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  1. #1
    Seasoned Camper
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    2021 2500 Silverado pulling a 2022 GD Imagine - Aux battery question

    Hey all,

    Just received our GD Imagine 2500RL, was wondering if the 7 pin trailer connection is providing enough power to charge the 2 lead-acid batteries in the trailer which is supplemented by the 160 watt solar panel on the roof of the trailer or should I be thinking about adding an Aux battery to the truck (space is located drivers side under the hood)

    If I go the truck battery route, what more is needed other than the battery

    I have heard some trucks don't have a fuse installed once the battery is connected...

    Am I missing anything else?

    Rick

  2. #2
    Site Team Soundsailor's Avatar
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    Aug 2021
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    New Hampshire
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    First off, congrats on the new rig, hope you enjoy many happy camping trips.

    Not sure if your truck will be much help in keeping the batteries charged. My understanding is that the charge comping through the 7 pin plug is about 7 Amps. Assuming your batteries are 100 Ah, and that you never discharge them below 50% as is recommended for LA batteries, you'd need to drive over 10 hours to get much or a charge (70 Ah). You'd be better off with a DC to DC charger. You might also want to consider switching your batteries to LiFePo4. While expensive to begin with, these batteries charge more quickly and last a lot longer. You're going to need a reliable battery bank if you are off-grid for any amount of time. The 12-volt refrigerator that most GD coaches are coming with these days requires about 4 Amps per hour, 96 Ah over a day.
    Stephen and Judy
    2022 Reflection 150 Series 260RD (Stella)
    2017 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD (Blue)
    Traded - 2018 Forest River Rockwood Minilite 2104S

  3. #3
    Rolling Along
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
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    A cheap easy solution that is not exactly environmentally friendly is to get a small inverter generator and charge em up as needed.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    2021 Reflection 312 BHTS, Silverado 2500 Duramax

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper
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    Hey all, thought it was time to update...

    My truck has the 30amp fuse for the trailer plug, it's good and when I measure the voltage on the pin in the 1:00 position it shows 14.4v, haven't measured amps yet...

    The Refer runs almost all the time which explains why after a trip, even a long one, my batteries in the TT (2 - 100ah LA) are down a fair bit

    The truck and the 165W solar on the roof can't keep up with what the Refer is drawing

    It goes back to the dealer this weekend to deal with the Schwintek slide issues and the Refer... hope they get them both fixed

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