Craig -
There is nothing wrong with what you are considering. But in my opinion, you are preparing to go a bit overboard.
As Dave says, if your objective is to run the refrig on the road, while not depleting the battery, I think you have three choices.
One is to add a DC-to-DC charger, which will accept the low voltage provided by the tow vehicle, and boost it back up to the level needed to charge the battery and run the refrig at the same time. A bit expensive - perhaps $400 - but very little work involved. This was Dave's first approach, and I think it worked well for him. (Dave, correct me if I go astray here.)
Another is to add a solar system to your TM that will charge while you are driving down the road. This is a really nice solution. It will cost something on the order of $300, and will also require a fair amount of work to install the panels on the roof, run the wiring, and so forth. This is what Dave recommends, based on his experience.
And the third is to upgrade the wiring from the tow vehicle alternator to the TM battery. Cost is quite low, on the order of $70, but the amount of labor may be a bit higher than the others.
Any of these will work, and you get to choose.
Back in 2006, I tried the 3rd option, and it solved the problem. You can read the short version in post #5 here
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10986
and post #22 here
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=4909
So what does it mean to "upgrade the wiring"? It doesn't have to be complicated. Some of our members have gone to VERY heavy wire, like #4 or #2 welding cable. And it works. But no need to go that far. The key is to make sure that you have an uninterrupted run of #10 wire from the tow vehicle alternator to the TM battery, and back. In the case of my much-beloved Explorer, the tow vehicle wiring had some sections of #14, and several connectors, both of which are killers. The TM had all #10 wiring, but also had a few connectors. Running an uninterrupted length of #10 all the way, with a single connector at the back bumper of the tow vehicle, solved the problem for me. Total cost was about $70.
As for the idea of having a "real charger" in front of the TM battery, instead of "cramming volts and amps into the battery". Remember that the tow vehicle cannot overcharge the TM battery. In order to overcharge the TM battery, it would have to wildly overcharge the tow vehicle's own battery, since that is where the charging voltage is set.
For solar charging, a solar charge controller in front of the TM battery is a good idea, and is part of a solar system in the second option above. If you don't have solar, you don't want to pay for this function, of course. And if you do have solar, a charge controller for the solar system will do as well and cost less.
The choice is yours, and all will work well. Let us know which way you go, and how it works out.
Bill
Linear Mode
