2004 Roadtrek 200 battery?

[k1hog]

On a 2004 Roadtrek 200, does the chassis battery charge when plugged in to shore power?

Thanks

[markopolo]

It doesn't charge that way if still original. '04s had isolators.

There are many ways to get it to do that though. A few of us used 13.2V 1A BatteryMinders to maintain the chassis battery while in storage back then. You could trickle charge through the 12V accessory outlet on the dash so zero vehicle modifications needed.

Other choices would be to upgrade to a dual sense ACR - automatic charge relay (nice & worthwhile upgrade of the isolator) or add something like a Trik-L-start.

[booster]

Originally Posted by k1hog

On a 2004 Roadtrek 200, does the chassis battery charge when plugged in to shore power?

Thanks

It should, but one of the quirks in the Roadtreks of that era is that the 12v battery switch needs to be on for it to charge the battery.


As a side note, the battery switch should be on all the time when you are plugged in to shore power on these models, IMO, because the charger and battery are on opposite sides of the switch. The charger really needs to have a battery at it's output to run stable 12v in most cases, depending on the charger.


If yours has a charger that checks for a battery before it comes on, no harm will happen, but the the battery will not charge. Some chargers need you to remove the 110v power before connecting the battery which is a good idea anyway, if you forget to turn on the switch.


Bottom line best practice is probably to always turn on the 12v power switch before plugging in or staring the generator, and leave it on until after you unplug the 110v or shut off the generator.


Here is a link to the Roadtrek power simulator so you can see how it all works. You will have to use 2003 Roadtrek 200 as it doesn't list a 2004.


http://metrotrekkers.org/utility/electrical.htm

[markopolo]

That power simulator is handy. As Booster points out, there are some quirks or peculiarities depending on the actual build.

An 03 or 04 would have an isolator under the hood though so power can't pass between the outer posts in order to charge the chassis battery from shore power. Power comes in to the middle post and then to the outer posts when the engine is running.

An 03 probably has an converter/charger. 04 was the first year with the Tripp Lite inverter/charger. Bud's 05 came with a converter/charger.

[Bjones7788]

I kept a short alligator clip jump wire connected between the two outer posts on our 2004 Chrvy Roadtrek 190 battery isolator when a small Battery Tender was not available to keep the engine battery charged during rxtended storage. The jumper allowed the shore power coach charger to keep the engine battery up when needed although not my preferred mechanism. It also allowed the generator to charge a dead engine compartment battery. But let the engine battery charege up for a while before trying to start the engine. Too mich starting current may melt the small (8 ? gauge) jump cable or blow the factory fuse block in the coach to battery isolator line (far right isolator post)
It might be possible to drive the Roadtrek running off the generator on an emergency if the engine alternator were bad, at least with minimal load from heater fan, lights and the like.
I still have our 2004 RT and generally use a little Battery Tender to keep the engine battery charged when it sits with shore power available.
BJ