Battery maintenance during storage

[smiletwice]

Any advice on storing travel trailer batteries during the winter in a cold weather area? I'm planning to take them off and store them in the garage over the winter. How often do they need to be charged? They'll be in the garage where the temperature might occasionally drop below freezing. Do they need to be brought in to a warmer environment during those periods? Appreciate any input!

[wanderlust]

I store my batteries in the garage over the winter hooked up to a Battery Tender Plus the whole time. It's a smart charger designed to charge and maintain the proper voltage without the damaging effects of trickle chargers.

[rdlouks]

Originally Posted by wanderlust

I store my batteries in the garage over the winter hooked up to a Battery Tender Plus the whole time. It's a smart charger designed to charge and maintain the proper voltage without the damaging effects of trickle chargers.

X2 what Wanderlust says. I do the same with not only my RV/Fifth Wheel Batteries, but also my Garden Tractor, and UTV Battery as well.

[FeatherFam]

Originally Posted by wanderlust

I store my batteries in the garage over the winter hooked up to a Battery Tender Plus the whole time. It's a smart charger designed to charge and maintain the proper voltage without the damaging effects of trickle chargers.

Me too - great little device!

[bluie5]

Me too. Trickle charger in the garage.

[gypsmjim]

Add up my boats, RVs, classic car, tractor, etc. and I have 5 batteries for Winter storage. Putting each one on a minder for 4 months would be ridiculous.

I put all 5 in the basement and charge each one monthly with a smart charger. Been working fine for 30+ years now.

I just replaced the battery on my classic car this year. It was 14 years old. I guess my procedure ain't too bad....

[2nOZ]

Originally Posted by wanderlust

I store my batteries in the garage over the winter hooked up to a Battery Tender Plus the whole time. It's a smart charger designed to charge and maintain the proper voltage without the damaging effects of trickle chargers.

X3. Exactly what I do.

[Subaru297]

A charged battery won't freeze. Don't worry about it getting cold. I used to leave a charged battery on the trailer tongue for 6 months and it was fine. But if you can charging it every month or two is a good idea.
Or permanently on a battery tender.

[travelingjw]

I also use a Battery Tender Plus. Not once have I had trouble with my batteries since I have used this trickle charger. Much cheaper than purchasing a new battery.

[SkyBound]

I also use the Battery Tender. I have 4 of them, one for each battery that will be stored for the winter. I keep the batteries in my tool room off the garage which is insulated but not heated, so it stays around the freezing mark or better even in the heart of the winter. It also has a plywood floor that the batteries sit on since you don't want them sitting on concrete.

[33 RLDS]

I have a about a half dozen of the battery tender waterproof units. Between ATVs and snowmobiles and even my TV that rarely moves, they come in handy.

[wanderlust]

Originally Posted by SkyBound

you don't want them sitting on concrete.

I've always heard that and I asked a sales guy at Interstate Battery and he said not true, so I did some research:

HomePower:
"Many people have the impression that when batteries sit on concrete, energy "leaks out" or they are ruined. The short answer is that letting modern batteries sit on concrete does not harm or discharge them in any way.

However, this legend is historically based in fact. The first lead-acid batteries consisted of glass cells that were enclosed in tar-lined wooden boxes. A damp concrete floor could cause the wood to swell, breaking the glass inside."

Not that it matters, I just thought it interesting.

[Mustang65]

Here is the official recommendations by Trojan. They are good for any deep cycle battery. Make sure your battery is FULLY CHARGED (read document below). Up north (way before I went with SOLAR, they did not have smart charges back then, so I fully charged them and disconnected the load, and let them sit out the winter without a charge. Never had a problem. In the spring, would give them a good charge and all went well.

http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/WP_...orage_0512.pdf


Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[bankr63]

I do a bit of both approaches. I don't like the parasitic draw of having the smart charger sitting plugged in and mostly idle for 7 months, so I hook it all up, but then just plug the charger in for a couple of days once a month. Usually plug it in when SWMBO asks me to take the garbage down to the bin in the garage on Friday/Saturday, and then disconnect on Monday morning when the garbage goes to the curb.

[Jagiven]

In theory, a charged battery will not freeze, and you should be able to leave it on the TT. Just make sure it is FULLY disconnected, so there is no parasite drains on the battery, in theory you should be good.

I remove my batteries, and I place them in the garage. I have three batteries between old car, boat and the TT. every so often I put a battery maintainer on them, one at a time. once it tells me it is fully charges I switch to a different battery. I may do this twice during the winter, with the last time in the early spring.

I do keep my batteries off the floor, sitting on a couple 2x4's. In the past there was some truth about batteries on the floor would discharge. But the new modern plastic battery boxes has eliminated this issue.

[Doubleheader]

Personally I wouldn't leave a battery on a tender full time. I know 2 guys that had fires resulting from that process. I make sure they are charged, then charge them 1/2 way thru the winter and again before first use. I strongly prefer AGM batteries in my boat, but I did reluctantly put 2 group 29 wet cell in my camper.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[missileer]

I'm new to this forum so I don't know if this is the place to ask my question. I have a 2017 Jayco Eagle 336 FBOK. This is our first 5th Wheel so I'm new to this type of RV. I bought a Battery Tender Plus and I have it connected to my RV's batteries through the Go Power solar connection. It seems to be working ok but I was wondering. Do I need to go ahead and switch my battery disconnect to off. I did it this way because I really didn't want to take the batteries out of the RV. They are hard to get too and we are probably going to use it as an overflow for Christmas anyway. Will the Battery Tender keep the batteries from freezing? I know I have posted a lot of questions but that is the only way to learn.