charging tm while traveling

[Frank]

When you guys stay at a hotel while fishing how do you charge your batteries.  I have had to take 3 batteries and the charger up to my room on a luggage cart.  There has to be a better way.

Frank

[BIGSHOW]

can you say L o n g extension cord.

[Waterfoul]

There are some systems out there that will charge your boat batteries from your truck while you drive.  Try a google search.

Or you could do what I plan on doing soon.  1000 watt inverter hard wired to the truck's charging system and an extension cord out the back to the charger in the boat.  Simple.  I have it all thought out in my head (it's a great mental picture I assure you).

Or as others have said... most hotels will let you run an extension cord to your boat.

[VinceR]

I have found that many hotels near popular "fishing" lakes, tend to be rather fisherman friendly. Many will have outdoor outlets where you can plug in from the lot. I try to do a little research before my trip to determine which ones have accessible outlets. 

I always try to have at least 100' of extension cord. I don't think that I've ever had to use it, but I have it, just in case.

If the hotel has an outdoor pool, there are usually several outlets on the poolhouse. Another place to look is at the base of the light poles in the parking lot. There are almost always outlets next to the entry/exit doors.

If the hotel has exterior entry to the rooms, try to get a ground floor room with the entry off the parking lot. As a last resort, you can run the extension cord from your room.

At the Roseville Red Roof Inn near St. Clair, you would see a bunch of extension cords hanging from the second floor railing into the parking lot.

[motocross269]

With 100ft of chord you need to be running at least 12guage wire to keep from smoking your charger.

[Genie]

I just take 12 christmas light cords ... that works.

[mikesmiph]

Knowing you Frank, I'm surprised you havent cobbled something to plug into your cigarette lighter yet. LOL

[Dan]

Talk to Danny at Stealth Charging Systems. Best unit on the market. It's what KVD uses. http://www.stealth1charging.com/

[VinceR]

With 100ft of chord you need to be running at least 12guage wire to keep from smoking your charger.

In my case it's 2-50' 12/3 heavy-duty, contractor grade worksite cords. I also try not to have to lay them across the driveway area so they don't get run over.

[Waterfoul]

Talk to Danny at Stealth Charging Systems. Best unit on the market. It's what KVD uses. http://www.stealth1charging.com/

It helps to have a newer vehicle for their systems.  My 98 Tahoe would require a lot of new wiring to make it work, which is why I'm going with the inverter.

[Dan]

On my basscat I had a Stay-n-charge system installed because it was like the Stealth but cheaper. It had charge on the go. It had a two main wire pigtail that plugged in. As I went down the road it charged up the batteries. It worked rather well. In an hours drive my batteries came up a lot. They never did get what I felt was peak though. Their "switching" system for charging the boat batteries off a charger didn't work well for me at all. One day I had a friend help me get the boat ready to put in the lake and he didn't unplug the back of the boat where the truck charger plugged in and I broke the plug off. It took me months to get another one and I did finally get it but I bet it took 6 months of nagging. I saved up some money and finally did what I should have done in the first place and bought the Stealth 1. I have a 99 Chevy and I had no problems charging from the truck.
The Stealth charge while you're running on the water system charged my fishing partner's batteries well enough on a weekend of dawn to dusk fishing on St. Clair to where we wouldn't even have to plug in at night. I was really impressed and that's why when I finally could afford one, I went that way. Their customer service is bar none top notch. No, I'm not sponsored by Stealth.

[BIGSHOW]

I have thought about hanging a cord out my truck window. There is a plug in there also