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I keep reading that my alternator can produce more power in a couple hours than solar can in a couple days. My Tundra has a 150 amp alternator. Roughly how much of that is available to charge the trailer battery while driving? How about at idle? Other forums state that the tiny wire going to the 7-pin connector severely limits charging amps.
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The charging wire is heavier than the other wires. As to how much current is available, good question. May be a variable number depending on the individual trucks towing package.2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024 -
I have spent MANY hours looking for a reasonable solution to the very same question.
The solutions that I found where limited to around 10-15amps.
I also looked at running conductors from the battery to my 5er large enough to handle significant charge current. Again, impractical for me due to cost.
I hope that you find something that I missed
I am not above borrowing your solution
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For charging trailer battrrieb from the tow vehicle a better option is to run a dedicated charge circuit, Anderson plugs are a good option for the connectionComment
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That is what I found. Unfortunately to get from one of the batteries in the truck to the house batteries requires 50+ feet of two conductors.
For my current mode of travel it just didn't make sense. In a month on the road I spent six days with the trailer connected to the truck. 3 days each way.
My new rig that I am working on is like a class A and would be much easier to get conductors run from the coach batteries to the house batteries. Unfortunately.... New right is 12v coach battery and 24v house battery. New problem to overcome....Comment
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My experience has been that it is a trickle charge at best via the 7-pin, despite the capability of an alternator to produce a lot more amps. My understanding is that it can be greatly improved with some wiring upgrades; however, I went the solar route instead.I'm an RV camper with 470 watts of solarComment
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The factory 7 pin in my truck has a 20A fuse on it.Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-ListerComment
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2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024Comment
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