Anyone charge their boat batteries from the truck while towing?

[Waterfoul]

Got this idea in my head... fairly large inverter in the back of the Tahoe hooked to the battery then run a cord out the tailgait to the boat charger (and yes I've thought thru the "how" part of that already).

Anyone tried this or doing this now?  Issues?  I have a 3 bank charger, standard truck battery and alternator.  What size inverter would I need?  Am I going to kill the truck battery?  Kill the alternator?

[Genie]

How much do the official charging systems cost that already do this?  For the cost of the inverter of proper size, might not be worth the DIY route.

[bob o]

http://www.raystackle.com/

try this site out

[skeeter6217]

Stay N Charge is a system by Retrotec that allows you to charge your batteries while towing and while running your outboard motor. It cost around $200.

[Waterfoul]

You have to remember where I work.     I can do it cheaper DYI than most of you.     But I will look into your suggestions.

I just don't want to hurt the trucks charging system.  I have the proper size inverter figured out thanks to one of my vendors.

[chrisvmo]

Charging while your outboard is running seems more practical, but I guess a towing charging system would be awesome as well.

[Waterfoul]

Chris... I've got some trips up north planned that won't allow me to charge much on the trailer... and if you're on the trolling motor all day with the graphs running the gas motor isn't doing any charging.  but a couple hours of towing would help put some charge back in the starting/electronics battery.

[Skulley]

If the boat batteries are hooked in parallel to the rest if the trucks charging system, I think all you would need is a heavy duty truck alternator. One that would give off high amperes or electric current.  Since boat batteries are 12 volts and so are boat batteries, the vehicles alternator should be able to charge them without the use of an inverter or the on board charger. To be sure, I'll ask the guys in the battery laboratory here at work. They will be able to tell me about an alternator for something like that as well as a regulator and any other components needed.



BD.                      

[Frank]

on a related topic...

What do you guys do when you go out of town and stay at a hotel?  Do you talk them into running a really long extension cord out of your window?  last time i did it I had to put all 3 batteries and the charger on the luggage cart and take them to my room.  I got some really funny looks going down the hallway.

Frank

[Dan]

My buddy Don's BassCat came with a Stealth1 Charging system in it. I traveled with him for years fishing away from home on a number of lakes and impoundments, etc. I was always amazed at his Stealth System.
The Stealth1 charges the trolling motor batteries while your big motor is on. We would often fish on St. Clair, Erie, etc. from dawn to dusk and get back to the hotel and plug his batteries in to find that the green lights, indicating full charge, were on already. No need to plug them in.
I just recently purchased the same system and installed it just a week ago. I used it up on GT Bay last Thursday and it worked great. (60 smallies that day) Stealth also has a charge from the truck while on the trailer package.
I have had the Stay N Charge, (a cheaper version of the Stealth1) that never really worked very well for me (I have it yet, and would sell it cheap. It's lying on my garage floor now.). The part of the Stay N Charge system that did work was the adapter that would allow you charge from the truck as you ran down the road. An hour on the road, after a tournament, really put a bunch back in to the battery.
The Stay N Charge was strictly a DC system. A fancy computer switch. The Stealth1 system is a dual system AC and DC unit. I also bought their emergency start switch which will divert all your batteries power to your starting battery so you can start the boat if for some reason that starting battery pukes. Just flip one switch and you're on your way. No need for jumper cables etc. Great system!!

PS
One of my gripes about the Stay N Charge was customer service. Took me forever to get an answer and a plug that I needed replace. Finally gave up and yanked it out and then the plug came. The customer service with the Stealth is top notch. That's why a number of Elite pros run it. In fact, KVD runs a Stealth system. If you are in need of an on board charging system give me a call and I can give you the name of the owner who you can explain how using his product will give you battery life of 5-10 years on your boat batteries.

[djkimmel]

on a related topic...

What do you guys do when you go out of town and stay at a hotel?  Do you talk them into running a really long extension cord out of your window?  last time i did it I had to put all 3 batteries and the charger on the luggage cart and take them to my room.  I got some really funny looks going down the hallway.

Frank

You have to plan ahead. Ask them when you make reservations about needing to plug in and ask them for a solution that works and doesn't involve taking your batteries out of the boat.

Some places have outside plugs and will tell you where you can park to use them. Some will give you a room so you can run your cord out the window or under the door. Some will come up with something else creative and helpful.

Once in a while, they say something about how difficult it will be. Maybe too much trouble... luckily, there's usually more than one motel/hotel in the area.

[Dan]

What he said.

[Waterfoul]

Hey Dan... how much for the Stay-N-Charge?  I only want it to charge while on the road.  Up north I have access to outlets to plug in.  It's days like yesterday when I fished litterally all day on two different lakes that I worry about having issues.  Turns out my issues yesterday were due to a dead output on my on-board charger (which I figured out tonight) so that's an easy fix... but if I had a system that charged while driving down the road I wouldn't have had any issues.

[Dan]

The Stay N Charge unit as I understand it is just a switching device. It requires a double pigtail from the truck so that the lights on the trailer work and the other plug goes into a harness that runs along the trailer to a plug in the back. I have the unit, but do not know how where when why of hooking it up. I also seemed to have lost the double pig tail. I believe it was an issue with my son loaning it out and not knowing now where he lent it. Make me an offer I can't refuse and the Stay N Charge unit is yours.  This looks like what I have  http://www.stayncharge.com/products.php?cat=7

[TheFishinPollock]

But isn't it neat when the cleaning lady says " I refuze to clean the bathroom till you get the spare tire and bubbling battery on the toilet top outa there!"  ??

[skeeter6217]

You're correct Dan on the pigtail for the truck and boat. You also have to make sure your truck is wired correctly. I can't remember what the wire is called under the hood but it does not come hooked up from GM or Ford. GM and Ford supply the wire but it's not hooked up.

Sorry I can't remember the name of the wire. Makes my paragraph above sound incomplete.

[Skulley]

Does Ford or GM run the wire back to the electrical connection??



BD.                     

[skeeter6217]

yes

[Skulley]

Do they run it to the electrical connector on the bumper for the trailer?? Ram has that wire in the harness for the trailer and is apart of the 7 or 8 way connector. Ram also now integrates the electric brakes for trailers too so that you don't have to purchase that extra electric brake booster.


BD.                   

[Genie]

My Chevy is the Z71 so all the wires are already there with the round plug.  It's an '03 so most trucks should be set.