Went to storage location to get our fifth wheel (only a couple of months old) only to find that the battery was completely dead. I probably left one of the interior lights on a week or two prior.

No battery means I can't raise the front landing gear. No problem, I figure I'll just connect the trailer umbilical cord to the truck and use the truck batteries (2004 GMC) to power the jacks. Still nothing! Is there some secret to getting the truck to power the trailer?

Used 200' of extension cord to hook up 110 volts and was finally able to retract the landing gear. Towed the rig 4 hours. When we got to camp, still no trailer battery power. Is there another secret to getting the truck to recharge the trailer battery?

The 110 at the camp did recharge the battery, but now I'm worried that something is wrong with the truck or trailer charging circuts.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Not to sound stupid, but is your plug one that has a battery charging lead in it?

There is a shunt in the underhood fuse block that you need to put a fuse in. It is the one on the front passengers side of the fuse panel.


If you know about that and already had a fuse in, you probably blew the fuse when you plugged it in. Because the battery was completely dead on the camper it will draw more then 30 or 40 amps or whatever your fuse size is and blow it.

The fuse should be listed as stud 1. Ours used to blow the fuse alot using the 8000 pould winch on the trailer. I bypassed it and put a automatic reseting breaker in. Works great.

Doesn't the trailer have a mechanical backup? Also, check the water level. Mine where low at about 4-5 months old.Edited by: Terrain Twister

i have a 14000 dumptrailor just got it ,back in august new, been through 2 deka batteries noone could solve my power problem , so i installed a 4 guage wire to the place under the hood where u can attach the jumpercables ,ran it back to the frame by rear bumper, put one of those connections they use on golf carts , they sell them at napa.ran a ground wire from negative connection to frame . ran 4 guage wire from new battery to connection it brought back enough power to lift the dump trailor without battery, then i hooked the 4 guage wires to the battery to keep the battery charged when travelling , and the battery is connected to the electric hydrolic pump , i got one of those optima batteries ,so i tested it today, i had by bobcate with forks bucket and backhoe attachment on it , it lifted it like nothing ,i did it ten times over 8000 lbs it lifted ,most of the weight was in the front, my last big deka battery coudnt even budge it .it looks like power problem got solved . when i bought my trailor i asked them to put a wire in it, from power sorce under the hood, they ran one puney little cheap wire back ,that could hardly do squat , that ate up frist battery , then i took it to an electrical shop , they called manufacturer of trailor they said if they installed 4 guage wire back to trailor it would blow fuses , manufacturer gave me bigger battery to solve problem that battery lasted a little longer than the battery it came with . they couldnt solve a pathetic little power problem getting power back to trailor, i call it mechanics disease its contagious in south western pa . do it yourself before u take it to a mechanic . and the place that sells rvs tried to sell me an extra battery he said use two batteries hook them up in a series duh ,350 bucks for a battery he said youll be fortunate to get 2 amps back to trailor what a bunch of idiots .i have at least 10 amps going back there .with the deka batteries if i had a 5 or 6 ton load in the trailor i would have to leg press it to get it up, or squat it to get enough leverage for the battey to begin to lift the load that was starting to get old .nomore squating and leg pressing for me lol.

You have to put the fuse in. Under the hood. I went through the same thing last summer. Stupid me!!! Ran the generator for hours trying to charge the batteries up. 2 hrs after putting the fuse in batteries were fully charged.

If the fuse is good, then .......

This happened on a regular basis with my prior truck (A 1500 Z71 Chevy). It was due to dirty/corroded contacts on the trailer plug and truck plug. Weather seems to get to the trailer plug and truck washing gets the truck plug. Try dressing the contracts with an nail file (non metal) board or spray with contact cleaner.

If the fuse is good, then .......

This happened on a regular basis with my prior truck (A 1500 Z71 Chevy). It was due to dirty/corroded contacts on the trailer plug and truck plug. Weather seems to get to the trailer plug and truck washing gets the truck plug. Try dressing the contracts with an nail file (non metal) board or spray with contact cleaner.
Theres an alectrical contact lubricant to put on/in those plug contacts that will stop the water problem. Advance Auto carry's it. I also use it on 12 volt light bulbs ( base only ) exposed to water. Worked real good on my boat trailer lights when I was into boats.

where does the fuse go?, pict, or make it simple for me... got a camper.

Rollin' Thunder and mpl897 check out this link to an earlier thread on this. Read Max Power's #7 post. All the info is there. Hope this helps.

http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14802&highlight=trailer+fuse

I had to use the truck battery voltage yesterday to move the trailer because my RV battery is out for the winter. I just pluged in the truck and raised and lowered the landing gear.

I just looked and there is a 30A fuse in the Stud 1 position mentioned above and also in the stud 2 posiition. I didn't put them in, they were already there.

Additionally the truck was running at the time. It could possibly be some kind of relay system that powers the trailer connection only when the truck is running. I noticed that to be the case with the running and backup lights. There is no power to certain trailer connector lugs until the ignition is on.

Mine looked like a 30 amp fuse(orange), but it was a blank. The replacement was attached to my brake controlller adapter harness found in the glove box. I removed the blank and replaced with the fuse...now I have power.

Just an FYI, I had the same issue in my '02 gasser. There was a 40 amp "Bolt-in" fuse hidden behind the Aux Battery on the pass side. The dealer had not even known it was there, and had never ordered the replacement fuse before. My manual said it was in my underhood fuse block and it wasn't. Another dealer showed me where it was, but also did not have them. When the parts dept. ran my VIN, sure enough, it showed it behind the battery. It was not like this in my '00 nor is it now in my '05. Just something to look for if you are still having issues.

Did you get one of those trailer brake wireing harness with your truck? Then look at the instructions taped to it with the fuse! If not, I think the owners manual also tells you to install the fuse in the underhood fuse palen which is located on the drivers side fender well. Look at the top left as you are standing on the left, you will see either a fuse ( probably not) or a blank place. Install the 30 amp fuse that came with the wiring harness and you should be good to go:grd: A simple volt meter check at the back will tell you if the fuse is installed correctly or not. You got 12 volts? Then the fuse is correct. No 12 volts, oops somethings wrong.

Just an FYI, I had the same issue in my '02 gasser. There was a 40 amp "Bolt-in" fuse hidden behind the Aux Battery on the pass side. The dealer had not even known it was there, and had never ordered the replacement fuse before. My manual said it was in my underhood fuse block and it wasn't. Another dealer showed me where it was, but also did not have them. When the parts dept. ran my VIN, sure enough, it showed it behind the battery. It was not like this in my '00 nor is it now in my '05. Just something to look for if you are still having issues.
I think I read someplace that the wiring/fuse was different for a diesel.

Ther reason your battery goes dead is probally like mine. That dam gas detector that is close to the floor on your coach is always on. I always pull the battery leads after I disconnect in storage.

Ther reason your battery goes dead is probally like mine. That dam gas detector that is close to the floor on your coach is always on. I always pull the battery leads after I disconnect in storage.

...... Also, the refrigerator circuit board will pull current even after turning it off at the panel. A Dometic that I checked was much higher than some of the Norcolds that I have also checked. As I recall, I think the Dometic I tested was about 2 amps! Another drain can be the AC/Heater control. Make sure it is set to the off position. My LP detector draws just under .1 amps.