2018 CL21RBS

[usamarlin]

Wow, I just bought a 2018 cl21rbs. I sure hope i didn't make a mistake. After reading this forum. Should i have concerns on any particular things that i should address right away? Thanks, Usamarlin

[Mitch]

The most critical one is probably the recall for the drawbar.  You would need to have that fixed before you could use the camper.

[usamarlin]

Thanks for that, Just got that all set up. Sounds pretty easy. we will see.

[usamarlin]

How does the battery system charge? Does it charge on shore power? does it charge when plugged into my truck? is there a converter? if so where. I need a book, Thanks for some input.

[Mitch]

The simple answer is the battery system charges when you are on shore power and it also charges when you are plugged into your truck.  You do have a converter, don't know where on that model, when you are on shore power the power converter directs regular 120 volt power to the standard household wall sockets and also converts some 120 volt current to 12 volt current for the camper parts that run on 12 volts while also charging the battery.

[usamarlin]

Thanks for the info. i will start removing panel to see where equipment is. thanks again

[nhlakes]

After learning what you have in your rig, I suggest googling 'rv battery charging'.  There are tons of blog posts/articles out there.

The paperwork you received with your camper may have a sheet that provides model numbers and serial numbers for all of your accessories.

FWIW, if the draw from your camper is higher than the charge from your truck, you can draw down the battery of your tow vehicle.  I discovered this once years ago (different camper) when I arrived someplace after an 8hr drive with a dead truck battery.  The camper batteries were probably low from boondocking and the 3-way fridge was apparently left on 12v elec rather than propane.

[DavidM]

Nhlakes makes a couple of good points re your camper batteries. I boondock (no hookups) almost exclusively and never, ever use DC for the fridge. It pulls a lot of current in that mode and will quickly run down your batteries. Set it on LPG which works fine while towing or switch to 120V power when plugged in at a campsite.

I am a little surprised that his TV battery was drawn down while towing. Your TV typically has a 30A fuse which limits current to the camper batteries. While driving, your alternator should put out enough current to prevent the TV's battery from discharging. I guess it might happen while driving at night with lights on where the combined draw was too much for the alternator.

And finally the TV only supplies charging to the camper while the engine is running. There is a relay that that protects the TV battery from being discharged while hooked up to your camper when the engine is off.

David

[nhlakes]

... I guess it might happen while driving at night with lights on where the combined draw was too much for the alternator. ...

I typically drive with the lights on, so yes, the lights were probably on.  And I didn't think it should happen either, but to our dismay, it did. Newish truck too.  Happened when I shut the truck off while we were setting up.  Fortunately the guy next to us had a jump pack and it started right up.  I left the engine run while we setup, then took a drive to fill up the tank and the next morning it started right up.  Nice guy next store even left his jump pack under his 5th wheel all night just in case we needed it when he was not available.  I always carry a jump pack now.