Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 17

Thread: Camper trailer wiring question

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    2,022
    Total Downloaded
    0

    Camper trailer wiring question

    I have a jayco Swan outback that I'm doing some electrical work to & need some advice.

    1) I'm running 3b&s dual wire from the 65ah dual battery in the discovery via large capacity Anderson plugs on the tow bar. There's a 130ah AGM Gel in the Swan that it's getting terminated on. What sized fuses on either side of the wire? 80amp?

    2) on the tow bar where the lg Anderson plug gets terminated, I was thinking of splicing in a regular Anderson plug so I can plug in my folding solar panel & charge the dual battery. Would adding the extra plug effect charge to the camper? Is 3b&s more than sufficient to compensate for the small loss created by adding the 2nd Anderson?

    3) I'm aware of DC/DC chargers & I'll add one if necessary, but I'm adding 2 solar panels. I've got a Victron MPPT 100/30 and Bluetooth dongle to add, plus 2x130w solar panels. By memory the panels are rated to about 7amps (or so, I'd need to check to make sure). I was going to run 2 x 15amp wires from the panels to the controller. What is the best way to wire up multiple panels in this situation?

    4) upgrading the power wire between the battery and the dometic 3 way camper fridge, and adding a movement sensor. How thick a wire is recommended?

    Thanks for the help in advance, I've asked similar questions on a caravan forum but never got answers to some of the detailed questions.
    "Land Rover - making mechanics out of everyday motorists for nearly 70 years"

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    2,022
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Really, no suggestions?? Maybe there's no one out there. Am I all alone? Oh no a zombie apocalypse, all the computers are out. Help!
    "Land Rover - making mechanics out of everyday motorists for nearly 70 years"

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    St Helena,Melbourne
    Posts
    16,051
    Total Downloaded
    0
    All I can suggest is forget running a 3 way off 12v, will draw too much as they are very inefficient .
    MY08 TDV6 SE D3- permagrin ooh yeah
    2004 Jayco Freedom tin tent
    1998 Triumph Daytona T595
    1974 VW Kombi bus
    1958 Holden FC special sedan

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    2,022
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by loanrangie View Post
    All I can suggest is forget running a 3 way off 12v, will draw too much as they are very inefficient .
    Agreed. The 3 way only draws 12v during travel & will have an inertia switch to cut the power when the vehicle stops for a certain length of time.

    They are brilliant on gas tho
    "Land Rover - making mechanics out of everyday motorists for nearly 70 years"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Bracken Ridge - Brisbane - QLD
    Posts
    14,276
    Total Downloaded
    0

    Camper trailer wiring question

    1) rarely see 3B&S used for charging trailer batteries. 6B&S is all I’ve ever used....fuses protect the cable, I think I have either 80 or 100amp

    2) use 6B&S and no need to splice and 50amp Anderson plug. If you stick with splicing than it won’t affect your charging

    3) shouldn’t need a DC-DC, nice choice for your regulator and the dongle is a handy gadget. I fit Anderson plugs to my solar panels, made a Anderson double adaptor and have a 10m 6B&S extension which I plug into the Anderson plug on My Victron which is mounted at the battery.

    4) given I use 6B&S every where I would also use it on the three way and a movement sensor is a good add

    For me.....6B&S everywhere using 50amp Anderson plugs. I have converted everything 12v to Anderson plugs.....portable water pump, portable shower, portable compressor, fridge, LED light strips etc

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Queensland
    Posts
    7,768
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Hi John, and you can easily charge a bank of batteries in your trailer using 6B&S ( 13.5mm2 ) so your 3B&S ( 25mm2 ) cabling will make a breeze of charging your battery, or batteries.


    If you have run 3B&S cabling from your cranking battery to your house battery, the an 80 amp fuse is fine.


    Even with the heavier cable running to your house battery, a 3 way fridge can still drain your house battery while you are driving.


    You will need to do some testing and if the 3 way is a small one, you may getaway with it being powered from your house battery, but it is still not the ideal setup.


    Best practice is to run a separate power supply from your cranking battery to your fridge, via an ignition controlled relay. or as suggested above, fit a fridge switch.

    Last but not least, DC/DC devices are not needed in an Land Rover DBS, because the Land Rover alternator can charge faster than a DC/DC device can.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    2,022
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by drivesafe View Post
    Hi John, and you can easily charge a bank of batteries in your trailer using 6B&S ( 13.5mm2 ) so your 3B&S ( 25mm2 ) cabling will make a breeze of charging your battery, or batteries.


    If you have run 3B&S cabling from your cranking battery to your house battery, the an 80 amp fuse is fine.


    Even with the heavier cable running to your house battery, a 3 way fridge can still drain your house battery while you are driving.


    You will need to do some testing and if the 3 way is a small one, you may getaway with it being powered from your house battery, but it is still not the ideal setup.


    Best practice is to run a separate power supply from your cranking battery to your fridge, via an ignition controlled relay. or as suggested above, fit a fridge switch.
    Ok. Thinking...if I splice in a 6b&s with a 2nd Anderson on the tow bar (remember it's feeding from my dual battery) and run a length of 6b&s as a 2nd feed direct to the fridge switch then onto the fridge? Would I need to do anything to stop it back feeding/draining from the house battery? Not an issue in the day time as I'll have 260w of solar assisting, but might be an issue at night.
    "Land Rover - making mechanics out of everyday motorists for nearly 70 years"

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Queensland
    Posts
    7,768
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by John_D2 View Post
    Ok. Thinking...if I splice in a 6b&s with a 2nd Anderson on the tow bar (remember it's feeding from my dual battery) and run a length of 6b&s as a 2nd feed direct to the fridge switch then onto the fridge? Would I need to do anything to stop it back feeding/draining from the house battery? Not an issue in the day time as I'll have 260w of solar assisting, but might be an issue at night.
    That should be fine an the ridge switch will stop the fridge drawing from your has battery when the motor is off.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    2,022
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by weeds View Post
    1) rarely see 3B&S used for charging trailer batteries. 6B&S is all I’ve ever used....fuses protect the cable, I think I have either 80 or 100amp

    2) use 6B&S and no need to splice and 50amp Anderson plug. If you stick with splicing than it won’t affect your charging

    3) shouldn’t need a DC-DC, nice choice for your regulator and the dongle is a handy gadget. I fit Anderson plugs to my solar panels, made a Anderson double adaptor and have a 10m 6B&S extension which I plug into the Anderson plug on My Victron which is mounted at the battery.

    4) given I use 6B&S every where I would also use it on the three way and a movement sensor is a good add

    For me.....6B&S everywhere using 50amp Anderson plugs. I have converted everything 12v to Anderson plugs.....portable water pump, portable shower, portable compressor, fridge, LED light strips etc
    That's a good idea (keeping everything the same). I'll keep it in mind.

    I've already bought 3b&s & lg andersons specifically to run the feed to the camper. I only bought 1 plug & socket as I'm not expecting to use it anywhere else. My folding solar uses 50amp Anderson hence why I considered fitting a 2nd Anderson on the tow bar.
    "Land Rover - making mechanics out of everyday motorists for nearly 70 years"

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Bracken Ridge - Brisbane - QLD
    Posts
    14,276
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by John_D2 View Post
    Ok. Thinking...if I splice in a 6b&s with a 2nd Anderson on the tow bar (remember it's feeding from my dual battery) and run a length of 6b&s as a 2nd feed direct to the fridge switch then onto the fridge? Would I need to do anything to stop it back feeding/draining from the house battery? Not an issue in the day time as I'll have 260w of solar assisting, but might be an issue at night.
    It would work but will be drawing off the system car and van battery.

    but for me keep it simple.....rarely see two Anderson plugs on draw bars....way back when I had a van with a 3 way fridge it was just wired to the battery in the van like all the other 12v items. I didn’t bother with a motion switch or relay, just switched to gas when we pulled up at camp.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Search AULRO.com ONLY!
Search All the Web!