Are you worried about charging your RV battery from your vehicle? Then you are at the right place! Using a transformer that takes AC power and transforms this power to DC power, a camper’s battery can be charged with very little effort. Alternatively, the camper can be directly connected and charged from the alternator, solar or even wind power of the two vehicles. Let’s dig out from the article that How to Charge RV Battery from Vehicle.
A critical part of your internal configuration is your RV battery system. It is all-electric powered by your coach, from your overhead ventilator to your HVAC system to your fridge. You have to check that your device is not overrun by a power surge!
It is important to realize that there are two separate systems: a 120-volt AC system and a 12-volt DC system in your RV battery. Since you are driving a rented car, as is your normal passenger vehicle, you seem to have a standard battery used only to start the engine.
Before We Begin, Certain Things are Necessary To Keep in Mind.
You should place this great little piece of technology between your camper and your power supply and be assured that your device doesn’t get any power spikes and damages your electrical circuits.
You may not have to learn how all this works exactly.
It is so simple! You just must connect this little bandit to the power outlet between your camping car, or you charge your battery or just power outlets.
How to Charge RV Battery from Vehicle?:
Here I will discuss 5 different ways of charging RV batteries which will be very simple and easy to follow. Let’s have a look:
1. Charging an RV Battery by Using a Converter
The converter can also be used to recharge a battery in several ways. A camping site, national park, or state park may be connected with a 30- or 50-amp outlet to just the electricity system. This can even be connected to the grid with a 15 or 20 amp outlet at house.
The camper may also be connected to the electrical generator on the road or even on campgrounds just without electric wire or hook-ups.
- Outlets of 30 and 50 Amp (H4)
Most small campers have a hook-up of 30 volts, while bigger campers have a hookup of 50 amps.
When the campers are connected to the sea, they start charging the battery automatically and running their electrical equipment at the same time.
This is done by the sending of power to the 12 volt batteries and to the 120 VAC breaker panel through all the converter / inverter.
Both AC outlets are hooked by the breaker panel when the battery connects to every DC unit. Except for just DC appliances, if the battery was ever to fail full, you might still operate all your appliances off AC sockets.
Most tiny campers have just a hook-up of 30 volts, while bigger campers have one hookup of 50 amps.
When the campers are connected to the sea, they start charging the battery automatically and running their electrical equipment at the very same time.
The overhead lights may in some situations be the only DC things that you may have.
- Outlets of 15 and 20 amp (H4)
A battery with just a home extension cable can indeed be hooked to shore electricity while a 30 amp or 50-amp outlet can be hooked up as well. Alternatively, a 12-volt battery charger may be removed from your house and powered. This is a common way to charge camper batteries in tiny pop-ups.
2. Charging RV Batteries Using Generators
You may also use generators to load batteries of your campers. Camper owners are popular with diesel, propane, and other gas generators. It seems often that these generators are just as connected as the power of shore.
This type of generator will plug your camper towards which your AC devices are running directly and charging your batteries simultaneously. Your battery could still power your DC lights throughout this instance when charging.
Always be well-prepared for the voltage spikes
On campgrounds, you often experience voltage variations. That’s because there are issues with the wiring and that will harm your RV seriously.
You will protect your device from power fluctuations by installing this between your equipment and the power consumption. You can just get the right volt from your surge guard.
3. RV Battery charging with DC power
There have been some other options to charge the battery before even passing through the converter. These types of charging do not operate AC devices at the same time.
In this case, all AC and DC devices and lights are supplied at the very same time by the battery. Note that AC devices are not as effective as they are directly supplied by electricity from a battery and an inverter.
You will also note that it takes longer to charge your battery if your operating devices are off. You could not notice that you have enough power to charge your batteries if you operate too many appliances.
4. RV Battery Charging Using Alternator
An alternator for any vehicle is one of the most common means of charging a 12-volt battery. This is how cars charge 12-volt batteries themselves which is also how batteries in motorhomes are charged.
An alternator operates by mechanical energy conversion into electricity. When the motor starts and the belt rotates the alternator, mechanical energy is produced.
The battery charging with an alternative is an excellent choice for long driving trips.
Sadly, for those who intend on staying in one location for longer periods, this isn’t a very good choice. You have to idle your car to charge your inefficient batteries which are not so good for your car.
5. Solar Power
Solar energy among campers and motorhomes becomes increasingly common. A solar system begins with a solar panel that goes to a battery-enabled Amp controller. You can use the term load controller as well. The battery can be recharged utilizing a charging controller.
For consumers to choose from, there seem to be two kinds of charging controllers.
The first kind of charge controller, better known as the PWM controller has been the pulse width modulation charge controller.
An MPPT load controller seems to be more powerful than a PWM controller, but a little more could have been bought in advance.
Different charge controllers tend to function at various levels of strength. These degrees of strength are measured by amps. For that, you need to get a battery charger with more amps than the solar panels and battery which have been combined to charge the battery with solar power.
You just need to split your solar panel’s volts between your battery bank to approximate these figures.
Keeping all these in mind, I’d suggest you have a higher amplifier than the 15-amp controller.
6. Wind Force
In rare instances, wind generators were used to charge the camper batteries. This would be normally accomplished for people who might not drive a camper too much in windy environments.
Charging a battery from wind power acts much like powering a solar battery.
In this scenario, you have such a wind turbine that goes to a charging controller that then transmits the battery with electricity.
Some people thought that when driving, the use of wind turbines was not effective, healthy or even lawful.
It’s not effective, because it generates drag and decreases fuel efficiency during towing.
It’s not safe since one turbine that’s small enough to have already mounted on a motorhome cannot withstand the long tension and for safety reasons, it is just not legal.
Commonly Asked Questions
Should I Charge My Battery From Many Sources at Once?
Yes, without damaging your battery, you can charge your batteries from several sources at once. For example, when you are already hooked up to shore electricity, you can crochet your solar panels. Your battery protects against overcharging your batteries.
Can the Battery be Overcharged?
Yes, the battery can be overcharged, terrible for the battery and even harmful. Therefore, before charging your battery from any source, you have to buy the requisite equipment.
Will Battery Discharge Damage The Battery?
Yes, the batteries can never go above the prescribed percentages of the manufacturer. For instance, when depleted below 50 per cent, most deep-cycle marine batteries would have a shortened lifetime. In total, lithium batteries can indeed be reduced to about 20%.
After only a few runs, a standard car battery may fail to work. Therefore, once your alternator has expired, it will never be a safe decision to drive your vehicle.
How Long Does The RV Battery Last?
Well, it completely depends on certain things like how well you maintain your RV battery, how much you use this battery, and what kind of battery you have. Batteries of lithium-ion can last up to 5,000 charging cycles, while batteries of the deep cycle can only last for up to 400 or 500 times.
Summary
A camper’s battery is powered in several ways. Most people benefit from multiple charging sources. How you charge your batteries depends on where your camping car is used and when the battery is used to operate.
Regardless of the device you use to charge your batteries, make sure to always go for the recommended charging instruments or go through the article on How to Charge RV Battery from Vehicle or you might at risk damaging your batteries.
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