Question about battery on TT

[doonkin]

Hi all.
I'm worried about my battery. I'm 18mths into this new 23mbh. Usually go to plug-in campsites but 3 weeks ago in park near Yosemite power went out at site in the morning-we went sightseeing n it was still out@8pm when we got back.
Facing a very cold night I checked the battery n it was down to 20% according to my gauge I plug into the 12v cigarette plug in the wall(didn't check the 4 light wall gauge-in my hurry). I panicked n decided to move to a site w power- major pain. But when I lifted the front jack n put in slide-out it had gone up to 70%.

Question; we are off to dry camp next week(I'm bringing Genny but cut off is 8pm.What would you do for the week your sitting in driveway to make sure you battery is not dud. Maybe gauge is bad. Any thoughts? I can charge the hell out of it in the driveway---but want to be sure it's holding normally
Thx in advance.

[need-a-vacation]

Have you tried the gauge in the truck to compare? Does it read 100% or close to it? A bad gauge is possible. Do you have a volt meter? If so, check the voltage at the battery.

Just because you have only owned your trailer for 18 months, doesn't mean the dealer didn't have the battery for 24+, or it sat at a warehouse before arriving to the dealer for a while. Or a crazy thought, they put a used battery in. Check the date on the battery.

Can a deep cycle battery be load tested? Can't recall if they can. If so, take it up to your local auto store for testing.

Good luck and have a safe trip!

[ShawnR]

Battery level can appear different when appliances and lights are drawing. Your first test may have been done when the furnace blower and several lights were on and the second reading taken without the same load.

[clubhouse]

You should get a volt meter to check the charge at the battery while disconnected. You can pick up an analog or digital volt meter pretty inexpensively, then leave it the TT. They are very handy when trouble shooting elec issues.

A typical RV/Marine 85Ah battery that the dealer installs doesn't provide a lot of milage when dry camping. We figure one battery per night if using the furnace heavy. If I was you, I would consider getting two new batteries that you know the complete history of and then start a battery maintanence schedule from then on.

Don't let them go more than 50% discharged, keep the cells full with distilled water, and consider keeping them on a battery tender when not in use. This will allow your batteries to provide you with years of use. If you current battery has been significantly discharged a few time previously, it's possible it won't have the ability on its own to support heavy furnace use and fridge use for the ~12 hrs when your generator is allowed.

[Skaling]

Get a multi meter, then you can check your batteries before, during, and after charging or discharging. Also, you can use it at the site hook up to make sure you have the proper voltage before you plug your trailer in..

[Jagiven]

Camper batteries are NOT maintenance free. Have you check your fluid levels? Pop the caps and add DISTILLED water (only distilled water, no city, well, bottled or any other water) to each cell. I fill to the bottom of the lip. If the cell is exposed to air, cell damage can occur.

The furnace is your #1 power draw. If you turn the furnace on and it runs all night you may be very low on charge in the morning. Plugging in the TT power cord into the Genny is the fastest way to charge the batteries up.

If the current batteries are the cheap dual purpose batteries that came with the unit, a good shop can test them with a Hydrometer test, they can tell you the health of each cell.

[Hattie]

We primarily dry-camp and as a result on a long weekend without generators, our two 12-v group 24 batteries ran down on a cold night and the alarm went off at 5am Sunday. Last month while in Yosemite, we had a similar experience as the OP and because we were out-and-about during the times they allowed generator use, the nights were very cold (it snowed the week after we left) because we set the inside temp to 50 degrees. Santa is bringing an upgrade of two 6-v golf cart batteries, an end-to-end case, and a case lock!

[Nukeneck]

Take it to your local auto parts store fully charged and they will test it for free to make sure it still holding a charge. Also it sounds like you only use one battery, you may consider adding a second one

[Murff]

Originally Posted by Nukeneck

Take it to your local auto parts store fully charged and they will test it for free to make sure it still holding a charge. Also it sounds like you only use one battery, you may consider adding a second one

,,,or buy two 6-volt golf cart batteries for added capacity!

Murff

[Nukeneck]

Originally Posted by Murff

,,,or buy two 6-volt golf cart batteries for added capacity!

Murff

I may do that at some point, I've heard nothing but good about this setup

[doonkin]

Hattie. We were were in Yosemite that next week you are talking about. Hoses froze-tried to put the slide-out in w dying battery n realized I'd 2 inches of frozen snow on top-im gonna pay in leaks someday for that.

I wish Elon musk n his tesla geniuses would make a battery that could handle a couple of days of boo docking.

Ok - looking into the 6v solution

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by doonkin

I wish Elon musk n his tesla geniuses would make a battery that could handle a couple of days of boo docking.

Ok - looking into the 6v solution

Ahhhh, you may be looking at the wrong guy for the battery future. Prosche has anounced that its 2016 EV can travel 300+ miles (on a charge) and the batteries/charging system they now have, recharges the batteries to 80% in 15 minutes, opposed to 2 1/2 hours for Elon's batteries/charger system. Back to the drawing boards for Elon. The battery/electronics industry is finally moving forward. Down the road of time, the RV industry should benefit from these new things...

2 T105's should handle a 2 day weekend, but it will still be close if the furnace is running. The furnace fan is a battery killer.

Don