Best Value Lead Acid Golf Cart Batteries for RV Use

[John From Detroit]

If towing, then its the alternator on the tow vehicle that is at risk. And since any properly installed tow harness will have a fuse on the +12v charge line, that worry about alternator damage goes away. I'd suggest an auto-reset breaker rather than a fuse, though. Much more convenient. If you use a fuse, either manually check on arrival that it has not blown. Consider adding some sort of telltale to make it easy to determine the charge line is still functional.

One thing protecting the alternator in a TOW vehicle is wire size. .
a wire can only haul so much current and as the current times length of run goes up the voltage goes DOWN. Thus limiting charge rate.

This might not apply in a Motor home.

 

[TonyL]

One thing protecting the alternator in a TOW vehicle is wire size. .
a wire can only haul so much current and as the current times length of run goes up the voltage goes DOWN. Thus limiting charge rate.

This might not apply in a Motor home.

But don't overloaded wires catch fire unless the fuse blows. Lithium as I understand are power hungry when they need recharging.
Anyhow, i'm hijacking the thread as the OP said they are not going lithium, so apologies and lets get back to helping them.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

But don't overloaded wires catch fire unless the fuse blows.

They get hot and might get hot enough to melt or cause a fire. Or the voltage drop may substantially slow the charging. Or some combination of those. A very high amp draw, e.g. a dead short, will almost surely cause an overheat failure. A more moderate but high load probably won't, even if more than the rated wire capacity. Other factors come into play, e.g. quality of the insulation, bundling of the wire, ventilation, ambient temperature, etc.

 

[John From Detroit]

But don't overloaded wires catch fire unless the fuse blows. Lithium as I understand are power hungry when they need recharging.
Anyhow, i'm hijacking the thread as the OP said they are not going lithium, so apologies and lets get back to helping them.

Many things are involver. Length is a factor. if say the wire drop 1 volt over a 1 foot run 1 watt per foot is gonna get warm. Same 1 volt drop over 30 feet won't warm enough for you to notice. by touch.. but an in-line ammeter will notice (a drop in current).