My wife and I were camping last week and we had a couple issues when packing up to com

[Ben M]

I added another battery before we left and hooked it up to the one that was there. Well the first night it rained heavily all night, but the next couple days it was extremely hot 100+. Everything worked great the whole time but when we left, the slide out didn't work (I cranked it manually just fine) and when I tried to unhook the 30 amp cord from the trailer it had fused to the connector. I have a surge protector and it showed nothing had happened and the connection was correct. I was able to get the cord off and the end of the cord was melted ($117.00 for a new cord). I checked all of the fuses in the fuse panel and none were blown. After reading some posts on here, I am going to locate the 30 amp fuse for the slide and I am going to take off the second battery I put on. I am somewhat at a loss as to what could have caused the cord to melt. Any ideas ? Thank you

[Ben M]

By the way, we have a 2013 roo 233s

[TURBS]

Sounds like you had a bad connection and had some serious heat build up at the camper to cord connection.


2015 Columbus 320RS
2008 2500HD Duramax
2015 nights camped "34"
2016 nights camped "14"

[B and B]

Hello Ben M,

The trailer connection should be replaced as the connections on the back of the trailer socket is probably loose, found mine this way. Once they get hot and burnt they don't work correctly moving forward.

On a side note I have a 1 ft 30 amp extension I use on the park side. Saves my cords and Surge management system plugs.

B

[SeaDog]

Are you sure the battery you added was hooked in parallel? Which end of the power cord was fried? I would not disconnect a bunch of things at one time but rather use a step by step process to eliminate possible problems. Starting first with the thing I changed first (the additional battery) what it wired correctly. be sure to let us know what you find.

[Campster]

I agree with some of the above posts, check the tightness of the screws that pinch/hold the wires to the power plug on the end of the power cable that plug into your trailer. I'm betting that they were loose causing heat build up at the pin.

[phillyg]

Just coincidental that you added the battery IMHO. Do double check that the batteries are connected correctly and ensure you have 12v output. I agree with B and B about your female connector, even if it still looks good. Make sure it's connections are tight along with the connections inside the inverter.

[pdqparalegal1]

Originally Posted by Ben M

I added another battery before we left and hooked it up to the one that was there. Well the first night it rained heavily all night, but the next couple days it was extremely hot 100+. Everything worked great the whole time but when we left, the slide out didn't work (I cranked it manually just fine) and when I tried to unhook the 30 amp cord from the trailer it had fused to the connector. I have a surge protector and it showed nothing had happened and the connection was correct. I was able to get the cord off and the end of the cord was melted ($117.00 for a new cord). I checked all of the fuses in the fuse panel and none were blown. After reading some posts on here, I am going to locate the 30 amp fuse for the slide and I am going to take off the second battery I put on. I am somewhat at a loss as to what could have caused the cord to melt. Any ideas ? Thank you

You can cut the bad end off and if it's a 30 amp cord, replace the end with one from Lowes or Home Depot. Have done that many times to make an adapter or repair cord.

[Timex]

My question would be: How many amps were you pulling, you mentioned that it was hot? With an AC running at top performance, you'll pull 13-17 amps, fridge 6 amps, water heater 10-13 amps, turn on lights, tv, etc; you're busting 30 amps wide open. A surge protector won't save you from going over.


Use dielectric grease on ALL the metal pins of the connections. Make sure all pins are straight and connect tightly to their respective terminals.

[The_Rhino]

Originally Posted by pdqparalegal1

You can cut the bad end off and if it's a 30 amp cord, replace the end with one from Lowes or Home Depot. Have done that many times to make an adapter or repair cord.

X2

I did this last summer when my overheated plug was constantly tripping the CG breaker. First I tried filing the plug to expose clean copper but that was not enough. The campground store had a reasonably priced Camco male end & 15 minutes later I was good to go.

[Ben M]

I went out to the camper today and checked the batteries, they were wired correctly, but I removed the extra one. I also put a meter on the remaining battery and it measured only 8.6 volts. I hit the slide out switch and heard the motor click but nothing happened. I hooked the truck up to the trailer and the slide out worked fine. My fear now is the inverter was possibly damaged. Can I check that without power ?

[Ben M]

Oh and thanks for the replies, they gave me some good direction.

[SeaDog]

Originally Posted by Ben M

I went out to the camper today and checked the batteries, they were wired correctly, but I removed the extra one. I also put a meter on the remaining battery and it measured only 8.6 volts. I hit the slide out switch and heard the motor click but nothing happened. I hooked the truck up to the trailer and the slide out worked fine. My fear now is the inverter was possibly damaged. Can I check that without power ?

Your trailer has a converter (converts 110v to 12V) and inverter (inverts 12V to 110V) just a small point. 8.6 indicates a dead battery it may come back to life with charging or may not. I don't know of any way to check the converter with adding 110V power. If you hook up to power (generator or house) you can check the 110V side by checking the clock on the microwave, and check the 12V side by placing your meeter across the 12V terminals of the converter and see if you are getting more then batter voltage should be somewhere 13+ good luck

[B and B]

Hello again Ben,

I think you need to hook up a external charger and get the battery up to proper voltage. I use a Schumacher that has a 2 amp tender mode and also 8 amp faster mode. Carefully take off the battery caps and make sure the water (acid) level is touching the bottom of the filling holes, there are little slices on the side that allow gas to escape. No Smoking as the battery produces hydrogen.

Do not connect the charger while plugged in, you do not want any sparks.

Use safety glasses as well.

Charge both your batteries.

Your slide will not work on 8 volts.. Too low and will blow the breaker or fuse with over current.

If your batteries were hooked up backwards you would know it.

On your inverter there are polarity reversal fuses, They are 30 amps possibly. Need to check theses too.

[rbq]

About the converter & checking it. Most of Roos (at least mine is) use the WFCO converters. When I had my PUP I had a converter go out & the WFCO website showed how to check for a bad converter. If not then call WFCO & they will be able to help you. Here is the address for their troubleshooting. Just find which model it is.
Troubleshooting charts | wfcoelectronics.com

[Flybob]

Adding the second battery most likely had nothing to do with your problem. It sounds like the connections ( screws) on the trailer connector were not tight or catching the wire properly, This causes a high resistance connection and when you start drawing high currents with AC etc on, it generates heat. Remove and replace the trailer power connector. You will most likely see a dark burned spot on one of the power terminals.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by Ben M

I went out to the camper today and checked the batteries, they were wired correctly, but I removed the extra one. I also put a meter on the remaining battery and it measured only 8.6 volts. I hit the slide out switch and heard the motor click but nothing happened. I hooked the truck up to the trailer and the slide out worked fine. My fear now is the inverter was possibly damaged. Can I check that without power ?

Chances are that battery is now history and may be the new one too. I think that's why they say batteries should be same type, size, age and condition. If your CONVERTER/charger was dealing all weekend with trying to charge a DEAD battery, that may have contributed to your 110 v high amperage condition. Above the numbers were shown. A/C with water heater, frig, an over taxed converter and other uses probably exceeded your 30 amps contributing to the other problems. I keep a $13 plug in, analog volt meter in the wall outlet and start worrying about voltage any time I see it drop below 109 volts AC. One of those $89 surge protectors will probably not help with a gradual overload but The $300 Progressive Industries or the like. Might have caught your problem early.

Finally best advice on batteries is be sure the are fully charged before you head out. Best test is use battery cut off the night before departure and check batteries for 12.5 volts the next morning. If you can't do cut off cause your frig needs to be on then unplug the night before, shut everything off but the frig running propane and batteries should still be strong in the morning, IF YOUR BATTERIES ARE GOOD TO GO.

[Captn.Ken]

I know this is an old thread but wanted to respond anyway. I had the exact same experience with my Surveyor trailer. I went to remove power cord and found it fused to the trailer. I had to tear the trailer socket apart to get the cable removed. I replaced the trailer receptacle myself at my expense and put a new plug on the old cable. I then contacted the dealer about a replacement cable and reimbursement for my expense of a new plug. They said that Forest River's position was that because I had "tampered" with the receptacle it voided my warranty. I advised them that the temperature that night was below freezing and I needed to take action to protect my family by providing heat in the trailer. What they called "tampering" was a fairly intelligent person "repairing" the faulty parts. Any sensible person would "tamper" with the cable failure in order to avoid freezing. Forest River did't give a hoot. Given the same circumstances again I would still "tamper" and then "tamper" some more to protect my family. Bah Humbug to FR. They would expect us to freeze while waiting for a certified FR repair facility to do exactly what I did to repair the problem.

[Mainframe]

Originally Posted by Captn.Ken

I know this is an old thread but wanted to respond anyway. I had the exact same experience with my Surveyor trailer. I went to remove power cord and found it fused to the trailer. I had to tear the trailer socket apart to get the cable removed. I replaced the trailer receptacle myself at my expense and put a new plug on the old cable. I then contacted the dealer about a replacement cable and reimbursement for my expense of a new plug. They said that Forest River's position was that because I had "tampered" with the receptacle it voided my warranty. I advised them that the temperature that night was below freezing and I needed to take action to protect my family by providing heat in the trailer. What they called "tampering" was a fairly intelligent person "repairing" the faulty parts. Any sensible person would "tamper" with the cable failure in order to avoid freezing. Forest River did't give a hoot. Given the same circumstances again I would still "tamper" and then "tamper" some more to protect my family. Bah Humbug to FR. They would expect us to freeze while waiting for a certified FR repair facility to do exactly what I did to repair the problem.

I would skate past the dealer with this issue and contact Forest River directly if I had the same thing happen.

[rracer5]

Hope I didn't miss anything but, wouldn't low CG voltage also cause a build up of excessive heat?