[Leaf-clarity]

I finally busted out the voltmeter and made some mesurements. I didn’t find this in a search so sorry if it’s a repost.

Here are the reading in the following situations:

Healthy 12V battery: 12.6V
Truck on: 13.5 V
While charging level 2 AC: 13.5 V
Charging stop but still plugged in: 12.8 V

 

[Henry Ford]

To state the obvious, this would indicate the battery is charging when plugged in. I'm not sure I'd have guessed that but it makes perfect sense.

 

[Leaf-clarity]

I wanted to know if it was necessary to trickle charge the 12v, but like you said it looks like it’s being charged every opportunity the truck gets.

 

[smaster553]

I wanted to know if it was necessary to trickle charge the 12v, but like you said it looks like it’s being charged every opportunity the truck gets.

Did anyone find a good trickle charger and is it necessary. I was thinking to get a Solar trickle charger setup.

 

[Leaf-clarity]

Did anyone find a good trickle charger and is it necessary. I was thinking to get a Solar trickle charger setup.

I personally like battery tender (they sell solar setups), but no it is not necessary. The 12v battery is being charged almost all the time unless you plan to store your truck for months. From my measurements, any voltage reading over 12.6 means the truck is charging the 12v.

 

[Henry Ford]

Did anyone find a good trickle charger and is it necessary. I was thinking to get a Solar trickle charger setup.

Totally unnecessary for a Lightning.

I use Mroinge trickle chargers for my seasonal batteries. If you have a need for a trickle charger you can't go wrong with Mroinge (not a typo, terrible name). They work, they're way cheaper than name brand chargers, they come with multiple connection options and are readily available on Amazon. Definitely recommend!