I'm new here; battery disconnect question

John K. · 03-31-2015, 11:27 PM

We bought a used 2012 Jayco Feather travel trailer and a 2010 Chevy Suburban to pull it in August 2014. I've read several forum questions here since then and figured it was time to join the club. This is a great resource. I have a question: the trailer's former owner said to keep the trailer's battery connected while we were towing the RV because that would recharge the battery. However, he said while not towing, we should disconnect the positive wire from the battery. We did that on the few times we camped in the fall, and nothing bad happened. Now, I've read online some postings that suggest we should disconnect the negative wiring, not the positive, while not towing. (We removed the battery completely while in storage this past winter.) Can anybody weigh in on what would be proper? And thanks in advance for any help. John K.

railrunner74 · 04-01-2015, 04:55 AM

I always disconnect the negative on my pop up.

tnchuck100 · 04-01-2015, 05:04 AM

Disconnecting either one will accomplish the intent. The reason the negative is preferred is the tool you are using to remove the cable touched the frame or other grounded metal there would be no sparks. If this were to happen while disconnecting the positive cable you could have sparks. I am not referring to the small spark created by the parasitic loads.