ground clearance/battery charge

[Kintscher]

We are the proud new owners of a 2005 19” International CCD, we’ve had it for about 3 weeks.

First I would like to thank everyone for all the information in these forums. We’ve been searching and reading for quite some time.

I have a couple questions that I haven’t been able to find the answers to in the previous listings.

1. We were planning to park the trailer in our driveway, but when we got it home we couldn’t get it in because the back bumper would scrape, even with some wood blocks. We even tried a power trailer mover and it still did not clear the driveway or the street. Too much slope. Is ground clearance a problem on this model? Will we have problem at camp sites?

2. We now have it at an RV storage yard and when we went out yesterday to check on it, both batteries are very low, almost dead. I read about the LP detector draining the charge on this model. We also have a power jack. When we hook up the trailer to our truck, will the jack work to hitch the trailer? Also, if we bring the trailer home and plug it into our house 15A plug before we leave, how long will it take to charge the batteries? We are planning a trip next weekend but the drive is only 1.5 hours and I know this will not charge them. How long a drive is necessary to fully charge the batteries?

Thanks for any hints. I’m sure once we make our first trip we’ll have a bunch of other questions.

Brad

[sander17]

Lots of info in the forum on sneaky battery drainers. Look in storage compartments for little lamps that may be hard to see in daylite. Of course you may have a wiring problem the dealer needs to address. Since you cannot plug the converter in in storage, disconnect the batteries when you leave. Good luck finding where the power is going!

[Silvertwinkie]

Any major slope is going to be an issue for nearly any trailer. Best thing you can do is keep it in storage or get enough stuff under the coach and the tow vehicle to offset the slope and/or change the slope pitch.

As for batteries draining, it depends on how long it sits. Ours has sat 4 weeks and we have full power (not totally full charge, but not near dead yet) as of late last week. I agree, it must be a light on in one of the storage areas either under the bed or in a closet, if the batteried died in only a day or so.

Also when in storage, I typically hit the battery bypass switch which kills everything except the CO detector.... 2 12 volt batts can power that CO detector for a while.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Kintscher

We are the proud new owners of a 2005 19” International CCD, we’ve had it for about 3 weeks.

First I would like to thank everyone for all the information in these forums. We’ve been searching and reading for quite some time.

I have a couple questions that I haven’t been able to find the answers to in the previous listings.

1. Too much slope. Is ground clearance a problem on this model? Will we have problem at camp sites?

2. We now have it at an RV storage yard and when we went out yesterday to check on it, both batteries are very low, almost dead.
Thanks for any hints. I’m sure once we make our first trip we’ll have a bunch of other questions.

Brad

As far as dragging your tail goes, there are some places where this could happen. I haven't drug my Classic yet, but I have had some fairly close calls. I have seen some campgrounds that have sites that in order to access you must go up or down a steep incline. Normally if the road is paved or asphalt, you will see the scraping encounters from other RV's. On the road I look for similar markings when entering fuel stops, fast food, and other turns. If you see the tracks from others, it pretty much insures that you might do the same.

Be sure to turn your master disconnect switch to the off position when your trailer is in storage. From my previous checks with my Safari, the draw on your battery with the disconnect switch in the on postion is .1 of an amp. With the switch turn off, the draw was .01. Much different over a long term.
Before I learned this I found out the hard way when going to our storage lot to pick up the trailer and finding the power jack inoperable due to a dead battery. Also be sure your high humidity switch on your refrigerator is in the off position when you store your trailer. That little switch has been a culpret for killing many a trailer battery.

Battery charging when you drive is always subject to the size of your wire and the amount of power available (considering the tow vehicle needs). Therefore, it's extrememly difficult to give you an estimate.

Jack

[grizzy]

Regarding the battery draining -- we have an 01 Bambi and I had the same problem. Even with a small solar panel (larger than the small battery maintainer panels) I kept finding my battery low. I finally installed a battery disconnect at the battery and it solved the problem. The small solar panel, which cost me $35 at Harbor Freight, keeps up nicely.

[3Ms75Argosy]

About the power jack - it will work when plugged into your truck (your trucks' 12v will power the systems). I'm sure being plugged in overnight should be enough juice to get you charged.

Getting it up the driveway - can you disconnect the weight distribution bars (at home) to get some "sag" in your hookup, lowering the nose of the trailer and thereby lifting the rear? I haven't scraped at a campground, but at some gas stations, I hear the grind with our 26ft Argosy.
Have fun camping!
Marc

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

Getting it up the driveway - can you disconnect the weight distribution bars (at home) to get some "sag" in your hookup, lowering the nose of the trailer and thereby lifting the rear? I haven't scraped at a campground, but at some gas stations, I hear the grind with our 26ft Argosy.
Have fun camping!
Marc

If at all possible, can you back up your driveway at an angle? This will give one wheel a chance to start up the hill first, and maybe alleviate the scraping problem. Also, even with the battery disconnect "off" the LP detector remains in the circuit on the battery, and it will drain your batteries in about a month or so. A manual disconnect for the LP detector will stop that drain, just don't forget to hook it up again when you go camping.
On edit, I just noticed that even with the first post in this thread, the person starting the thread still has 0 posts. How did that happen?

[Over59]

Time for a new driveway. Is your ball drop right? If a little more lift in the back will help than try releaseing the bars and if the fresh tank is up front have it full. An inch down in front will give you a little more than an inch in the back. For me the bottom of the hitch hits and is over time recontouring my drive.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

About the power jack - it will work when plugged into your truck (your trucks' 12v will power the systems).

Don't count on it. Dependent upon the state of your battery, plugging into the tow vehicle recepticle will not insure that there is ample amperage at that time to operate the jack. Don't forget the alternator is supplying power to other things also and what ever power makes its way back is going into that depleted battery. I can tell you from personal experience with dead batteries and two different tow vehicles and trailers, a seriously depleted battery does not get a charge from the tow vehicle plug like you get when you use jumper cables to jump batteries.

Jack

[3Ms75Argosy]

I must be lucky then. I had a problem with my univolt not charging my batteries fully - therefore I frequently had a dead trailer battery. My tow van has always (knock on wood) let me use the jack and inside stuff, but then, maybe it's because it's a 1 ton van with a strong alternator?
Thanks for the update!
Marc

[campcollector]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

Don't count on it. Dependent upon the state of your battery, plugging into the tow vehicle recepticle will not insure that there is ample amperage at that time to operate the jack. Don't forget the alternator is supplying power to other things also and what ever power makes its way back is going into that depleted battery. I can tell you from personal experience with dead batteries and two different tow vehicles and trailers, a seriously depleted battery does not get a charge from the tow vehicle plug like you get when you use jumper cables to jump batteries.

Jack

I second that.

I have had on one occation a depleted set of coach batteries after camping dry for 3 days. When I went to hook up, the amount of current draw by the depleted batteries poped the 20 amp fuse in the trucks charge line. Too much juice trying to be pulled through the little wire to the trailer. I put in a 25 amp fuse temporarily and that stopped it. I put back in the 20 amper and never had a problem after the batteries were recharged. It took about 3 hours to get the battery up to about 50%while towing. Plugging in after I got home finished it up in a few hours.

My Bambi is also a low rider and I too scrape at times going into gas stations or driveways. Watch out for parking lot storm drains! I dropped a trailer tire into one and it scraped the steel runners and the bumper. I wish the newer units had another 6 inches of clearance at the dump valves.

[Silvertwinkie]

I usually bring a small hydraulic jack along and jumper cables. Anyone want to sell an eu2000 cheap (that works)?

[Kintscher]

Thanks everyone for the information. I didn't want to be stuck, so I went out today and brought both batteries home and bought a Sears 1.5 amp maintainer/charger so that they will be charged by our trip Sunday.

Can both batteries be charged together at the same time (wired as they are in the trailer) or should they be done one at a time?

Also for other's reference, I did plug in the 7 pin plug to my truck and the electric jack did work even though the batteries are very low.

Brad

[fireflyinva]

We face a similar problem with our driveway. Like many suburban streets, our home street has a curved asphalt surface, so that rain falls off to the sides and drains into culverts situated every block or so. On our block, the culvert adjoins our property, so as a result, our driveway (which is level with our yard) actually ends up gradually dipping about 15 inches or so at the end. The dip is gradual, so its barely noticeable--except when we move in our trailer.

After a couple of scraping incidents (mostly at the hitch connection), we started throwing 2x4 lumber at the end of the driveway under the trailer wheels when backing in. This stops the scrape, but is hardly an elegant solution. Eventually, we hope to build a temporary ramp to fill in the space when we want to move the trailer.

Mary

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Kintscher

Thanks everyone for the information. I didn't want to be stuck, so I went out today and brought both batteries home and bought a Sears 1.5 amp maintainer/charger so that they will be charged by our trip Sunday.

Can both batteries be charged together at the same time (wired as they are in the trailer) or should they be done one at a time?

Also for other's reference, I did plug in the 7 pin plug to my truck and the electric jack did work even though the batteries are very low.

Brad

It's entirely possible that your batteries weren't totally drained. Glad it worked for you. Personally I wish I had been so lucky in my previous experiences. Charge your batteries separately. Your charger is probably built only to do one at a time.

Jack