slide on camper

Submitted: Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:31

ThreadID: 84027 Views:4033 Replies:5 FollowUps:7

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martin c

I am making a slide on camper.
Set-up so that batteries are fitted to flat tray vehicle, not camper.
2 deep cycle aux. batteries mounted under rear tray connected to vehicle main battery via a battery isolator.
Camper will connect to the aux. Batteries via anderson plug.
Running inverter, lights, water pump and fridge from fuse board.
What other precautions need to be taken, as in inline breakers etc etc
thankyou

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Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:43

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:43

Fuses close to both batteries to protect cables from fire.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

AnswerID: 443698

Follow Up By: Member - Barry P (VIC) - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:58

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:58

to peter can you help with any ideas for a slide on camper to be built by myself; would like a lift up top similar to the one that outback campers build in melbourne ;to suit a dual cab thanks barry

FollowupID: 715759

Reply By: Member - John and Val - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:59

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:59

Martin,

As Peter has said - fuse those batteries. If the batteries are close together they can be connected in parallel and considered a single battery. If they a seperated each should have a fuse, if together you could link them with heavy cables and use a single fuse for the pair. The question of an inverter often arises on this forum so I won't start another argument, but for most sensible camping needs you can avoid using an inverter. You might find our Electricity for Camping blog of interest.

Cheers

John

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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AnswerID: 443701

Follow Up By: martin c - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 19:06

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 19:06

thankyou for your reply
although its named a camper it is in truth a liver
so because i will be living in it need inverter primarily to provide power to charge laptop

FollowupID: 715760

Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 20:18

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 20:18

Hi Martin,

Sounds a big project. Good luck with it. A good inverter certainly offers a lot of flexibility. 12V power supplies for most things, laptops, cameras, phones, torches etc are readily available and can be a cheaper and more efficient way of charging this gear. May be worth considering, though for full time use, having 240V could have other advantages.

Cheers

John

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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FollowupID: 715769

Follow Up By: Ozhumvee - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 20:23

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 20:23

Martin
If charging a laptop is the main need for an inverter then you would be better off buying a 12v adapter to enable the laptop to run directly from the 12v batteries, much more efficient and safer than 240v. If the laptop manufacturer cannot supply a suitable 12v adapter there are plenty of generic adapters available from the likes of Kingston (they actually make some that accept either 12v or 240 so the original brick can be left behind as the one unit can perform both jobs) and Jaycar and dicksmith to name a few.

FollowupID: 715770

Follow Up By: martin c - Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:18

Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:18

to all who have assisted i thankyou
how do i determine the size of the inline fises between the batteries
also can anyone reccommend where to buy mega fuses holders and fuses
regards
martin c

FollowupID: 717419

Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:36

Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:36

Hi Martin,

I use standard automotive blade style fuses. I use 30A ones mounted right at the batteries. Suitable fuseholders are available from Jaycar and similar places, and autoelectricians. Have a look at Jaycar cat no SZ-2045 . Something like this close to the battery should look after faults in the wiring, and by pulling the fuse out, gives you an easy way of disconnecting the battery.

Cheers

John

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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FollowupID: 717422

Reply By: Member - Barry P (VIC) - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 19:00

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 19:00

sorry should have said martin c not peter thanks barry

AnswerID: 443702

Reply By: Tonyfish#58 - Tuesday, Feb 01, 2011 at 14:03

Tuesday, Feb 01, 2011 at 14:03

Martin - I did the opposite in the end - Reason I made a slide off camper. Now when I set it up to camp and drive away the batteries are mounted on the camper where the fridge is. Below is a picture before I mounted the second battery also.

I also have a solar panel feeding a charge to the batteries, with a 20amp smart charger for top ups.

When the camper is mounted on the car the batteries are connected to the car via anderson plug as well.

Image Could Not Be Found

Cheers Tony

AnswerID: 443805

Reply By: Member - Robert R1 (SA) - Tuesday, Feb 01, 2011 at 19:24

Tuesday, Feb 01, 2011 at 19:24

martin c,

If only we had the Tardis life on the road would be so much simpler. Every inch of space is vital. I have my batteries in my canopy not connected in anyway to the vehicle charging system but that suits me. I have seen a lot of auxiliary batteries under the tray and if they are easy to get at for maintenance purposes then I don't see any problems.

I would like to have made my own canopy but I don't have the skills although I did do the fit-out and the electrics. I am interested in your progress. Hopefully as you get started you can give us an update in a blog - no pressure :)

Good luck with your project,
Bob