Charging a battery in p/u truck bed

[johnnyliberty1776]

I have a 2014 F-150 P/U with camper shell. I plan to camp out of it. Would like to know how I can trickle charge a deep cycle battery I plan to place in the bed of the truck. Can I do so from the trailer connection 7 point and or 4 point electric connectors for a trailer tow?

Thanks to Mr. Bob Wells and all you folks for the great info!

 

[user 423]

A 7-pin I believe has a hot wire but the 4-pin does not.

If the battery is depleted much at all, it could require quite a flow of amps to recharge.

So you would probably pop fuses in the tow connector circuit.

Here's some more info from etrailer.com:

https://www.etrailer.com/question-30687.html

 

[johnnyliberty1776]

I will be mounting a Renogy 100 w solar panel on the roof. Just thinking about cloudy days as I want to run a small frig. So, if I am driving down the road a trickle charge is going into the battery.

On the 7 pin, the pin in the 1 o'clock position is the line for the battery and the pin in the 7 o'clock position is ground. Just not sure if I connect a wire to each and run to the battery if it will work.

I'll check out the video and thank you.

 

[B and C]

You would be much better served installing a continuous duty solenoid to charge the aux battery. Connect one side to the alternator and the other to your aux battery (fuse required).

 

[johnnyliberty1776]

What do you think he means by, " you could maintain the power to the battery but not charge it."

Very helpful article. thanks for it.

 

[user 423]

Starting with a fully charged battery (by charger and/or solar), maintaining would only require a few amps. A trickle.

But using the battery overnight to power a fridge or whatever, it will be depleted and it would require a lot more amps to charge it back up.

More amps than what the trailer connector can provide. The size of the wiring and fuse is too small for a lot of amps to flow to the auxiliary battery.

Look at the size of the wire from the alternator to your truck's starting battery. It's large so a lot of juice can flow.

The wiring for the trailer connector (and fuse) is a lot smaller and can only handle a much smaller current flow.

 

[B and C]

Small wire, long distance = voltage drop. Here is a voltage drop calculator based on length and gauge of wire: https://www.solar-electric.com/learning-center/wire-loss-tables.html/

 

[johnnyliberty1776]

Continuous duty solenoid...I'll need to educate myself on that as it sounds good. Does it meter electric to the battery much like a solar charge controller?

 

[user 423]

It connects your alternator to the aux. battery so it is charged as you drive.

 

[B and C]

Usually connected with 4 gauge cable for high currents.

 

[johnnyliberty1776]

4 gauge wire from the alternator to the pickup bed where the battery will be. ok. I'm going to research that one. thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

 

[B and C]

You will need a 150 amp fuse on each end of that cable, one at the alternator and one at the battery in case the cable shorts to ground.

 

[johnnyliberty1776]

That is some serious wire and fuse! Just thinking how I would run such a wire from the engine compartment to the bed of the truck? Any ideas?

 

[tx2sturgis]

You could use a battery isolator in your situation:


https://www.wirthco.com/battery-doc...ters-monitors/battery-isolator-series/100-amp

 

[B and C]

That is some serious wire and fuse! Just thinking how I would run such a wire from the engine compartment to the bed of the truck? Any ideas?

From the alternator to fuse to the continuous duty solenoid (not a starter solenoid, they are different) down to the frame.  Then along the frame to the bed.  Your bed should have a rubber grommet that you run the wire up into the bed through.  If no existing grommet, drill a hole and put a grommet in.  Parts store sell them. Connect a fuse and then to the battery.

A depleted battery will draw a lot of current.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

That is some serious wire and fuse! Just thinking how I would run such a wire from the engine compartment to the bed of the truck? Any ideas?

I ran 6 AWG wire (positive and negative) from my truck battery to the bed of the truck following (at tying to) the left side frame rail, watching to keep clear of the front suspension moving parts.  Bringing the wires up between the inner and outer bed wall, through a hole I drilled for that purpose, wire run through a short piece of heater hose to protect from the sharp edges of the hole.  I use a 60A circuit breaker at the battery and a 60A ANL fuse at the battery.

Charging controlled by a BlueSea SI-ACR.

I wish I had used 4 AWG or even 2 AWG but I had the 6 AWG and it works ok.