truck battery dead after parking with trailer hooked up

[Car Doc]

This was my thinking see what you think my pickup has one for my camper. RV Battery Isolator - PPL Motor Homes

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

they make solar chargers that can be wired and mounted to the trailer.
120vac battery maintainer will keep it topped off.
you can pull the battery and bring it inside to trickle charge if there is no power near your storage area.
lots of new dump trailers come with a solar charger.
many sizes and places to buy a solar charger.
Just a thought
Tom

 

[jwstewar]

Which wire stays hot ?

Do you have a separate wire to charge batt ?

In the attached diagram it is pin number 4. That is the pin that is designed to charge the battery.

BTW, that diagram is the backside of both connections.

Now, ignore this if it confuses you, but you to give you an insight to how my warped mind works. To visualize wich pin is which when you are looking at the connection that we normally see (ie when we raise the cover on the truck receptical), the trailer version would match up to what you see when looking at the plug on the truck and vice versa.

Seems kind of dumb to me, but what do I know?

I don't know about that. Yes, it certain circumstances it can be a pain, but vice versa I may have my trailer hooked up for several hours but only drive a few miles. It will give it a good charge. Easier for someone to disconnect the 7-way umbilical if they are going to be hooked up for awhile than it is to hook up a battery charger to charge the battery. The solar chargers aren't too bad, but even with that, since mine charges the whole time I'm hooked up, I pull frequently enough that I don't worry about it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I suppose that no more than I use the trailer, it would be prudent to remove the battery and put it on a maintainer in my shop. I think I have a spare one so I will look at doing that. I sure would not have thought that such a small battery would drain my big truck battery. Must be something wrong with it. Maybe I should pop the breakaway and see if it locks the brakes.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I hate having to un-do the U-bolts and take apart the weatherproof box to get the battery out. Also, I hate the idea that if I stored the battery indoors on a charger, I would have to take the time to put it all back together before using the trailer. So I put one of these ring terminal harnesses on it.



That way, I can easily put a trickle charger on the battery every once in a while to keep it topped off. My breakaway kit is not wired with a charger circuit, so I can't charge it through the vehicle harness.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Not all vehicles do. I believe Ford & Dodge do, but GM doesn't - or at least didn't at recently as 2008. Our 2008 Suburban and 1999 Silverado are hot all the time.

You are right, but this is only on the factory setups. Toyota and Nissan also did it right but GM took the cheap route and took out the relay. I have seen this more than one time.

Chris

 

[deerefan]

I towed my Kubota to the dealer last week and when I came home I just left the trailer hooked up for the return trip. After 4-5 days of setting, I am going to go get my Kubota and my truck battery is completely dead. Not even the radio will work.
I jumped it off and it charged back up on the 20 mile trip to town but voltmeter was reading above 14 volts all the way to dealer and then half way back it dropped back below 14v so I assume it took about 50 miles of driving to recharge the 5+ year old battery completely.
What would make the trailer pull down my truck battery. Nothing should have been on except the power to the breakaway battery pack.
IS THIS NORMAL FOR ELECTRIC BRAKES?

Dont know if anyone commented on this yet, but being your battery is 5 yrs old maybe it needs to be replaced. May not have anything to do with the trailer.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Dont know if anyone commented on this yet, but being your battery is 5 yrs old maybe it needs to be replaced. May not have anything to do with the trailer.

I am sure the original battery in m 2007 truck is getting a little weak from age, but it charged back up after being completely dead and worked as it should. There is some parasitic drain in the truck from the theft protection system but it takes months to weaken the battery. I have left it parked in the garage when overseas for as much as 7 months without starting and it started right up but the voltage meter jumped up above 14v when running so it was depleted a bit.
I have already beat my record in battery life for this truck. I dont usually get more than 4 to 4.5 years on a new vehicle battery and this one is already over 5 years and has been completely depleted more than once from leaving auxillary powered devices on.

 

[jwstewar]

You are right, but this is only on the factory setups. Toyota and Nissan also did it right but GM took the cheap route and took out the relay. I have seen this more than one time.

Chris

Like I said before, I actually prefer it this way. I think GM did it the correct way. It also allows you to use the plug for other things back there. I have my diesel fuel pump rigged up to run off it. I can fill my tractor by plugging into the trailer pig tail. I also have a small water pump rigged up this way so that I can transfer water from the storage tank on the truck to the holding tank of the camper. I also have my yard sprayer rigged up to use the same plug. So, again I'm quite glad that GM did it this way. I would be mad if I had another brand and couldn't use it the way I want and probably would be rewiring it.

 

[deerefan]

I am sure the original battery in m 2007 truck is getting a little weak from age, but it charged back up after being completely dead and worked as it should. There is some parasitic drain in the truck from the theft protection system but it takes months to weaken the battery. I have left it parked in the garage when overseas for as much as 7 months without starting and it started right up but the voltage meter jumped up above 14v when running so it was depleted a bit.
I have already beat my record in battery life for this truck. I dont usually get more than 4 to 4.5 years on a new vehicle battery and this one is already over 5 years and has been completely depleted more than once from leaving auxillary powered devices on.

It may not hurt to have it tested. The batt in my tractor is 7 yrs old. Getting sluggish but still does the job.