Re: [A/S] Which Break Controller (maybe a Tekonsha?)

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Charlie,
 As a point of information: my system is wired in the standard fashion,
using the #10 wire in the cable and a heavy-duty isolator relay. We
camped this w/e and as the weather was not the greatest, we were 'down'
nearly 40 AH from 'full', according to the eMeter. During one stop at a
rest area, I didn't shut the engine off and checked the eMeter to see
what the charge rate was: 4.5 amps. Had I been depending on the truck to
charge the battery, it would have taken about 10 hours to bring it to
full.

Bill & Jan Moeller have written a couple of books, and in one, they
recommend (based on their personal experience) running #4 welding cable
between the battery/alternator on the tow vehicle and the trailer
battery. They use a forklift battery connector between the 2. 

You really won't charge a deep-cycle battery "too fast", the problem is
charging it fast enough. When a battery is 'low', it can take a pretty
high charge rate for a while. Most RV charging systems are pretty
pathetic in their treatment of batteries.

                                                 <<Jim>>