Maintaining chassis battery

[Mel Wilbur]

The LSL trik-l-start appears to be a good answer for maintaining the chassis battery. I cannot give a personal report on this item as mine is still in the mail but I have been using two of their products (Toad-Charge and Flame-out) for several years with no problems. Note: as a safety precaution, the Flame-out turns off power to the refrigerator for those of us that travel with it running on lpg, whenever the engine is shut down for refueling. This is no longer offered as most of the newer models have this feature built in.

I contacted the General Manager of the company who offered a $10.00 discount for Leap'n Lions club members. This offer is good for 60 days and limited to the Trik-l-Start, Toad-Charge, and the Lil-Stanker. Unfortunately this was an afterthought so I paid full price for mine. I bought a lottery ticket but didn't win that either. Check it out - http://www.lslproducts.com and check their FAQ and Generic Installation sections for more information.


Any club member interested can contact me for the club discount code.

[al1florida]

An inexpensive trickle charger for under $20 works just fine. I bought mine at Walmart. Basically just about any trickle charger will not over charge the battery which is what you need.

[Mel Wilbur]

Al, I agree with you regarding a less expensive charger but I like the fact that the LSL unit can be permanently installed, works with solar power, and anytime a/c is supplied by shore line or generator. Install it and forget it works well for me.

[Roger]

REEFER - slang for refrigerator

REFER - to direct someones attention

[mockturtle]

REEFER - slang for refrigerator

Or a marijuana cigarette, as in 'Reefer Madness'

[bcope01]

I use the Deltran Battery Tender Junior, less cost than the Trik-I-Start, and works like a champ.

http://batterytender.com/automotive/bat ... 0-75a.html

Bill

[Mel Wilbur]

Roger & Mockturtle, guess I should have asked my wife how to spell refrigerator.

[Dallas Baillio]

I too use the Deltran battery tender. I discovered I can attach it to the chassis battery and run the electrical cord between the hood and fender near the windshield and into the BF through the passenger side door. I then connect to a wall outlet inside the motor home. Since I have the three stage converter, I keep my BF hooked to shore power all the time.

[bill crommett]

I found that the easiest way was to install a small, cheap battery disconnect on the coach battery. I start up the coach every month to run the generator and that takes care of recharging any coach battery self discharge.

[bill crommett]

Pleas cross off (to) and substitute (and).
[my reeefer works just fine]

[Bill Dodgen]

For those of you who are or want to use the Deltran battery tender, a nice option is to purchase a cigarette lighter adaptor. Here is a link to one on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-De ... B003CJ927I

With this adaptor, you can easily charge your chassis battery. Just plug the battery tender into an outlet in the couch near the front, and plug in the adaptor to one of the 12 volt sockets on the dash. Very easy.

[bcope01]

For those of you who are or want to use the Deltran battery tender, a nice option is to purchase a cigarette lighter adaptor. Here is a link to one on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-De ... B003CJ927I

With this adaptor, you can easily charge your chassis battery. Just plug the battery tender into an outlet in the couch near the front, and plug in the adaptor to one of the 12 volt sockets on the dash. Very easy.

Thanks for the link Biil. A shame that they did not include the cigarette lighter adapter with the Deltran Battery Tender.

Bill

[Roger]

It appears that we are talking about two different scenarios here:

1. Those who want to maintain the battery while the vehicle is in storage

2. Those who want to maintain the battery while camping and AC power is
available.

I accidentally ran down my battery by leaving my GPS unit plugged in. I
also like to run the dash mounted radio. I chose the Trik-L-Start because
it's fully automatic and supplies up to 5 amps to the chassis battery.

The small trickle chargers supply less than 1 amp...not enough to run the
radio or other items plugged into the 12 volt dash outlets. They are fine
for a vehicle in storage but hooking them up and supplying them with AC
each time you stop can be a hassle.

[Roger]

Nothing new, Sam. The 12 volt outlets in the cab are connected to the 12
volt vehicle power buss through the fuse panel (and hence to the chassis battery). Power can flow either way.

[al1florida]

So, in effect, these trickle chargers charge the Ford battery(ies) (in the case of the diesel Born Frees,) by plugging them into the dashbord power outlets? The 110 power sockets charge the Ford battery by plugging them into the dashboard power outlets? That's new technology to me. I thought the power outlets on the Ford dashboard only supplied power, not received power.

Sam,
The cigarette lighter style outlets in the dashboard are connected to the plus and minus 12V DC wiring to the engine (chassis) battery. So plugging a trickle type charger into the outlet would be the same as connecting the charger to the battery with alligator clips. One major difference would be the outlet wiring is only designed to carry about 15 amps, maybe lower. There is a fuse which would blow if you had a high current charger plugged into the dash outlet. Most small portable battery chargers don't supply more than 6-10 amps.