Battery charging question

Hello all. I am the owner of a recently purchased 2004 PC 5210. I am exploring the systems and fixing the damage caused by letting the unit sit for the last 2-3 years. Today, I discovered that my chassis battery is not up to snuff, so a new one is coming. But, I also discovered that my converter (I just upgraded to the newest Iota unit) does not charge the chassis battery. My question is - should it? Or do I have a defective isolator somewhere? And if I do, where would I look for it? The converter charges the house batteries just fine. Thanks for your input.

Welcome to PC! I am not aware of a 5210 model.  Typo? It is also handy to have your state in you contact info.

I have a 2010 2551 model and my charger does not charge chassis battery.  I believe that is the way all PCs work, but a 2004 maybe different.  I installed a Trik L Start device that charges chassis battery when connected to shore power.  Works great.  I disconnect negative terminal of chassis battery when PC is not being used.

Ron S

It really is a 5210, at least the title says so. So many model numbers. And they change over the years. It's a short wheelbase model with just a dinet and couch and no bed. Apparently, it's wishful thinking to have the converter charge the chassis. Mine is built on the Chevy Express 3500 chassis so I am having trouble coming up with much information about it.

It really is a 5210, at least the title says so. So many model numbers. And they change over the years. It's a short wheelbase model with just a dinet and couch and no bed. Apparently, it's wishful thinking to have the converter charge the chassis. Mine is built on the Chevy Express 3500 chassis so I am having trouble coming up with much information about it.

No, the converter does not charge the chassis/engine start battery.   That's the way all of the RV's I have owned were designed.

Gulf Stream made a model 5210 BT cruiser on both Chevy and Ford chassis in 2004.    Is that possibly what you have?

I do NOT know for sure, but I have personally ever seen a Phoenix Cruiser built on a Chevy chassis.

Typically the house converter does not charge the chassis battery.  However, there is often an interconnect to allow the house batteries to jump start the chassis if need be.  And the chassis alternator usually is wired so that it can charge the house batteries while the truck is running.  But all of that makes assumptions that may not be true for any particular model of RV.

If you do have the wiring in place between the chassis and house batteries take a look at the "Trik-L-Start".  It acts to charge the chassis battery from the house battery.  I have one on my rig and it works perfectly.  Note that I have 2 solar panels so the house batteries are always charged up and the Trik-L-Start then keeps the chassis battery charged as well.

I added this after finding that over winter the chassis battery was going dead but the solar panels kept the house batteries well charged.

So I guess I have a Gulf Stream 5210 built on a Chevy chassis! It says BT Cruiser on the front cap. That Trik-L-Charger sounds like what I want. I will look into that. Thanks.