[stevet004]

Hi fellow road warriors, I purchased a trailer last year and am installing a battery and power inverter for those non-electric camp sites I like to frequent. The folks at Electrical Connenctions helped me with how to hook it to the bike charging system and isolate from the bike. Question is where do I position the battery in the trailer? I do not have a ton of towing experience and not sure if it should be front or back....what is preferred? Battery weighs about 19lbs and is for a scooter chair (Deep Cycle) 7"x5"x8".

Thanks everyone!

 

[JWayne]

Front is probably better because the cables can be shorter with less risk of getting damaged.

 

[RKB53]

Yes in the front of the trailer would be the best spot. It will help with the tongue weight and take the least amount of abuse.

 

[unionjk]

On the tongue in front of the cooler rack, just make a second rack/battery box for it to rest inside of.

 

[77Pinto]

The closer to the ball of the hitch the smoother the ride it will have, HOWEVER, the TOTAL tounge weight NEEDS to be 10-15% of the GROSS weight of the trailer for safe trailering. Too much on the tounge can have a negitive effect on handling of the bike, too little is FAR worse.

Anyone can tell you where they think it should go, but YOU need to look at your goals and all the details.


Bill

 

[dadztoy]

On the tongue would be preferable as this the "sweet spot" for best ride quality, but watch your tongue weight so it doesn't get too heavy... 10-15% is OK for larger RV type trailers (I tow those too) but in our cargo trailers and boat trailers, the acceptable limits are usually from 8-10% of total TT weight... 77pinto is correct in tbat too much tongue weight is just as bad as too little tongue weight...

Les

 

[stevet004]

Thanks Guys! I really appreciate the feedback, the whole tongue weight thing makes perfect sense and will follow your recommendations.
Will get the battery box today and get ready for some road camping.....I'll post the whole set-up when I am finished with some pics for anyone that may be thinking of a similar endeavor.

Thanks again and have a great and safe riding season!!

 

[stevet004]

Cargo trailer with Battery/Isolater/Inverter

Hello All, hope you are enjoying some riding time this weekend. Its rainy and blustery here in Chi-town so am updating my previous post about locating the battery on a trailer: http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums...15210-where-position-aux-battery-trailer.html This project gives me the ability to have a 600W Pure Sine Wave Inverter in my cargo trailer for the non-electric camp sites I like to frequent. Using a WKDC12-35J battery designed for deep discharge in scooter chair and marine deep cycle applications gives plenty of long term juice.

The folks at Electrical Connections explained how to use the "accessory" wire on their trailer Isolator/Converter to charge the battery using the bike while not discharging the bike battery. The Isolator accessory power is controlled by a switch up front so I can be sure the bike is up to speed and have the least amount of impact on the bike charging system before I switch on the trailer charging. On the trailer I used a marine power switch to keep the inverter from sucking juice when its not being used and installed the 80 AMP fuse the manufacturer recommended. Where to mount the battery was the biggest piece of the puzzle, and many thanks to; Jwayne, RKB53, unionjk, 77Pinto, and daddztoy, for helping with insight in that regard.

Had to cut/bend aluminum diamond plate to make the box which holds the battery and standard battery box. I used my table saw to cut the aluminum and watched Youtube videos to make a homemade metal brake for the bends, then purchased military grade rubber latches to keep everything tight. Finished product is in the pictures attached along with an Inverter sizing chart.

It took quite a bit of research to pull this all together and I hope it will help anyone attempting or deliberating a project like this....plus I think it turned out pretty cool and want to share.

 

[bgriffey]

Pretty cool!

 

[FM]

Search, it's been asked before.

It can be done but IF IT WERE ME i'd keep a spare alternator handy. It's going to be heavily used keeping up with that 2 battery charging demand. The Alt will put out "X", no more, unless it's the Compuserve. New now about $275???
Unless you have the means to charge that extra battery via 110v charger or Solar Panel.

I'm planning on this also in my camp-trailer.
Switch to isolate trailer battery from the bike, morning starts are difficult on a low/dead bike battery.

My plan is to buy more Y50-N18L-A3 batteries every other year. (bike +2 trailer = 3 total) That way in 6 years I'll have a near new battery on hand for the bike. No-no-no, nick-name's not Monk.

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

Stevet004,

Thanks for sharing your project! I will be starting my trailer rebuild in the next week or so and your post is great and very timely. Excellent work!

I do have just one question though and it comes from heart so please don’t take offence…

In this picture where the wires come through the bulkhead ( Item “A” ) are you using any grommets or other means of chafing protection for your heavy gauge wires? From what I can see (it’s not clear so I could be wrong) there does not look to be. It just looks like silicon caulking.

Here is why I am asking…

(Assuming that item “B” is your marine switch and item “C” is your 80 amp fuse.)

If your red wire that comes from your battery should ever come in contact with ANY metal of your trailer you will have a complete disaster on your hands. The bulkhead has an EXTREMELY HIGH potential for chafing. This is so even if you have added some sort of caulking there. Vibration over time will cause the soft caulking to move.

Once the insulation of the red wire has been compromised and makes contact with trailer bulkhead, there will be a direct short of your battery and no fuse protection. Your marine switch and fuse are all down line of this point of contact. There would be no protection.

The first wire to instantly blow apart would be the small black one (Item “D”). Once that has failed, and if connected to the bike, the other black ground wire that completes the circuit to the bike will blow away at some point along its length. That will then cascade through your bikes electrics until it is satisfied that there are no more ground sources. Remember, your hitch will ground your trailer too.

This will all happen in a millisecond. When I say blow I mean like a gunshot! The potential here is to reduce your bike and trailer to ashes and have the potential to cause significant personal harm or even death should you lose control of your bike if were to happen while riding. That battery has the potential to be a small bomb.

In my humble opinion, you should at least have the 80 amp fuse located right at the battery post (Item “F”).

Also, consider putting a small appropriate fuse at item “E”. That will save the bike and wiring should that wire get pinched somewhere between the battery and your bikes electrics.

If no High Quality grommets were used, please consider adding them too.

I hope you don’t take offence to my post. It’s just that I am really really anal about electrical / electronic systems. You’re dealing with some VERY seriously high current here.

Thanks,

Tim.

 

[stevet004]

Thanks Mr. Magic Fingers, you are 100% correct and no offense taken! This forum has helped me this far with the project and now to properly engineer the bulkhead and add one fuse and move another is not difficult. I appreciate the feedback, this is my first project of this nature and you have saved me untold heartache down the road (literally). I had never thought of the repercussions of that single point of contact.

-Many thanks

 

[stevet004]

Fuses/Bulkhead grommets Installed

Thanks to Mister Magic Fingers, I believe the project is now complete and above all..SAFE. The charging wires back to the bike are on a completely different plug too. Thanks for everyone's input and help here, have a safe riding season!

See attached pictures:

 

[wingnut]

...updating my previous post about locating the battery on a trailer...

I have merged both threads into one for you.

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

ST,

I think you’re good to go! Hahahah Great job!

Just inspect those grommets from time to time just as a safety check and you will have no problems and many safe miles.

Tim.

 

[stevet004]

Thanks Wingnut!

ST

 

[Chromo]

Search, it's been asked before.

It can be done but IF IT WERE ME i'd keep a spare alternator handy. It's going to be heavily used keeping up with that 2 battery charging demand. The Alt will put out "X", no more, unless it's the Compuserve. New now about $275???
Unless you have the means to charge that extra battery via 110v charger or Solar Panel.

I'm planning on this also in my camp-trailer.
Switch to isolate trailer battery from the bike, morning starts are difficult on a low/dead bike battery.

My plan is to buy more Y50-N18L-A3 batteries every other year. (bike +2 trailer = 3 total) That way in 6 years I'll have a near new battery on hand for the bike. No-no-no, nick-name's not Monk.

The load on the alternator only depends how far down you drain the trailer batteries. If your running them near dead you don't have enough batteries anyway for the loads you are using and will kill the batteries faster.

Use a battery isolator, not a switch. An isolator will only allow only the aux batteries to drain under a load, not the bike battery, and when the bike is charging it will charge all batteries as needed. So the bike will always be at full charge no matter what charge the aux batteries have. No worries about forgetting to turn off a switch and ending up with a dead bike battery in morning, and same with forgetting to turn on a switch to charge then having dead aux batteries at camp that night!

 

[Chromo]

For those considering adding batteries, Gel Cells are more expensive but much better. They do not suffer the damage other types do from hard bounces or vibration and should last much longer in use.

The best place to mount them depending on the trailer used would be under the trailer near the axle. This would have the least effect on tongue weight. The bottom of the battery box should be about 2-3" above the axle when trailer is at max load so that there is always plenty of road clearance. The front of the battery box should be built of some strong solid stock to prevent damage from road hazards, 3/4' plywood should do well. A removable floor panel inside the trailer would provide good easy access when cables need cleaned or battery changed. A simple seal is all that's needed to prevent gasses from entering the trailer body. Would be a good idea to just run a simple vent pipe or hose to side or rear of trailer from battery box also.

By building this way you could use as many or as heavy a battery as you need and not effect tongue weight much at all, and the batteries are out of the way and take no needed space.

Provided the battery box is near the axle and above it, no need to worry about it dragging when going up or down a sudden grade change. If the axle does not drag then the battery box should not either if built correctly.

This may not work for all sizes of big batteries or small trailers, but would be best when it does work.
If towing an empty trailer there would not be too much tongue weight from the batteries.

If using normal lead acid type batteries, rather sealed or not, it should work well also if your trailer does not bounce down the road hard but normally rides fairly smooth. With the battery weight at the axle that will also help the trailer ride smoother and not bounce so much.

Of course a normal car battery will work but it will have a shorter life than any decent deepcycle. Fine if your only using it a few times a year and don't care. If your going to use it allot and want a longer life then pay more money and buy a good DeepCycle type.

If you mount under the trailer near the axle and vent it, 2 used Trojan 105 6v batteries wired in series will give a ton of power for a long time! You can often find these used for $10-$20 at places that service golf carts. Golf carts are a major high load use for short times.
Any battery will provide more total power the slower it is drained. A Trojan 105 is rated for heavy drain in golf carts at 105amps, but in normal low load use like camping it should provide about 120amps. Total amps would depend of course on condition of the battery if used.
Golf courses replace perfectly good batteries because they can't risk the big shots getting stuck at hole 15 with a dead battery in a cart LOL
Those batteries are still great for other uses though!
A T105 is heavy and since 6V you need 2 to make 12V.

Wal-mart (yuck) sold a pretty good 12V deepcycle battery, I bought mine many years ago and they were really good, was about $65 then but I am sure they went up in price by now! I really abused mine bad and all 3 of them lasted 3 years with good service! Heck may still work if I charge them up again, they been sitting dead 2 years now at least and thats not good for batteries! More abuse LOL