.8. So the correct answer to your question is, some do and some don't.
Sam
Sam & Kari
Hurricane, Utah
2004 34' Damon Challenger 315
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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House always.. Chassis sometimes
Mine, for example, does both... I think "Both" is the "Minority" however
If yours does not then there are add-on devices that will fix it so it does
The Trick-L-Start is one such
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
John is Near Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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ejforwood
Littleton (Denver) Colorado
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If you have a Bounder, the answer is: Yes it charges both.
If you have a SOB, I don't know.
Jerry, Dottie & Chan, "the little furry one"
98 Bounder 34V, 99 F-53 Ford V10 chassis
06 Saturn VUE 4I
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lzcamper
Thousand Oaks, CA
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Thanks for the information. Answers to one question lead to many more questions.
I had planned to install a charger/converter in my DIY van in a couple of weeks, but I'm wondering if I could just use a charger instead of a charger/converter. All of the appliances in my van run on DC, so what's the advantage of using charger/converter instead of a charger? When plugged in to shore power with a charger/converter, it seems like one could save the propane that the refrigerator uses, but what else? Does a charger charge batteries faster?
Rick
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