Dumb question, I know. . . .

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Dan de La Mesa

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Oct 18, 2015
Posts
129
When the RV is connected to 110 shoreline, is the engine battery charged as well as the house batteries?  I'm sure this has been covered 47 times already, but I'd appreciate a simple yes or no.

Dan
2006ViewJ
 
It depends on the vehicle, but in your case probably not.  In 2006 Winnebago started including the Trik-L-Start as standard equipment on its diesel pushers to provide this function.  (I believe they use a different method with their current models.)  I don't know what they do on the gassers, but I'm pretty sure that a 2006 View would not do this.

Installing a Trik-L-Start to keep the chassis batteries charged is a very simply thing to do.
 
On a 2006 I would think it is but not sure on the view. You can find out in a couple minutes with a VOM attached when you plug in and check battery voltage. You can get a VOM at Walmart for about $15, read across both terminals on the chassis battery.
 
I would bet it does charge the chassis battery. Heck we atill own our first Class C Its a 1985 Lazy Daze and it has the capability to charge all batteries on board...The volt meter will say for sure..One reading before you hook up and another away plug in..simple..
 
My 2012 does not charge the chassis battery when on shore power and I doubt that even the new Winnie gassers do.

Both chassis and house batteries are charged by the alternator when the engine is running.

Only the house batteries are charged when operating on shore or generator power.

I installed an "Echo" to charge the chassis battery off the house battery when on shore or generator power, but any trickle charger that is designed to "steal" some of the charge being provided to the house batteries will do. The Echo begins stealing some charge when the chassis battery drops below about 12.8 volts and shuts off when the chassis battery rises to about 13.3 volts, if I am remembering it correctly. The Echo maintains the chassis battery at about 0.2 volts below the voltage of the house battery.

Different brands of trickle chargers will provide different current capacities for the device. If you boondock a lot you may want to consider a brand which will charge your chassis back up faster when on generator (if you have a drain on the chassis battery when boondocking). I believe the cheaper brands will pass only two amps while a more expensive unit will pass more.
 
john owens said:
I would bet it does charge the chassis battery. Heck we atill own our first Class C Its a 1985 Lazy Daze and it has the capability to charge all batteries on board...The volt meter will say for sure..One reading before you hook up and another away plug in..simple..

You would likely loose that bet!!!!  Most A's, C's do not have the feature to charge the chassis battery when plugged in.  Only models manufactured by Fleetwood are known to have that feature standard in most (if not all) of their products but there are bound to be others, now that I said that. Winnebago added that feature to their diesels as was explained above.

You are correct though, a simple test using a voltmeter/multimeter will prove it one way or another.
 
not just Fleetwood...

my Rexhall gas coach has a relay that clicks and charges the engine battery only when it drops below some voltage point.

I heard the relay clicking all the time,  so I tested the battery and ended up finding out I had a bad engine battery.
 
National RV coaches. too. But Winnebago's generally did not, though the diesels got that feature in 2006, and I think the newer gas Class A models now do it as well.  The 2006 View did not.
 
When I plug in all batteries will charge. Even my solar set up charges the chassis battery and once it reaches a certain voltage the chassis battery will drop off. Mine is a 2014 model.
 
john owens said:
I would bet it does charge the chassis battery. Heck we atill own our first Class C Its a 1985 Lazy Daze and it has the capability to charge all batteries on board...The volt meter will say for sure..One reading before you hook up and another away plug in..simple..
The ENGINE charges all batteries, but does the onboard charger?
 
Dan de La Mesa said:
When the RV is connected to 110 shoreline, is the engine battery charged as well as the house batteries?  I'm sure this has been covered 47 times already, but I'd appreciate a simple yes or no.

Dan
2006ViewJ
47 times?  Well maybe only 21 times  ;) . Your simple answer is no (unless a previous owner added a Trik-L-Start or an Echo~Charge.)
 
Hearty thanks to all who indulged my no-doubt heavily redundant question.  As I suspected, the answer depended on 1) the specific year and model and 2) whether alterations had been made.

I followed the advice from Mavarick: "You can find out in a couple minutes with a VOM attached when you plug in and check battery voltage."

And discovered that there was no difference in the voltage reading at the chassis battery when the shore line was connected and when it wasn't.  I think this confirms all the "No" answers in the replies.

On to the next item, whatever it may be.  There's always something, isn't there?

 
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