Hi, please explain to me....does the truck recharge the trailer batteries as you drive down the road? 

Thanks

Ours does.  Yours should, but no guarantees.

Probably not enough to cover extensive usage of them...

Paul is right you would need to do 100s of miles to put much in ... first you need to check if your truck is set up for it.. how it works= there is a relay that closes when the truck is running and puts a feed from the truck battery out thru the trailer wiring to your LQ battery or some times are just hooked up to the 12v part of the fridge to make that work when your on the road. you could check  that with the LQ builders ..Its best to hook up to a shore line and charge with the converter if you can..  hope this helps

I have been told that you have to have a special set up in your truck wiring to charge the trailer battery and I've also been told that the truck should charge anyway.  I have a new trailer and my fridge is just a 2 way so I know it is not gonna work on battery.  Didn't know if there is something I need to add.

Thanks

Lee Ann.

I guess the answer is, it depends on your set up.

You should probably take your rig (truck and trailer) to the dealer you purchased from (if you did), or a trusted RV dealership. They have the tools and the experience to provide you with the best answer.

Also - unless you drive many, many miles or do not use the battery very much, you will probably need to charge your trailer batteries by using a converter/charger that plugs in to an electric outlet.

We have mostly kept our LQ plugged into the barn, but I'd like to minimize the time it needs to be plugged in, to save money.  Is there something I should keep in mind?

Battery minders are nice....

http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/home.php

  http://k0swi.microlnk.com/REVIEW/BATTERY/VDC/BATTERY%20MINDER%20REVIEW%20BY%20JIM%20BAUDO.htm

IT depends on the installer...  Some installers will NOT wire that part of the circuit just because they don't want to hear from a customer who leaves the trailer connected to the truck and the trailer's batteries parasitically suck the truck's battery(s) dead...

I board and am unable to keep the trailer plugged in all the time.  Duirng camping season, the night before I drive up to the barn and plug the trailer in overnight.  I have a generator to use during the campout, but don't use it all that much.  We only have a few places with electric hook-ups.

I camp about 2 x a month from Oct - April and this method seems to keep the battery charged just fine. Note I only have 1 battery, but it's only 1.5 years old at this time.  I do check it about every other month & add distilled water to it.

During the summer, I use the trailer about 3x a month and usually plug it in after each ride for about an hour.  Then about once a month I will move it up to the barn & plug it in overnight.

I would like to get a 2nd battery installed, but it will require a larger battery box.

If the battery is completley drained when you plug it in, it could take longer than overnight to get a full charge on it. Also, when you store the trailer, are you storing it with a dead battery, or almost dead? Try charging it for longer before you leave.

Two batteries would certainly help.

We understand where you are coming from. I don't think you are listening to the answer.

NO ONE HERE can tell you if YOUR truck is set up that way.  We cannot magically see YOUR hookup through the computer.

SOME trucks are set up to recharge the batteries. SOME trucks are NOT set up to recharge the batteries.

Ford trucks come, from the manufacturer so that they key MUST Be on in order to have elec power in trailers WITHOUT batteries. Some People set up THEIR FORD trucks so that they have electricity in the trailer even when the truck is not running _ BUT - some people do not set up their FORD trucks that way. 

DO YOU UNDERSTAND? It depends on the truck and HOW it is set up.

In reply to Gabz...... We understand where you are coming from. I don't think you are listening to the answer.

NO ONE HERE can tell you if YOUR truck is set up that way.  We cannot magically see YOUR hookup through the computer. DUHHHHHHHHHH, you can't?  Your kidding?   DUHHHHHHH

SOME trucks are set up to recharge the batteries. SOME trucks are NOT set up to recharge the batteries.

Ford trucks come, from the manufacturer so that they key MUST Be on in order to have elec power in trailers WITHOUT batteries. Some People set up THEIR FORD trucks so that they have electricity in the trailer even when the truck is not running _ BUT - some people do not set up their FORD trucks that way. 

DO YOU UNDERSTAND? Geee, I don't know....that's pretty tough!  It depends on the truck and HOW it is set up.

You know, most of the folks on here seem pretty helpful.  I don't know what your problem is.  A very helpful person e-mailed me and told me how to check to see if my truck is capable of charging or not.  That is what I wanted to know.

Hope YOU have a quality day!

In reply to Gabz...... We understand where you are coming from. I don't think you are listening to the answer.

NO ONE HERE can tell you if YOUR truck is set up that way.  We cannot magically see YOUR hookup through the computer. DUHHHHHHHHHH, you can't?  You're kidding?   DUHHHHHHH

SOME trucks are set up to recharge the batteries. SOME trucks are NOT set up to recharge the batteries.

Ford trucks come, from the manufacturer so that they key MUST Be on in order to have elec power in trailers WITHOUT batteries. Some People set up THEIR FORD trucks so that they have electricity in the trailer even when the truck is not running _ BUT - some people do not set up their FORD trucks that way. 

DO YOU UNDERSTAND? Geee, I don't know....that's pretty tough!  It depends on the truck and HOW it is set up.

You know, most of the folks on here seem pretty helpful.  I don't know what your problem is.  A very helpful person e-mailed me and told me how to check to see if my truck is capable of charging or not.  That is what I wanted to know.

Hope YOU have a quality day!

Seems to add about $25 to the electric bill on the barn each month.  I'm going to open the fridge and unplug it most of the time from now on. 

Try this:

Run you battery(s) down so that you can see some discharge on the monitor panel in the LQ.  Then plug the trailer into your truck without the truck running.  Check the monitor panel to see if there is still a discharge showing, if so try starting the truck, re-check.  If still showing a discharge leave the truck run for 10-20 minutes and re-check.  If there is no change in the battery charge state my guess is your truck does not charge the trailer.

For the record, my Lakota is charged off of my Chevy truck using the cord and plug that came from the respective manufactures.