I have a 2006 Fleetwood Santa Fe Pup that we've had out on 4 trips now. This is my first camper and I've got everything pretty well figured out except for one thing. My battery drains really fast. It was over four years old and not taking a charge anymore so I installed a new group 27 deep cycle marine/rv Interstate battery from Costco. However, the new battery dies quickly as well. I run the fridge off of propane and make sure the 12 volt and 110v switches are off. We run the interior light at night as well as the porch light and the water pump here and there. That is really about all we use so with our light usage I would expect the battery to last a few days without needing to be charged. I've been running the generator and a 40 amp smart charger direct to the battery for 2-3 hours a day and I still hear the carbon monoxide detector beep early in the morning from a low battery. My last thought was to turn the water pump switch off when not using water which seemed to work. After turning the switch off, the battery started to hold a charge. It's my understanding that there shouldn't be any current draw unless the pump is actually pumping water and the pump does turn off when you shut off the faucet.
My other question is whether the battery should charge when being towed. I have a 2003 Ram quad cab with factory tow package and round rv connector which I thought was supposed to slowly charge the battery. I was hoping it would charge it enough to be able to keep the fridge running since it always blows out when running on propane. Does anyone know if this is right or how much amperage the vehicle gives to the trailer battery? I drove it for about 3-4 hours and it didn't seem to charge much if any.
Thanks for the comments!
Any thoughts?
My other question is whether the battery should charge when being towed. I have a 2003 Ram quad cab with factory tow package and round rv connector which I thought was supposed to slowly charge the battery. I was hoping it would charge it enough to be able to keep the fridge running since it always blows out when running on propane. Does anyone know if this is right or how much amperage the vehicle gives to the trailer battery? I drove it for about 3-4 hours and it didn't seem to charge much if any.
Thanks for the comments!
Any thoughts?