14Sport

Sorry but I have no experience with camper trailers so someone else will have to help you with that. The way I do it with boat trailers is to ground the trailer lights directly to the trailer frame. The trailer frame is also grounded to the vehicle connector and then back to the battery or vehicle chassis. I would think it would be similar but don't know for sure. But the camper would have to stay connected to the vehicle unless you want to drive an 8' grounding rod into the ground every time you park it. That's dangerous in itself though.

countrydude1992

You don't need to worry about them all being grounded at the same point on the frame, unless you just want to for aesthetics. Any point on the frame will do.

Then just be sure to have a good solid connection to the frame with a good thick gauge wire run back to the negative post on your battery.

This doesn't apply because your trailer has its own battery.

14Sport

That's what I was wondering. It looked like on his schematic the dual batteries were in the tow vehicle.

Desert Snow

Relay or no relay??

I'm all wired up now, but I had a friend criticize the setup due to me not using any relays. So, I pose the question:

Based on my wiring schematic previous posted at the beginning of the thread should I have used relays? Was this poor design? Am I in threat of overheating the lines and causing a fire?

countrydude1992

As long as your wiring is sufficient for the load you are drawing, you shouldn't be worried about your lines overheating or catching on fire. Going back to the amp chart and your diagram, your highest load will be 7 amps. So as long as you have 16awg wire for a run up to 6 feet or 14awg for a run up to 12 feet (actually longer, this number is based on 10 amps, not 7) then your wiring is perfectly safe. The weak point from then on becomes the switch itself and its amp rating. I've seen switches range from 1amp to 50+ amps. These simple rocker switches for example, are rated for 15amps @ 125v, and I'm willing to bet that higher end switches (carling, for example) are rated for even more (Just an assumption, didn't check the specs) So just check the switches manufacture rating and see if they hold up to the load you're trying to pull through them. If they do, then no relay is needed. If they don't, then a relay is needed. In automotive uses, relays serve a few purposes. They allow you to turn on much higher powered devices such as air compressors, big lights, without needing a high amperage switch. They also allow you to keep all the high amp wiring under the hood and on the other side of the firewall so should something go wrong and a fire get started, it's in the engine bay and not in your dash. Relays only require a TINY amount of power to activate, which means only a TINY amount of power needs to go into the cab of your jeep, keeping you safe. Relays can be very useful, but considering your max draw will be 7 amps, I don't foresee you needing any until you add in higher powered electronics such as a stereo or something else we mentioned earlier.

Desert Snow

Dude...glad you're here man. I appreciate all your help along the way. I'll post pics soon, so you can see what you assisted in building.

countrydude1992

It's no problem! I've been exactly where you are and the folks on this forum have taught me more than I can even believe. Lots of people know lots of things way better than I do, but I was always very interested in wiring and electronics so I studied and learned as much as I could because I can use it so frequently. I can't wait to see some pics once everything is done!