Re: Charging from tow vehicle

On Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:29:13 -0600,
  sticks <wolverine01@charter.net> wrote:

 On 2/21/2025 8:49 AM, Ted Heise wrote:

Hi all,
 
Thinking of trading in my Acadia for a new one and the sales
rep mentioned something about it having a larger alternator. 
That make me just idly wonder if it's possible to get a
factory installed system that would supply enough power at the
7-pin connector to recharge a LiIon battery while towing.

 
 I am about 99.9% sure the answer to your question is no, Ted.
 Still a good idea to get the big alternator, and maybe even a
 double battery setup. The main problem is the wire size on the
 7-pin plug.

Oh, that's a very good point, I completely forgot about that
little detail. 

     ...On my TOAD, I installed a power plug so I could use a 12
 Gauge wire that was always on, but that was only for trying to
 keep the battery on the TOAD up to run the braking system. 
 This would not be enough to charge depleted LI batteries.
 
 What you need is very heavy gauge wire from the battery to the
 back of the tow vehicle with a plug for a DC-DC charger if you
 really want the tow vehicle to charge the trailer battery.
 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_jHoEEkiUc>

Thanks for the feedback, and to Ralph too.

I guess I'm still looking for a way to keep the battery charged
when flatspotting.  The generator works, but seems more trouble
than it's worth (weight, shortish run time, gasoline odors), so I
may look into solar.  Else I'll just reconcile to campsites with
electricity.

--
Ted Heise      <theise@panix.com>       West Lafayette, IN, USA