I got a spot for a battery on the tongue...

[cmack98]

So we have this camper that we got last year for an amazing deal...

We only got to use it twice so far, we have a buncha trips planned for this year so far...

BUT my question is this...The tongue on the trailer has a tray for a car battery...but there was no battery there when we bought it.

So, do we need a battery there?

What does it do?

If I "need" one, what do I need to purchase?  I assume a battery, one of those plastic battery boxes...but what kind of connectors do I need to go from the battery terminals to the plug on the camper?

Obviously the owners before us never bothered with this....Just wondering why we should?

I did hear though, in the event that the trailer becomes disconnected while towing, that once the electrical connection is broken, having a battery connected to the trailer will instantly engage the trailer brakes to stop that from recklessly rolling away, is that true?

Any help would be greatly appreciated if you guys know what's up.

Thanks!

[fallsrider]

So we have this camper that we got last year for an amazing deal...

We only got to use it twice so far, we have a buncha trips planned for this year so far...

BUT my question is this...The tongue on the trailer has a tray for a car battery...but there was no battery there when we bought it.

So, do we need a battery there?

What does it do?

If I "need" one, what do I need to purchase?  I assume a battery, one of those plastic battery boxes...but what kind of connectors do I need to go from the battery terminals to the plug on the camper?

Obviously the owners before us never bothered with this....Just wondering why we should?

I did hear though, in the event that the trailer becomes disconnected while towing, that once the electrical connection is broken, having a battery connected to the trailer will instantly engage the trailer brakes to stop that from recklessly rolling away, is that true?

Any help would be greatly appreciated if you guys know what's up.

First of all, congrats on your new PUP! They are so much fun, I think.

There's only two reasons that I can think of that you would need a battery...1) if you plan to do some dry camping or boondocking where you won't have electrical hookups, and 2) if you have electric brakes.

Even if you do plan on some dry camping, you don't necessarily need the battery. People tent camp every day without batteries or electrical hookups, and you can do it in a PUP, too. It partly depends on what equipment your unit has installed. Do you have an electric water pump? Batteries certainly enhance the dry camping experience, but they are not necessary.

Does your unit have electric brakes? And if so, do you have a brake controller installed in your tow vehicle and are actually using the brakes? If so, you do need a battery to power the brakes should your PUP come unhitched while traveling down the road. It's called a break-away system, and you would have a cable attached to your tow vehicle to pull the break-away switch in the event of a separation. If you only need a battery for the break-away system, you don't need much of one. A motorcycle battery or lawn mower battery is more than sufficient. But if you want to dry camp and you have electric brakes, you should consider getting a Group 24 or Group 27 battery to power lights, water pump, etc., while camping.

As far as what you need to install a battery, I'll leave that to others to answer. We don't have a large battery installed to power the PUP. We just have a very small battery installed for the break-away system.

Happy camping...

[cmack98]

Thanks for the quick reply...

Let me add some info that might help others give me their two cents...

First off, the wife and I were avid tent campers until our twin boys came 2 years ago.  In order to get the wife camping again, I had to sell my motorcycle and get the PUP.  Ok, we got new windows in the house too along with the pop up, but still...The bike is gone and the camper is here....so coming from tent camping, to the PUP we are still feeling so spoiled....I think it might be a while before we start boondocking though...

We DO have electric brakes on the trailer with a Prodigy brake controller installed in the van.  We know the brakes work (took a few adjustments to get them dialed in where they needed to be).

I thought that the break away thing should be something we should look into....

I guess I just need to know what parts to get to go from the battery to the connector on the camper.  I could wait until I get a chance to run out to the local camping RV joint (Stones Camping World in Winslow Twp NJ...small plug).  I at least thought if you guys on here gave me a clue as to what I was talking about, it might make it easier when I get there...

Thanks again for your info!

[wavery]

Thanks for the quick reply...

Let me add some info that might help others give me their two cents...

First off, the wife and I were avid tent campers until our twin boys came 2 years ago.  In order to get the wife camping again, I had to sell my motorcycle and get the PUP.  Ok, we got new windows in the house too along with the pop up, but still...The bike is gone and the camper is here....so coming from tent camping, to the PUP we are still feeling so spoiled....I think it might be a while before we start boondocking though...

We DO have electric brakes on the trailer with a Prodigy brake controller installed in the van.  We know the brakes work (took a few adjustments to get them dialed in where they needed to be).

I thought that the break away thing should be something we should look into....

I guess I just need to know what parts to get to go from the battery to the connector on the camper.  I could wait until I get a chance to run out to the local camping RV joint (Stones Camping World in Winslow Twp NJ...small plug).  I at least thought if you guys on here gave me a clue as to what I was talking about, it might make it easier when I get there...

Thanks again for your info!

What year and model Coleman camper do you have?

In some States, you are required to have the emergency break-away switch active, if you have electric brakes on the trailer. This would require a 12v battery. Check your state laws.

I would recommend buying a series 27 or even 29, deep cycle battery. They aren't very expensive and as long as you are buying one, you might as well buy something that will be more useful.

All you do is run a white 8 or 10 gage wire from the neg terminal on the battery to a ground lug on the frame. It is usually mounted just behind the tongue, on the under-side of the frame. Then run a Black (8 or 10g) wire from the positive side of the battery to the appropriate wire on your converter (inside the camper). You may find several black wires coming out of the back of the converter. The one you want is the biggest one in the 12v bundle of wires.

Be sure to put a 45-75A circuit breaker right at the battery, in the black (pos) wire.

You will also need to run a separate black (pos) wire to the break-away switch (after the circuit breaker).

[rccs]

For your Coleman camper all you need to hook up the battery for power in the camper is the wiring harness that Fleetwood makes. Your Fleetwood dealer should have these. It is a wiring harness with a circuit breaker in the lead that goes to the positive terminal of the battery which on a camper is a black wire and a white wire which goes to the negative terminal of the battery. There are eyelet terminals on one end which attach to the deep cycle battery with the bolt type terminals on it and the other end of the harness has the mating plug for the camper. As far as using the breakaway feature on the camper the camper needs to have a breakaway switch on it if it is not already there. If there is no breakaway switch on the camper there should be a blue wire end sticking out of the hole on the tongue of the camper where the wires exit that is the break wire to hook the switch to.

[tlhdoc]

Don't get a car battery.  You want to get a deep cycle battery.  You will need a plastic battery box, the Fleetwood battery wiring harness (see the post above), and a "smart charger" battery charger to charge the battery before and after trips.  You should have a white plastic connector on the tongue of the trailer.  If you do the Fleetwood battery wiring harness will connect to the battery and then you just plug/unplug the battery from the camper.  The battery will run the lights, water pump, furnace, propane detector and any other 12 volt appliances you have in the camper.  It will also power the break away brake switch if your camper separates from the TV.  Expect to pay around $20 for the wiring harness and $15 or less for the break away switch.  The switch only takes on screw to attach it to the frame of your trailer and you will need to connect 2 wires.  One to the blue trailer brake wire on the tongue of the trailer and one needs an end put on the wire to connect it to the battery.  I have a ring on the end of mine.  Good luck with the battery adventure.