2013 t12ddst

[alexcarey]

Hi all,

New owners here. My wife and I just bought a 2013 T12DDST, I think it was from another person who is on this forum but I won't call anyone out without permission. I will say that they were totally awesome, they met us at a lowes and gave us the full rundown of all the systems, maintenance, towing suggestions, tool kits etc. They answered more questions than I could come up with at the time and they kept offering all the little things they had come to own for the trailer over time, extra hitches, extra locks, stove, brand new in the box tires, trailer dolly, brand new cover etc. At the end when we told them we wanted to buy it they ended up giving us 500$ back because apparently the battery was 4 years and and it may need replacing. In contrast the week before we went to a dealer to look at a similar trailer and when I asked the dealer to show me how to fold it down he had the nerve to ask me condescendingly "well are you gonna buy it" then he only took it half way down. ughhhh. We made the right choice buying privately, they took great care of it and we plan to do the same thing.

Anyways, it's our first trailer and we aren't too knowledgeable yet so I got a few questions. I've looked through a few dozens threads here, learned a lot and got some great idea but there's lots more to know. Pictures for enjoyment and questions below.




Plenty of room where it is parked but you can see in the first pic it narrows down quite a bit. The trailer dolly wasn't enough to get it up the driveway(slight incline), luckily I had anticipated that and bought a trailer valet ahead of time, still not easy, but doable. The trailer is spec'd at 7'1" but if you take into account the things that stick out, its more like 7'4". Our driveway at its smallest point is 7'7".

So here are my questions.
1. Is the drill bit for the trailer valet actually helpful?

2. The previous owner said the battery was old and maybe no good. I ran a few appliances on it, heater, fan, lights, water pump, just to get a feel for it. Then before I checked the voltage of the battery I plugged it in for 48 hours to charge it up. Then a few hours later I check the volts and it was sitting as 12.62. Seems like the battery is in fine shape, anything I should do before the maiden voyage this weekend? Is it in good shape if its at 12.62, seems like it to me. If I read correctly, we never want the Volts to go below 12.06 Volts, right?

3. Am I using more battery if I leave the water pump switch under the sink on. We won't be using the sink for extended periods of time, like sleeping. Is keeping it on draining the battery?

4. Am I using more battery if the refrigerator is switched to propane mode? I'd think not but i'm not sure. What about the water pump?

5. What is the best way to check the battery without taking the battery cover off? There is a lock and a cover that makes it a PITA to check with the multimeter, is there an easier way?

6. I was reading a lot about surge protectors. I'll only ever be plugging this thing into my regular outlet at home because we only dry camp. It'll be with a 30/15 adapter. Do I need the surge protector?

7. I doubt we will ever use the radio, when I turn it off the panel its still somewhat lit up, in a sort of grey mode, anyway to cut the power to it even more? Is that even worth it or is the drain so minimal its not worth doing?

8. We are towing with a 2007 sport edition 4 runner, v6 with the towing package, it says 5000lb, I think im all good here, it certainly felt fine on the freeway, anything else I should know that I may be overlooking? I didn't weigh the tongue weight but I can't imagine i'm anywhere near too heavy.


We got this idea from another poster.


pic of the little one, the whole reason we got this thing, to make camping with little one easier...and warmer.


Thanks for looking!

[pgandw]

2. You should check the battery with a hydrometer (all cells) or have it load checked at an auto parts place. A "worn out" battery can show full voltage, but will drop voltage very quickly when under load. If you are dry camping for more than one night, you will likely want more/better battery. I use dual GC-2 golf cart batteries from Costco to power us dry camping for up to 4 nights with moderate heater usage.

3. The water pump does not use power unless it is actually pumping. However, I my pump off when I am packing up at the campsite. Part of my fold-down checklist. One time I left it on, and opened the drain on the water tank to drain out some soured well water. Result was a burned out water pump ($65 to replace) when it ran out of water to pump.

4. The fridge in the standard height A-frame does not use any battery when running on propane. It also has no thermostat. A $10 battery-powered wireless thermometer from Walmart will help you keep your fridge at the right temp.

5. I installed a digital voltmeter into the side of the microwave cabinet, along with a switch to turn the meter on/off. cost $7.50 for the meter on Amazon. While I was at it, I installed a power switch for the stereo so it wasn't drawing power when it wasn't being used. You do lose the radio station presets and any non-default adjustments when the stereo is completely turned off.

If the previous owner didn't already do it, install a true battery disconnect. I put mine outside the battery box for ease of use. The propane/CO detector and stereo will kill your battery in a couple of weeks without a disconnect.

6. I don't use a surge protector - there isn't that much in an A-frame to fry with a surge. The microwave and Cool-Cat are the biggest $ items. And surge protectors don't block all surges either.

7. See #5.

Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[Ortep]

Any of your appliances that run on propane also need the battery to operate the "brains" for those items, so YES there will be a draw on the battery even though the appliance is not operating solely on DC. There are Refrigerators that are 3-way types, AC, DC, propane. It is always a good idea to turn off all appliances, pumps, heaters when not using the camper to save your batteries.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by Ortep

Any of your appliances that run on propane also need the battery to operate the "brains" for those items, so YES there will be a draw on the battery even though the appliance is not operating solely on DC. There are Refrigerators that are 3-way types, AC, DC, propane. It is always a good idea to turn off all appliances, pumps, heaters when not using the camper to save your batteries.

Not true of the standard height A-frames. The Dometic 4223 is completely independent of DC when operated on propane or AC.

The stove also has no DC input or control.

DC to the water heater controls is turned off by the water heater switch, and DC to the furnace controls is turned off by the thermostat.

The propane/CO detector and stereo are the only standard items that do not have an on/off switch and are live any time there is 12V power supplied in the standard height A-frame. The stereo power switch on the control head does not turn off the backup power for the stereo memory - you have to remove the backup power wire, or wire a switch in to turn off both backup and main power.

A battery disconnect switch will also completely turn off the stereo, and turn off the propane/CO detector.

Because of burning out the water pump, I turn all appliances off - except for the fridge - when I fold the A-frame down for towing. Whether the fridge fan I installed (with a switch) remains on during towing is determined by outside air temp.

When we set up for camping, or in the garage, I just turn on what is needed. The rest remains off, reducing the parasite draws to the battery.

Hope this helps
Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan