Rockwood Mini Lite 2506S Battery Charging Questions

[Jed Johnson]

I just purchased a Rockwood Mini Lite 2506S. We took it out for the first time and we were hooked up to electricity at the campsite. Everything worked fine but when I traveled 1-1/2 hours home the battery was dead. There was no power for the motorized jack, outside lights, etc. I would think that the battery would be charging when the trailer was hooked up to electricity. Am I missing something? Is there a battery disconnect that I am unaware of?

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Jed Johnson

I just purchased a Rockwood Mini Lite 2506S. We took it out for the first time and we were hooked up to electricity at the campsite. Everything worked fine but when I traveled 1-1/2 hours home the battery was dead. There was no power for the motorized jack, outside lights, etc. I would think that the battery would be charging when the trailer was hooked up to electricity. Am I missing something? Is there a battery disconnect that I am unaware of?

Hi Jed,
Welcome to the forums!

What type of tow vehicle do you have? I know on the Fords you have to install a relay for the charge line to work properly. It may be something as simple as a blown fuse in the under hood fuse box. I would check your owner's manual for the exact location.

If you are plugged up to 120 volt power your battery should be charging. The easiest way to check that is to put a volt meter on the battery and see what the reading is, should be 13.1 volts or better. Do you have a battery disconnect switch? Was it on? Again there may be a fuse involved or possibly a breaker. There are reset breakers on the tongue of the trailer where the battery lead heads into the trailer, there are fuses and breakers inside the trailer.

Aaron

[Nurek]

Were all your lights on and working properly on the TT?

[bikendan]

Your Rockwood probably does have a battery disconnect switch, which the dealer should have shown you it, during the PDI. A very basic things that should've been demonstrated.

It's always recommended to do Camp Driveway first, before doing a actual camping trip. That way you work out the systems while at home.

And as was said, don't assume that your vehicle is charging the battery while driving.

[Jay2504]

Did your power tounge jack work at home when you hooked up to the TV? When you hooked up was the camper plugged in at the house? IMHO either the battery shut off was off the whole time and you ran off the converter(which I have never tried and don't know if it is possible) or the battery is bad. Even a single Group 24 battery, running the furnace the whole time would last 1 1/2 hours. My vote is on the shut off not being turned on. Please let us know what happened. Thanks. Jay

[Dwvanwye]

I have a Mini Lite and my disconnect is by the inverter and has fooled me once or twice. If you push in the switch it disconnects the battery, it is close to the floor and can be bumped with your foot. You may want to check that before going any further if you haven't already....

[ace911]

Did you notice if the refrigerator was on auto? If you have a 3 way fridge, it will run off 12v when its not connected to shore power by default. There should be a button that dedicates the unit to run on propane only. But you're not supposed to use that while the TT is in motion.

Dwvanwye: Where is that factory disconnect by the convertor? Could you take a pict of it and post it up for us? I don't think my 2306 Mini Lite has that feature. I'm getting ready to install an external battery switch on my TT this weekend. Carbon monoxide detector and the radio keep draining the battery.

[SkipBest]

We have a 2503S Mini Light. The battery disconnect is a red "key" on the frame under the propane tanks. I have missed flipping the switch.

[Dwvanwye]

I have a 2503S also. I can't figure out how to post a pic but it looks like disconnects are in different places on each TT. Good luck finding yours....

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Dwvanwye

I have a 2503S also. I can't figure out how to post a pic but it looks like disconnects are in different places on each TT. Good luck finding yours....

See post #7 in the following thread:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...sics-6778.html

[Texan79423]

I have a 2509S the battery disconnect is a red key on the tongue. You have to lift the cover on propane bottles to see it. The key is a switch you can switch it off or remove completely. I switch off power every time I park mine.

Jack should have work if plugged into truck.

[ace911]

Ok, my 2012 definitely does not have any kind of disconnect. The battery cable goes directly to the circuit breaker under the frame.

[bikendan]

Battery disconnect switch location depends on the year.
Newer Rockwoods have them on the tongue.
Previous years had them inside the trailer.
Previous to that, they didn't come with factory disconnect switches.

[cap10gus]

I had the same problem. The dealer knew what the problem was right away. There is a fuse/relay that needs to be installed in the tow vehicle. The fuse/relay that I needed was located in my glove box. Simply a matter for snapping it into the fuse box.

[rebeltown]

I also found that my 2012 F-150 with a trailer package also lacked the necessary relay and fuse required to charge the battery in the trailer. Had to check owners manual to locate the two missing items.