12v Fridge Idea Input

I have read where several people have put a switch on the fridge and fan so that that those items can be operated on 12v while the shells are down. I am contemplating this at a little different angle, and wondering what forum members think.

My concern is that things don't get too cold while traveling. I have a wireless remote thermometer in the fridge in which the reciever seems to work on the outside of the TM. During gas and rest stops, I would check the temperature of the fridge, and if it were too low, I would just pull the blade fuse from the battery. But lo and behold, I would no longer have a break-away braking system. So, does anyone see a problem with wiring the break-away system directly to the battery, since the battery is right there anyway?? And if so, does anyone know how many amps the break-away switch pulls, so that I can run appropriate wire and fuse for this??

Thanks in advance,

Chap

Chap, on our dual axle tire trailers, they carry a small dedicated battery just for the breakaway switch. It is a little 12V 5 amp battery, that I always get from the local trailer supply company near my business.

If you went that route (instead of wiring it directly to the tmanor battery), You would need to remember to keep the battery charged, if you don't wire it in a way to get charged from your tv.

Everytime we get stopped for a check by the D.O.T. police, that is one of the first things they check is to make sure our breakaway battery engages the electric brakes. I have had to pay a ticket one time for the battery not being charged (which wouldn't have engaged the brakes if the need has arisen).

EDIT: Here is a link to some different breakaway battery kits

http://www.lowcosttrailersupplies.co...rts-l05x2.html

Bobby,

I didn't even know there was some kind of breakaway system on the TM. Is this part of the electronic brake controller or a different system entirely? Please pardon my ignorance. This is my first experience with trailers.

Phil

Bobby, I was going to just wire the break-away switch to the existing batteries since they are so close. The spade fuse to the TM electrical system is the 1 I would pull if the fridge got too cold, but leave the fuse to the break-away switch in place. There would no longer be any power to the TM for the fridge, but the break-away switch would still work off of it's own dedicated wire directly from the battery. I realize that I would no longer be charging the batteries either, but no current should be pulled from those, unless the break-away switch was activated. Does all of that make sense, or is this old dog barking up the wrong tree??

Chap

Originally Posted by P and B

Bobby,

I didn't even know there was some kind of breakaway system on the TM. Is this part of the electronic brake controller or a different system entirely? Please pardon my ignorance. This is my first experience with trailers.

Phil

Phil, there should be a seperate little cable coming from a box mounted on the inside your tongue frame that needs to be connected to your TV hitch every time you hook up. If the TM should become disconnected somehow, it will pull a pin out of that little box, and apply your TM brakes.

This is an entirely different system than your electronic brake controller.

Chap

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Bobby, I was going to just wire the break-away switch to the existing batteries since they are so close. The spade fuse to the TM electrical system is the 1 I would pull if the fridge got too cold, but leave the fuse to the break-away switch in place. There would no longer be any power to the TM for the fridge, but the break-away switch would still work off of it's own dedicated wire directly from the battery. I realize that I would no longer be charging the batteries either, but no current should be pulled from those, unless the break-away switch was activated. Does all of that make sense, or is this old dog barking up the wrong tree??

Chap

Chap, I understand what you are saying (I think )

I don't really know enough about how much amperage that the magnetic trailer brakes use to engage (I assume no more than 5 amps because that seems to be the average for the dedicated breakaway batteries).

I believe the electric brake controller inside your tv increases the amperage sent to the trailer brakes depending on how you apply them.

If you wire the breakaway switch directly to the battery, then if used, it would get the full unregulated amperage from the tmanor battery. I guess I am asking/pondering that if this occured, would a lot more than a 5 amps surge actually blow the magnetic brakes, whereby they wouldn't work. Another thing on my mind is the size of the wiring to the breakaway switch, and would it burn up with the full amperage from the TManor battery sent to it. If the wire burned up, then here again, your brakes wouldn't work.

Sorry that I don't have answers, but instead more questions for you Chap. Actually, for all I know, the breakaway switch may be directly wired to the Tmanor battery somehow. I guess I should look at how it is wired, when I get home.

Maybe some of our wise engineers here can answer it.

Thanks Bobby. You have given me some more things to comprehend, but that is a good thing. The break-away switch doesn't show up on the schematic, so I will crawl under the TM to see where it gets it's power from currently. If it doesn't go through the converter and comes straight from the battery now, I might try my idea. If I can't tell where the power comes from, then I will just install a fridge exterior fridge switch and call it quits......that might be the best option anyway.

Chap

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Phil, there should be a seperate little cable coming from a box mounted on the inside your tongue frame that needs to be connected to your TV hitch every time you hook up. If the TM should become disconnected somehow, it will pull a pin out of that little box, and apply your TM brakes.

This is an entirely different system than your electronic brake controller.

Chap

Phil, that's what we are all here for-------to learn and help others. Please feel free to ask any/all questions. As Bill has said numerous times, there is no such thing as a dumb question. (Even though I feel I have asked many)

You should have a breakway switch mounted on the tongue of your trailer (similar to the one pictured below), with a cable coming out of it. You will need to attach the loose end of this cable to your tow vehicle, each time you hook up the trailer. Make sure you have enough slack in the cable after attaching it to the tv, so when you turn, it won't pull the pin out of the breakaway switch. If you've never noticed (or used it), look to see if the cable is just wound around something on the tongue somewhere.



B_and_D posted a great link to a NHTSA pamphlet in another forum. You might be interested in it.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...68&postcount=2

[Bill]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

I have read where several people have put a switch on the fridge and fan so that that those items can be operated on 12v while the shells are down. I am contemplating this at a little different angle, and wondering what forum members think.

My concern is that things don't get too cold while traveling. I have a wireless remote thermometer in the fridge in which the receiver seems to work on the outside of the TM. During gas and rest stops, I would check the temperature of the fridge, and if it were too low, I would just pull the blade fuse from the battery. But lo and behold, I would no longer have a break-away braking system. So, does anyone see a problem with wiring the break-away system directly to the battery, since the battery is right there anyway?? And if so, does anyone know how many amps the break-away switch pulls, so that I can run appropriate wire and fuse for this??

Thanks in advance,

Chap

OK, Chap, you've got two (or maybe three) questions buried in here.

First "the refrig, operating on battery, doesn't have a thermostat, and things get too cold. What can be done?" You are exactly right, and I'm really annoyed that Norcold would do this to their customers. But we are stuck with it. I am currently experimenting with adding a thermostat - the one that Atwood SHOULD have provided - the solve this problem. It shouldn't be hard or expensive, but I'm not done yet. As the old billboards used to say, "Watch this space!"

Your idea of disconnecting the refrig is perfectly fine, but the method isn't good, for the reason you mentioned. You must not disable the breakaway brakes. Instead, you could bring the refrig power wires down through the floor to a switch accessible from outside. That would be fine, as long as your memory is beeter than mine and you remember to turn it on again!

Next question. Each brake in a Dexter electric brake system draws about 3 amps at max braking. There is a brake on each wheel, so if you have a single axle, that's two brakes at 3 amps = 6 amps max. The 3326 has two axles, four wheels, and I assume (but I don't know) that all four wheels have electric brakes, so that would be 12 amps max on this model only.

Connecting the breakaway directly to the battery, ahead of the main fuse, so that you can pull the main fuse and still have breakaway brakes? My concern is that you would be bypassing a safety device that is important in normal operation (the main fuse) and that the connection provides two power sources to the brakes. Let me think about this. Again, "WATCH THIS SPACE!"

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill

OK, Chap, you've got two (or maybe three) questions buried in here.

First "the refrig, operating on battery, doesn't have a thermostat, and things get too cold. What can be done?" You are exactly right, and I'm really annoyed that Atwood would do this to their customers.

Your idea of disconnecting the refrig is perfectly fine, but the method isn't good, for the reason you mentioned. You must not disable the breakaway brakes. Instead, you could bring the refrig power wires down through the floor to a switch accessible from outside. That would be fine, as long as your memory is beeter than mine and you remember to turn it on again!

Connecting the breakaway directly to the battery, ahead of the main fuse, so that you can pull the main fuse and still have breakaway brakes? My concern is that you would be bypassing a safety device that is important in normal operation (the main fuse) and that the connection provides two power sources to the brakes. Let me think about this. Again, "WATCH THIS SPACE!"

Bill

Bill, my idea was to cut the break-away switch hot wire completely from the existing system, and then wire it directly (with a seperate fuse) to the batteries, which on my TM are on the tongue right beside the break-away switch.

After reading some of the possible problems with this idea, I am now leaning towards just wiring a switch on the fridge 12v side. Still open to ideas, though.

Many Thanks, Chap