Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

Hi Fellas. I am planning a long distance camping trip with my 1969 gmc 1500 and vintage camper shell. I will be off the grid most days. I know I could ice down some coolers but I want to be able to keep my food cold effectively and not worry about running out of ice. My plan is to add a 12 volt fridge and an aux deep cycle battery under the hood to power this while the truck is off. My only problem is wiring the battery to the truck and making it charge correctly and also be able to separate the current from the regular battery so I can crank the truck in the morning. I read that deep cycle batteries don’t like to charge off a truck alternator. Is there something I can add to make it charge effectively off the alternator. Has anyone else added this kind of setup to their truck? How did you wire it up? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

Here is one thread about dual batt.

Link: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...battery+wiring










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Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

I will check it out. Thanks.

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

Spend the money on a small generator set it up to run the fridge.

You can charge a deep cycle battery with the truck alternator but it may take a while. I hook a small generator up to it and tie into the electrical system.:chevy:

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

This is how I did mine in the ramp truck for the winch battery. It will charge both batteries at the same time when the truck is running. When the truck is off it kills the solenoid so only the winch battery is working the winch. If I leave the truck running and flip the toggle switch it will run off both.:chevy:



http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=780350

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

You could also look into a battery 2 battery charger. It sits between your batteries and regulars flow to charge your aux from your main. Essentially it'll feed excess power from your starter battery to your aux. Popular in the camper van world for simplicity and when dual alternators aren't needed or wanted.

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

I may end up copying your set up. It’s looks simple to make and not too pricey either. How long does it take to charge a deep cycle off of the trucks alternator?

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

I’ll look into this too. That may be easier to hook up. I’ll have to see how long it takes to charge the aux battery.

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

Don't really know since I only have a normal car battery hooked up right now. You could use this setup while driving to keep the fridge cold but I suggest one of those small generators to run it at night. That and a light are whatever else you may need.
I would be willing to beat your battery wouldn't run the fridge all night any way. :chevy:

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

Keep in mind charging length will also be a factor of your alternator output, and how much charge your battery can take in its various stages of charge. Are you looking at AGM or LiPo for the aux?

If you have a quality travel fridge and a 100 amp hour lithium you can run the fridge 3-4 days on a full charge. We just ordered a single 200 amp hour for the sprinter my gf is building.

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

I’m planning on getting a AGM battery. The fridge I will be using is tiny. I just want to keep a few things cold during the night or when I’m parked. I will probably end up doing the gam battery with the isolator setup that was mentioned above. Should I upgrade to a 100amp alternator to help this battery charge faster?

Re: Camper battery modification wiring questions.
 

I would upgrade the alternator to as big as you can get that you can mount. Read this sites info on alternators and wiring. It's the best info out there for this. You will know a lot more about what you need after reading it.:chevy:


http://www.madelectrical.com/electrical-tech.shtml

I still think something like this is your best bet though.:chevy:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Westinghous...E&gclsrc=aw.ds