7'*18' V-Nose Cargo Trailer Toy Hauler Conversion

[flboy]

flboy, Howdy;

Doubled up the wiring ?? Why, if you don't mind my asking. Understand the minimal loss aspect
but how much of a drop did ya have before doubling up?
Batteries look nice and neat under the seating how do you have them secured from bouncing
around or shifting?

hank

Hi Hank. I doubled up all the 4 Ga. battery wires (interconnects) and lines to the inverter and chassis. It is likely overkill.... but on the 6'ft run of 4ga wire going to the inverter (12ft round trip), I was losing just over a volt in the total circuit when running over 100A to the inverter. Half is dropped by the total resistance of the fuse, the multitude of connections on the batteries, the cutoff switch, ground lug on frame, etc., etc. etc. that are all part of the total circuit. Some of the loss was in the wire and it just reduced the total drop by .5 volts - .7 volts. I also put in a 400A busbar to consolidate the ground returns into the 500A Victron Monitor shunt. That may have had some effect as well with more surface area contact.

Believe it or not, that little bit (1/2 volt) makes a difference on the low voltage trip point for the inverter as the batteries start to drop. Not sure how much longer the inverter will run now before low voltage trips, but I have had the inverter alarm in the past when I ran the microwave in the morning and when batteries may have been at 75% - 70%. I am also thinking I may get a larger inverter someday to run the fridge and water heater at the same time when I am in a spot where solar is really good and I can expect recovery before sundown. The more current run, the more losses and the more the wire gage comes into play.

For battery tie downs.... well, I am lacking in that area quite honestly. I have them contained with 1*2's at the based where they do not contact a wall so they will not slide or move laterally. The trailer would have to flip on its side to get them to move. I have bounced the trailer down some roads as bad as I'd dare take it, and I have not had any issues with movement.

I have been thinking about that some as I like to have everything 100% secure and I know batteries moving around with cables (if the trailer flipped) could short out and cause a fire on top of the roll disaster. Some crank down straps and eyelets into the floor would work decent, I believe. I do not want to use metal as I hate to have wrenches or anything metal in the battery box with terminals exposed and in close quarters. I have almost burn things down before like that. Thoughts?

[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

Yea, a strap should do it just enough to hold'em in place and not
so tight as to crack the mechanism for removing the caps. Shouldn't
be difficult. You've got the slide & shuffle covered.

Once you've worked in a Safety Dept. for awhile it sort a creeps into
everything ya look at.

hank

[flboy]

I still have to complete the run forward
and install the relay, but this is how I went about mounting the connector. Used 1" square tube for a standoff. JB weld used on connector to tube and tube to pull bar along with metal screws.

Will take pics of relay install when done tomorrow.











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[featherliteCT1]

Nice looking attachment! I presume the attachment feels plenty solid when you apply pressure and wiggle it. My Anderson plugs fit tight together and require wiggling back and forth to plug and unplug the connectors.

[flboy]

Nice looking attachment! I presume the attachment feels plenty solid when you apply pressure and wiggle it. My Anderson plugs fit tight together and require wiggling back and forth to plug and unplug the connectors.

Thanks. I still have to build the CTC side connector, but so far, the contacts look very robust. I will not know how tight until I am done unfortunately.

I did decide to just get a battery terminal fuse instead of the DC Breaker I already have and a lighted toggle switch to energize the relay from inside the cab. I will switch run power through the toggle so keys need to be on and engine running and then press button. I want the switch as there is no point in energizing the relay unless I am hooked up with the intention to charge via the TV or use power at the rear.

I wanted the terminal fuse as there is no good place to mount the breaker without running a 6ga hot wire a few feet unprotected and I do not like that up front under the hood in case of a collision. If the wire shorts before breaker there would be a fire. The fuse will blow at the battery this way.

This is what I got to finish the job with. I will install it next week sometime after it arrives. I do have the power line run and stubbed off at the battery terminal.



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[flboy]

I mounted the continuous duty relay on the frame. No good place under hood and I dared not drill into the firewall because I do not know what is behind it. Just need the fused terminal and switch I ordered to complete the wiring job.

Also decided not to put the standard 12vdc socket on the rear draw bar as it will rarely be used and will likely be destroyed by the elements. I just made a pigtail adapter to the high current connector to use whenever needed.

Btw.. connector does seat very tight and takes some wiggling to remove. I pumped up the cavity with silicone grease to protect the contacts the best I can.









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[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

Lookin' good ol' bud, bet the energizer bunny looks to you for tips...



hank

[McDave]

Hey Don,
That is a completely well thought out and executed wiring upgrade right there. Mine works on the same principle, just not so many bells and a whole lot less whistles. I do like the idea of having a switch to trigger the relay after the keyed circuit is powered up, makes sense not to have relay energized when not in use. Another bright idea from the Department of Redundancy Department. I'll be looking into that come spring, Thanks!
OK then, Nice Work, Don.

Don't let your Dongle dangle...

McDave

[aggie79]

Don,

Thank you for the pictures! They are very helpful. I've been in the (over) planning stage for a CT conversion for awhile. We almost always camp in sites with pedestal electricity service, but I was trying to decide how to "run" the refrigerator while in route to the campsite. I was just about settled on solar electrical, but believe that providing power to the CT batteries from the TV will be sufficient for my needs and less complicated.

I hope you don't mind a few more questions on your installation. Did you use standard cable or "welding" cable? For the connectors and lugs, are you using mechanical crimps and/or soldering to join them to the cables? If mechanical, did you use a ratcheting crimper or one of those types that you strike with a hammer?

Thank you for your time and knowledge,

Tom

[flboy]

Hi Tom. I am using standard 6ga stranded wire I bought at Home Depot by the foot off their reel. This is not welding cable which I think has finer strands and is more flexible. I did use the flexible tubing the entire run to protect from chaffing and etc..

For the lugs, I used a mechanical crimp and crimped with the hammer strike tool.Also used the triple thick heat shrink that has epoxy in it. It makes a waterproof seal with heat applied to shrink.

Of course ,I would have prefered to use a better type crimp tool, but this is good enough and I really did not want to spend the $$ for the few times I would need it. I have a ratchet type I invested in for smaller gage wire which I use alot. It only went down (or up I guess) to 10 gage. I was actually surprised at how nice the crimps looked with the hammer type in any case. I do not have any calibrated pull gauges, but I yanked pretty darn hard and they were not coming loose in the slightest.

I have 6 crimped connections made with that tool, so it will be easy to keep an eye on them. I always leave some slack to make a repair if ever needed. Soldering after the crimp on a heavy gauge wire and a large lug that acts as a heat sink is messy, so I did not take that extra step. Ussualy, to get solder to flow, it takes too much heat and then insulation is melting and etc..

I hope this answers your questions. May be a better way, but this is how I did it in any case.

Btw.. if you only need power to run the fridge inroute to your campsite and batteries will not hold long enough, this is a good and relatively inexpensive way to do it. Your batteries will stay topped off and should arrive full with the fridge running. No need for Solar in that scenario.

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[flboy]

Tom.. I also meant to say that I had to buy the snubber diode, also known as flyback diode ( basically just a rectifier diode) , for the relay coil in a pack of 50. They are cheap at $6.45 for 50, so if you go that route and you want one, PM me your address and I will send you one in an envelope.. Or anyone else for that matter. I have more than I can ever use. I will confirm they work as intended later this week.


Edit: the diode may not be necessary depending on your switching source and your vehicle, but it is good practice and certainly will not hurt.



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[aggie79]

Hi Don,

Thank you for the update and the offer for the snubber diode. I think I'll do the truck-side electrical now while I'm gathering the funds for the CT conversion. I may even use it to charge my teardrop battery while in transit.

Take care,
Tom

[flboy]

Tom... diode was mailed.


I just need to hook up the control wire but ran out of time this morning. I got the power connected and tested the relay and fabbed a little switch holder and mounted the switch between the OBDII Test Connector the Trailer Brake Controller. It is out of the way there and no cutting on the dashboard. Control wire will come from a run/start wire out of the ignition that I still need to locate.













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[flboy]

I will attach the snubber/flyback diode across the relay coil terminals in a reverse biased orientation when I attach the control wire. I have the ring terminals all soldered on and ready to go.




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[flboy]

Finally Done. Will try it all out next trip. Nice to have the option now in addition to solar.

This will work better traveling at night. ;-)









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