2018 ROO 19 help - first REAL camper

[jmiles8701]

in advance, sorry for the long post and THANKS for any help..... so my wife and I have owned several pop-ups, however our new ROO 19 is our first travel trailer and first experience with all the amenities these things offer! we've taken it on 2 trips, one to an RV park with full hookups and this most recent to a racetrack where we basically parked in a field. before this last trip I have the camper plugged in at the house to get the fridge/ freezer cold and pack everything into it. unplugged the camper to leave in the morning and turned the fridge to LP and of course opened one of the propane tanks on the front. when we arrived where we were camping and finished setup I for some reason checked the battery level on our control panel and it was already down to 2/3rds! it was plugged in to the house before we left, plugged into the truck for the 90 min drive, and had only been unplugged for setup for about 30 min. I ran our gen. for about an hour to charge it back up. Off that charge the battery only lasted about 8 hours. only thing ON was the fridge/ freezer running off the LP (and whatever electricity it needs additionally) and the very short busts of water pump to wash hands, dishes, ETC. after dark the awning LEDS were on. IS THIS NORMAL? do I need to flip a switch when hooked to the truck? how long should the single battery last? we did run a generator over night for so we had use of our outlets and the battery would be full n the AM but would only show as full for a short period.

Next, I'm not getting power to the rear backup camera? I know its tied into the marker lights, anyone know which light or how its prewired so I can start my search to find out where the power loss is from?

[bikendan]

Did you engage the battery disconnect switch, when it was plugged into shore power?

Also, did you check to see if the 7-pin connector was providing power through the charge wire?

[jmiles8701]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Did you engage the battery disconnect switch, when it was plugged into shore power?

I have never turned the switch to disengage the battery. I'll verify I have power to the appropriate pins on the back of the truck.

[rsdata]

12VDC battery power can be pretty finicky... You really have to know your battery very thoroughly... you just can't take anyone's word for it that you have a good battery...

first off do you own a digital multi-meter? Spend $5-10 at a hardware store and get one if you don't own one. This will give you accurate voltage readings of your battery and allow you to do some troubleshooting.

Is the battery acid level correct? Did you pop the tops off the battery and look down into each of the 6 holes in the battery to see that the fluid (acid) was at the top of the split rings inside the battery? If not then top off with DISTILLED WATER ONLY. The water in the acid will get low via charging and will periodically need to be topped off to get full battery capacity.

What is the group size of the battery? Probably only a group 24 which is a small battery capacity. Better to replace it with a group 27, or 31, each of which have more Amp-hour capacity, are heavier and more costly, and will last longer, and will take longer to re-charge.

start by reading the 12 Volt side of life... here
The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)

Probably you are getting about the right amount of usage out of a group 24 battery. They really don't have that much capacity to begin with.
And I never run the fridge on LP while traveling... wasted effort as far as I cam concerned. If you load everything cold and run the fridge overnight on shorepower, the fridge will keep everything cold and frozen for a good 12 hours even in the summer... so save the battery and LP while traveling unless you are on a multiday trip.

Most tow vehicle power connections are too light to actually do a RV battery charge while driving... some are better, most are not.

and my question to you, since I don't have a backup camera... where is the video plug from the camera run into your tow vehicle? or is this supposed to be a bluetooth connection to a smartphone?

[jmiles8701]

Originally Posted by rsdata

12VDC battery power can be pretty finicky... You really have to know your battery very thoroughly... you just can't take anyone's word for it that you have a good battery...

first off do you own a digital multi-meter? Spend $5-10 at a hardware store and get one if you don't own one. This will give you accurate voltage readings of your battery and allow you to do some troubleshooting.

Is the battery acid level correct? Did you pop the tops off the battery and look down into each of the 6 holes in the battery to see that the fluid (acid) was at the top of the split rings inside the battery? If not then top off with DISTILLED WATER ONLY. The water in the acid will get low via charging and will periodically need to be topped off to get full battery capacity.

What is the group size of the battery? Probably only a group 24 which is a small battery capacity. Better to replace it with a group 27, or 31, each of which have more Amp-hour capacity, are heavier and more costly, and will last longer, and will take longer to re-charge.

start by reading the 12 Volt side of life... here
The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)

Probably you are getting about the right amount of usage out of a group 24 battery. They really don't have that much capacity to begin with.
And I never run the fridge on LP while traveling... wasted effort as far as I cam concerned. If you load everything cold and run the fridge overnight on shorepower, the fridge will keep everything cold and frozen for a good 12 hours even in the summer... so save the battery and LP while traveling unless you are on a multiday trip.

Most tow vehicle power connections are too light to actually do a RV battery charge while driving... some are better, most are not.

and my question to you, since I don't have a backup camera... where is the video plug from the camera run into your tow vehicle? or is this supposed to be a bluetooth connection to a smartphone?

Thank you for taking the time to write all of that. I'm sure the battery quality is not very good as it's the one that came with the camper. Course the camper is brand new but I highly doubt they're giving you top quality battery from the manufacturer or dealership. I'm also considering adding a second battery but until then I will take your advice and do a little research.
As far as the camera goes it's plugged into the power source on the back of the camper that is pre-wired from the factory. And the monitor in the front is powered through the cigarette lighter in the truck. The two connect wirelessly however the issue I'm having is no power to the physical camera on the back of the camper. There is a light that comes on when it has power which is supposedly run through the marker lights however I get no power to the camera

[njfishing]

If you are thinking of upgrading your battery and plan to do a fair amount of dry camping, I would consider going with two 6 volts wired in series... They have more usable amp hours then 12 volts and you'd need three 12 volt batteries to equal the amp hours of two 6 volts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt2igyyyNb4

I have two 6 volts on my 21DK wired in series and I usually run the fridge on propane a day or 2 before I leave and still have power to spare.

[joeuncool]

When I bought our 2017 Roo new from the dealer I figured they would be putting a group 24 battery on it (not sure though) so I immediately requested 2 6 volts. Cost me an extra $110 for the "upgrade." While this setup works well for us as we almost exclusively dry camp, I was a bit surprised that they don't last as long as I expected. I do qualify that with not being extremely frugal with electrical use but we don't get completely ridiculous. Every morning I had to pull out the solar panels for charging to get the batteries back up where they should be in preparation for each night.

I am now considering 4 6 volts, or 3 large 12 volts to give more room and options for electrical use. But, this now moves into the area of space - weight considerations with some planning.

The other thing I have learned from here, youtube, and the internet. There is nothing magical about 6 volt batteries. When connected together to get 12 volts they basically become a "large" 12 volt battery and you are not doubling the amp hours of the individual 6 volt battery. 6 volt batteries just tend to have more amp hours than 12 volt batteries do. Not a lot more, just some more.

[njfishing]

Originally Posted by joeuncool

When I bought our 2017 Roo new from the dealer I figured they would be putting a group 24 battery on it (not sure though) so I immediately requested 2 6 volts. Cost me an extra $110 for the "upgrade." While this setup works well for us as we almost exclusively dry camp, I was a bit surprised that they don't last as long as I expected. I do qualify that with not being extremely frugal with electrical use but we don't get completely ridiculous. Every morning I had to pull out the solar panels for charging to get the batteries back up where they should be in preparation for each night.

I am now considering 4 6 volts, or 3 large 12 volts to give more room and options for electrical use. But, this now moves into the area of space - weight considerations with some planning.

The other thing I have learned from here, youtube, and the internet. There is nothing magical about 6 volt batteries. When connected together to get 12 volts they basically become a "large" 12 volt battery and you are not doubling the amp hours of the individual 6 volt battery. 6 volt batteries just tend to have more amp hours than 12 volt batteries do. Not a lot more, just some more.

Well according to the video I posted above, you'd be better of with two 6 volts then you would with three large 12 volts.

Any way you cut it if you dry camp for more then a few days, you are going to need a means to charge them.

[bobbyoye]

My rear backup camera started working after I turned my headlights on

[joeuncool]

Originally Posted by njfishing

Well according to the video I posted above, you'd be better of with two 6 volts then you would with three large 12 volts.

Any way you cut it if you dry camp for more then a few days, you are going to need a means to charge them.

My 2 6V (same as the ones in the video) have a rated 215 Amp Hours at a 20 AH rate. A decent 12 V group 27 has 105 Amp Hours x 3 which would be 310. Or I could do 4 6v which then would give me 430 AH but wow the weight would be ridiculous.

My goal is to be able to run a 2000w inverter for brief bursts of microwave or coffee maker use just because it would be cool.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by bobbyoye

My rear backup camera started working after I turned my headlights on

Makes sense. That would turn your marker lights on. I assumed you had done that or I would have suggested it. If your marker lights aren't on, your camera isn't going to work.

Your dealer SHOULD have explained this to you. Another example of a lousy PDI.

[RooRob]

Originally Posted by bobbyoye

My rear backup camera started working after I turned my headlights on

X2

[jmiles8701]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Makes sense. That would turn your marker lights on. I assumed you had done that or I would have suggested it. If your marker lights aren't on, your camera isn't going to work.

Your dealer SHOULD have explained this to you. Another example of a lousy PDI.

I KNOW the camera is prewired through the lights. ive tried every combo of marker lights, headlights, reverse, Etc. I'm sure its something stupid like a weak ground, just curious if anyone knows which light/ lights its wired into from factory or has a diagram.

[Timtation]

You probably have a CO detector and the wired ones seem to suck power more than those we use at home that are small battery powered. Also the battery supplied with the camper could have been abused by being discharged by the parasitic loads if it wasn't disconnected between shipment and delivery to you. Total discharge really reduces the recharge capacity. You might check the parasitic loads by turning all options off, disconnecting the battery and finding the resistance between the positive and negative cables. This will give you an idea of the capacity needed. Usually the fridge doesn't use much juice since most of the power is from the little propane consumed.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by jmiles8701

I KNOW the camera is prewired through the lights. ive tried every combo of marker lights, headlights, reverse, Etc. I'm sure its something stupid like a weak ground, just curious if anyone knows which light/ lights its wired into from factory or has a diagram.

OK. On my Roo 19, the upper marker lights on the back were wired from "near" the brake/tail lights at the bottom. If you open the rear storage door, on the left will be a piece of thin plywood with a 1 x 1 at the bottom. It keeps stuff in the compartment from sliding into the tail lights (and also wastes a TON of space!). Remove it and you'll see the tail light wiring. Should be a couple wires going UP to the rear marker lights. There may be a similar setup on the right side, but with access from the inside storage door (I can't recall if they ran two sets of wires up from each tail light, or ran a single set up to the left marker and then a set across from one marker to the other).

My Roo didn't have have a camera, but since it's mounted it at the top rear, it makes sense that it would be wired to one of the two marker lights, either right or left. Others with cameras have stated they're powered by the marker lights, and it was one of the two upper ones.

No one is going to have a diagram, even the factory!

[Milktrk]

One possibility is the factory didn’t connect the camera to the wiring correctly- take the camera off and verify that it’s connected.

Another possibility is that you camera and monitor have lost their pair- you will have to reset it by disconnecting the camera- a few screws and unplug the camera. Then you have to plug the camera into the port on the charging harness on the monitor to re- pair the devices.

[mopwr4me2003]

When we bought ours we were told about some of the things that draw battery power. One that most people forget is your booster for your tv antenna. So just to add to things to look at. I would definitely start with battery condition first if it was me though.

[RooRob]

I thought my battery was charging via my truck during towing, but turned out that my truck, which I bought used, was missing the proper relay and fuse, therefor, I was not getting any top up while towing.