Premature Battery Failure

[jlawley]

Hello All,

We bought a new 2015 27DSRL in the Spring of 2015. We store it in the driveway and have 30 amp power going to it whenever it is stored. We've only dry camped on four occasions and each was only overnight. On a recent trip we accidentally disconnected the shore power before retracting the slideout. When we did, I noticed that it went very slowly and it seemed like the battery was very low. The day after we got home after a full day of travel, I checked the battery charge and it read 11.8v. After further tests I determined that the battery was not holding a charge and today I bought a new one. This time, however, I bought a deep cycle battery instead of a dual purpose battery that came with the trailer. I followed the same procedures with our previous trailer, a Coachmen, that I have with our Jayco and the battery was still good when we traded it in after 8 years. My question is, did I just get a bad battery with the DSRL or should I be doing anything differently with this Jayco than I did with the Coachmen? Thank you for any advice you can provide.

Jeff

[hoppers4]

If your trailer came with a three stage converter, the battery voltage should be between 13.2 and 14.4 (while plugged in to shore power) depending on which stage the charger is in. If the charging battery voltage is correct, the battery has a problem. If the charging voltage isn't somewhere in that range, you've got a bad charger/converter. Be sure to check the voltage at the battery itself and verify clean connections at the battery.

[cabinetmaker]

Originally Posted by jlawley

Hello All,

We bought a new 2015 27DSRL in the Spring of 2015. We store it in the driveway and have 30 amp power going to it whenever it is stored. We've only dry camped on four occasions and each was only overnight. On a recent trip we accidentally disconnected the shore power before retracting the slideout. When we did, I noticed that it went very slowly and it seemed like the battery was very low. The day after we got home after a full day of travel, I checked the battery charge and it read 11.8v. After further tests I determined that the battery was not holding a charge and today I bought a new one. This time, however, I bought a deep cycle battery instead of a dual purpose battery that came with the trailer. I followed the same procedures with our previous trailer, a Coachmen, that I have with our Jayco and the battery was still good when we traded it in after 8 years. My question is, did I just get a bad battery with the DSRL or should I be doing anything differently with this Jayco than I did with the Coachmen? Thank you for any advice you can provide.

Jeff

3 years on the factory battery...I would call that pretty good service. Your replacement should go longer. Many trailers set on the lot for months before sold and the batteries are shot when bought. 3 years I think your doing ok.

[jlawley]

I tested the voltage at the battery when the trailer was plugged in and it read 13.6 so I guess the charging system on the trailer is good. What struck me as being odd, however, was once the battery was fully charged (I used an automotive charger set to deep cycle) and installed, the gauge in the trailer said the battery was charging (C on a scale of L, F, G, C) even though the trailer wasn't plugged in.
I guess the reason I felt that 3 years on the battery was less than normal was that I got 8+ years on my other battery doing the same things. I'm hoping to get at least 5 on this new battery. At least I know exactly how old it is unlike the one that came with the trailer when it was new.
Thank you for your help with this matter. I greatly appreciate it.

Jeff

[SkyBound]

After you pull the charger off a battery, its voltage does not immediately go to 12.7 or whatever the full charge should be. It will stay up at the charging voltage for a bit (13.2/13.7/14.4) and slowly drift down to its actual charged voltage.

You probably started off with a bad battery for the reasons previously mentioned. Also watch your water levels, too. The stock converters are known for killing batteries when left plugged in for long periods of time. Aftermarket smart converters are safe and effective for long term plug-in.

[norty1]

Most batteries use a date code if you want to know when it was made.

https://www.google.com/search?q=batt...HesnDagQsAQIJg

[RedHorse1]

We got just over 2 years from the original battery (Interstate deep cycle). There’s no guarantee the battery was “brand new” from the dealer and hadn’t been in use (abuse) a bit before we got it.

[jlawley]

Skybound, thanks for the explanation. I'm sure that was it. I've since read about surface charge and it makes sense that the trailer's monitor would read the excess charge as if the battery was being charged. I'll unplug the trailer and try again later today. Hopefully it will read as being fully charged as it should be.
Norty1, thanks for the link but I've already traded in the old battery for a new one so I can't tell how old the battery was when the dealer put it on the trailer before they sold it to me. However, I'm going to check the "new" one to see how new it really is. Interstate deep cycle batteries are only warrantied for 12 months now so I hope it's a fresh battery.
I was surprised that the battery the dealer installed on our new trailer was a DP (Dual Purpose) battery instead of a DC (Deep Cycle). That may have had something to do with the short life I experienced as well.
At any rate, thank you all for sharing your information and experience with me. I truly appreciate it. This is a great group to belong to.

Jeff

[norty1]

Years ago you could buy batteries with a 6 year warranty.

Now days it's hard to find one with 36 months warranty.