Trailer tongue box battery setups?

60Dan

Explorer
Hey Guys,

Interested in how you all have setup your trailer battery 12v electrical systems and what your running off those trailer battery setups.

Pictures, schematic diagrams, components used, type of batteries etc etc would all be helpful.

I know some guys are running solar, others are charging off their tow rigs. If you have either I would also like to see how your have done that

Thanks
 

bob

Adventurer
You can do both or actually three ways.

I run a trickle charge off the vehicle. I have a standard Toyota battery in the FJ.
I run 2 Concord/Trojan 120 amp group 31 solar batteries in the trailer, with a Morningstar 15 Digital solar controller, controlling the whole system. The Solar side is charged by 110 watt 12 volt Siemens Panel. It is transported to the Morningstar by a standard drop cord approximately 75 foot, giving me out of shade options. I also charge with a dual 6 amp onboard marine charger that runs off of 110 house feed or generator.

While stored I run a 35 watt solar panel on the roof of my garage to trickle charge the batteries.

My stuff is burried in my trailer, will try to get pictures for you. I have my batteries over the axle to set off the weight, they are premium batteries that weight nearly a third more than what a normal battery ways. Did not want them on the tongue with the spare.
 

Hilldweller

SE Expedition Society
I have two Optima D31M batteries in the tongue box and a shore power charger on board. It also charges from my truck's 180 watt alternator when I'm running.
The batteries run my ARB 50-quart fridge and the LED lights in the galley and cabin. I also have a battery-powered LED bar in the galley if I want to conserve the main batteries.

217.jpg
 

60Dan

Explorer
You can do both or actually three ways.

I run a trickle charge off the vehicle. I have a standard Toyota battery in the FJ.
I run 2 Concord/Trojan 120 amp group 31 solar batteries in the trailer, with a Morningstar 15 Digital solar controller, controlling the whole system. The Solar side is charged by 110 watt 12 volt Siemens Panel. It is transported to the Morningstar by a standard drop cord approximately 75 foot, giving me out of shade options. I also charge with a dual 6 amp onboard marine charger that runs off of 110 house feed or generator.

While stored I run a 35 watt solar panel on the roof of my garage to trickle charge the batteries.

My stuff is burried in my trailer, will try to get pictures for you. I have my batteries over the axle to set off the weight, they are premium batteries that weight nearly a third more than what a normal battery ways. Did not want them on the tongue with the spare.

Hey Bob thanks for the info. Looking forward to seeing some pics.
 

60Dan

Explorer
Im planning on running some LED lights in and around the trailer and perhaps run some outlets for some misc other 12v things - like charging cell phone, computer, small kids DVD player or running a 12v electric blanket for winter camping.

I was going to go with one battery, a marine guest charger, perko battery master switch, separator, and a marinco charging inlet, some kind of bus bar and a few outlets.

So as you see I have an idea about what I want to do, just not sure how to bring it all together. Not very knowledgeable when it comes to wiring, but i can normally figure things out!

Dont know how to go about charging this battery off the trucks battery while in tow, or if I should go with a solar panel to trickle charge while camping.

I really would like to see detailed pictures of other Expo guys setups, so i can try and make the right purchases the first time :cool:
 

Woods

Explorer
To charge off the trucks battery, you'll run dedicated ground and positive wires from the battery through your trailer electrical connector. You can use a 7 blade trailer connection. Most do a simple fused direct connection and it seems that 10 gauge wire is sufficient. There are a few threads around here, but be prepared... it turns to a long and arduous discussion.

The power requirements you mention are fairly low and I'd think that any standard car battery will suffice. My power requirements are lower than yours, so I'm only running a 7 amp hour (wheel chair) battery.

Hopefully some guys will post some more pics for ya. Otherwise, poke around you'll find plenty of great ideas here.
 

60Dan

Explorer
There are some great trailers out there, so show off your electrical setups would ya! :sombrero:
 

traveler57

Observer
Here is what I have done. Yes, it was based on the hundreds of great builds that others have done. I studied all the many options and came up with this configuration. yes there are many others, but this one worked well for me. Some of this was covered in my trailer build posts, but here it is again all in one place.

1 TrailFX truck box (black aluminum) $280
2 110 Ah deep cycle (std marine type, not AGM) but only $100 each on sal
2 Standard battery boxes with vent tubes to outside $12 each
1 IntelliPower 45Amp DC charger. includes 3 15A 120VAC circuit breakers and 2 20A and 10 15A DC fuses ~$140
1 Homemade 1x2 wood frame (cheap!) but it is removable for servicing $5
1 BEP VSR (voltage sensitive relay) to automatically isolate jeep battery from trailer batteries. ~$70
1 West marine switch panel ~$30
2 DC 40A circuit breakers, auto-resetting (one on trailer, and one at Jeep battery)
1 DC main switch (for full disconnect of my deepcycle batteries, because I never trust my own work!) $5
1 RV Power Hatch Door ~$10
1 DC volt meter, plug in type ~$10
Various buss bars and screw terminal strips (to keep things neat)
~70 ft of 14G and 16G wire for pos and ground for every circuit
20 ft of 10G for the battery connections to jeep and to charger
7 PIN connection to Jeep, including charging 10G wire
100 ft of wire loom $10
1 35ft RV 30A 3 prong 120V cord $40
1 30A plug to 15A plug converter $12

System was based on the plan of having 3-5 days of DC power without connecting to jeep or to AC.
Running of a DC fridge, LED lights (4 dome and 4 floods), and DC outlets for cell phones, ipods, etc.
(no air conditioners, no heaters, no electric blankets!!! )
System is about a year old now. Trailer has about 4000 miles on it (yes, mostly pavement). and system is working great.

Here is the trailer for a review. basic box with a frame around it. used cheap truck box (TrailFX) for the electrical mounted in the front. Back space is for the RTT (when I have some funds!)

DSC01451 (Small).JPGDSC01459 (Small).JPG

Here are some views of the box setup.

DSC01434 (Small).JPGDSC01779 (Small).JPGDSC01786 (Small).JPGDSC02454 (Small).JPG

Back inside the main cargo bo--. DC outlets and USB power outlets, LED dome light and DC power cord for fridge and AC power cord/outlets coming from 1 of the three 15A AC breakers. AC is for the DC/AC fridge, and with wired-in 25ft 12G AC cord I have AC power at rear of trailer. Another AC marine outlet is in front elec box on second circuit. NOTE- I decided against any AC inverter, so AC is only if I am connected to a AC power pole in a commercial campground.

DSC02462 (Small).JPGDSC02463 (Small).JPG


I think I have everything listed. Questions? Please just ask. Dan
 

Rezarf <><

Explorer
Here is a shot of my electrical setup in my home made trailer. I have from right to left...

IMG_3258.jpg


shore power inlet plug
2 bank charger
2 115 amp hour batteries
1/1/2 battery switch isolator
6 switch panel
3 12v outlets

The switches control:
RTT lights
Water Pump
LED Camp lights
3 open slots

Hope that helps, I have a write up here somewhere if you search for it, I'm sure it will pop up.
 

60Dan

Explorer
I sure do!!

Thanks for taking the time to post up all this good info, its giving me lots of great ideas :smiley_drive:
 

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