Going camping...best way to charge batteries

[bicketybam]

So I'm going camping for 3 days and I'm bringing two of my trucks: Kraton and converted brushless Granite 4x4. I'll need to charge 3 3s batteries. My Ford F-150 has a power converter and two ac outlets. Should I plug the chrager into one of those? Should I run the truck while I charge? Or should I use the clamps on the charger and charge from the truck battery?

 

[Mr.Duke]

I plug my charger directly into the 120v outlet and charge in the back seat while the trucks running. Also good for topping off batteries while jumping between bash spots.

 

[Dvarg]

I've had good luck charging a few 2S batteries from my 90Ah deep cycle battery. It's a year old, and i attempted to charge 2 x 3S from it yesterday, and the voltage dropped to 11v, and chargers threw a fit.

I want to say my 4runner's AC inverter is only good to 100Watts. You'll want to to make sure what your F-150 can do. 100w is fine for a pair of 2S batteries, but wouldnt cut it for my Kraton's needs.

Car batteries aren't really made for deep cycle discharges, again outside of 1 or 2 2S packs, i'd keep the engine running.

 

[olds97_lss]

It doesn't take too many charges to drop the voltage enough on a car battery to make it not start. Guessing since it's a truck, it may have a larger battery than my chrysler 300c has. Although, I have a v8 and 15 feet of cable since my battery is in my trunk, can't recall what the CCA of the battery is. Anyway, I charged 2 packs maybe 5-6 times without the engine running and then I had to get a jump to start my car. Now I'll only do a cycle or two before running the car. Usually I charge packs now as I'm driving from one location to another. At 12A per port on my dual 12V charger, my 7400mah 2S packs charge up pretty quick.

 

[slick2500]

Does your charger have a DC port? Do this and connect it direct to your battery. I would recommend that if you are going to be charging for more than an hour to start your vehicle every 30-40 min and let it run for 5-10 min.
This isn't the charger I normally use, it is in use at the moment so I just showed what I meant in this pic.

 

[bicketybam]

Does your charger have a DC port? Do this and connect it direct to your battery. I would recommend that if you are going to be charging for more than an hour to start your vehicle every 30-40 min and let it run for 5-10 min.
This isn't the charger I normally use, it is in use at the moment so I just showed what I meant in this pic.

Yes. I have that. That's better than plugging it into my trucks inverter?

 

[Dvarg]

Either should work; but it would be more efficient to stay DC current, without transforming it twice into AC, then back to DC.

 

[bicketybam]

Either should work; but it would be more efficient to stay DC current, without transforming it twice into AC, then back to DC.

Thanks!

 

[slick2500]

Yes. I have that. That's better than plugging it into my trucks inverter?

Yes, connecting the charger direct to the battery will be better because like Dvarg said you're not converting the electricity back and forth so much, and you are no longer limited by the wattage of the inverter.