Winter battery charging/generator operation

[ronsmithcma]

Originally Posted by Mavrik

Hello fellow Jayco Owners. First post and first MH so please take it easy on me

We will be picking up our new to us 2016 Greyhawk 31DS in a couple of weeks from a local dealer and have a few related questions on this topic.
Background info is we live in Toronto Canada and will be storing the MH for the winter months with no shore power available. However the storage location is only a few km's from my house so I will be able to get to it whenever I need to.
The plumbing has been winterized by the dealer already so that is not a concern this winter but I am a bit confused regarding the whole battery maintenance and the monthly generator start up that is recommended through the winter so here goes..
1) As I will not have access to shore power what should I be doing with my house battery? Seems its best to remove it and take home to put on a trickle charger??
2) What about the chassis battery? Leave in? Remove and take home to keep charged?
3) If I take both home to keep charged, how do I start my generator for its monthly run up? Bring the house one with me and connect it up?

I apologize if the answers seem obvious but my mind is on information overload lately with all of the reading.

Thanks in advance. This forum is definitely a wealth of information.

I'm in the same boat Mavrik! This is my 1st year of ownership but have a slightly different set-up. I have a solar panel on the roof and I could pull in to a 15 amp service.

Would either of these help avoid removing the house battery?

[arobinson6]

Originally Posted by UDFlyer

We have a 2020 Redhawk 24B. I spoke with tech services today regarding keeping the house batteries on a trickle charger for the winter and also running the generator an hour a month as instructed by the owner's manual. They said I should remove the house batteries and put them on a trickle charger and then each month when I'm supposed to run the gen for an hour to reinstall the batteries. They are telling me to remove the batteries, put them on a charger and then reinstall them each and every month when I'm supposed to run the generator. Is everyone doing this? It seems like there should be an easier/more efficient way to accomplish this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have always left the batteries and used a marine tender that charges and releases, run the generator every month or two weeks under load. I live in Texas though where our winters are mild.

[msherw]

Great idea Bandit12. If you can keep your rig at home on shore power most if not all of your issues will be solved. I think rental lots are an enticement for thieves to help themselves. Of course HOAs are the problem for many. When I lived in the City, we used a rental lot. Front gate was electric and had a code but I found the back gate unlocked and pointed this out to the management. They shrugged me off.

Keep your toys at home under your watchful eye. More likely to run the generator and run the engine during the off season.

[garywilson]

Trickle charger constantly charges, even when not needed, and will burn up a battery (at least it did two of mine).
I thought I had put on a battery maintainer, stops charging when battery full. It wasn't.
I replaced battery and put a maintainer on it. All is now good.
I don't remove my battery from my RV. If not using it for a while, I may disconnect and put a maintainer on it as it will more completely charge the deep cycle batteries.
I use a maintainer on any vehicle or battery that is not used for a while (generator, RV, pickup, lawn tractor).
My lawn tractor battery now lasts 3-4 years instead of one season (12 month warranty).

[craigav]

Keep in mind that if your battery does go dead and the temps are below freezing that the battery will be ruined which is likely why they gave the advice they gave. This (battery freezine) is not an issue as long as you can keep it charged. Don't rely on just charging it once a month, you need to have it stay charged especially in freezing conditions. Most RV's will keep the battery charged just be keeping the rv plugged in. Also, many (perhaps most) Class C's do not charge the engine starting battery, and you would do well to have it on a trickle charge as well. ~CA

[ArthurH]

This is only my second post on this forum since we got our 2016 Redhawk. I realize this thread is old but was searching for tips about what people who live in very cold climates do with your coach batteries in the winter that works.

We live in Vermont with average low temperatures below freezing (single digits F) during the winter, and we see low temperatures in the double digits below zero. I have a gravel pad for the RV next to our garage with access to power. I'm considering keeping the RV plugged in or plugging in periodically to charge them. I know to start the generator (and the RV engine) regularly as we have a back-up generator for our house that I start weekly all winter. I also know to check the water levels. (I haven't checked the water yet, but we've only had the RV a few weeks.)

The dealer replaced the coach batteries before we bought it this summer, so they are brand new.

Related to winter storage - do folks who live in the Northeast/New England cover your RV's?

[garywilson]

Keep it plugged in to keep batteries up... winterize plumbing system... if fuel is an alcohol blend I'd drive it around a bit when you run the engine to mix it... if generator has it's own fuel tank, replace fuel with non-alcohol.

[Snapchen]

The coach batteries are charged when the RV is plugged in, or when the generator is running. The chassis battery (in the engine compartment) is only charged when the RV engine is running.
I used a low amperage (4amp) multi battery charger for the coach batteries, and a 2 amp trickle charger under the hood for the chassis battery.
I also drained the generator carburetor for winter storage to prevent blocked jets and subsequent surfing so common with the Onan generators.
This setup avoids the necessity to run the Benny or engine while avoiding ruined batteries and expensive generator repairs.
Happy Camping

[Gord]

Originally Posted by ArthurH

This is only my second post on this forum since we got our 2016 Redhawk. I realize this thread is old but was searching for tips about what people who live in very cold climates do with your coach batteries in the winter that works.

We live in Vermont with average low temperatures below freezing (single digits F) during the winter, and we see low temperatures in the double digits below zero. I have a gravel pad for the RV next to our garage with access to power. I'm considering keeping the RV plugged in or plugging in periodically to charge them. I know to start the generator (and the RV engine) regularly as we have a back-up generator for our house that I start weekly all winter. I also know to check the water levels. (I haven't checked the water yet, but we've only had the RV a few weeks.)

The dealer replaced the coach batteries before we bought it this summer, so they are brand new.

Related to winter storage - do folks who live in the Northeast/New England cover your RV's?

Here in southern Ontario, we also can have some cold days in the winter. When I store my RV I remove the house battery, when I park it, I remove the truck battery. They are in my home garage, and I put my charger on them about once a month. I have inside storage, but not heated. Before I store the RV I change engine oil and generator oil. I am not able to start the truck or the generator when in storage and have been doing this for 8 years with no problems. Of course, the RV is also winterized.

[Johnynorthland]

Being in south florida I’ve never stored my rig more than 3 weeks in the winter when we visit kids/grandkids up north for the holidays. But if I were to, I would leave the batteries in place and start the gen every 3 weeks for 30 min with a load on it, like a portable electric heater, or add the trickle charger with the batteries in place, if possible. But always keep an eye on the water level, using distilled water if needed. I’m not a fan of leaving it plugged in for that long of a time.

[Kevin Cooper]

Originally Posted by UDFlyer

We have a 2020 Redhawk 24B. I spoke with tech services today regarding keeping the house batteries on a trickle charger for the winter and also running the generator an hour a month as instructed by the owner's manual. They said I should remove the house batteries and put them on a trickle charger and then each month when I'm supposed to run the gen for an hour to reinstall the batteries. They are telling me to remove the batteries, put them on a charger and then reinstall them each and every month when I'm supposed to run the generator. Is everyone doing this? It seems like there should be an easier/more efficient way to accomplish this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ask that guy if he takes the battery out of his car every night! I turn house power off and it settles at zero current. I go out every two weeks just because, start the engine, turn on house power. That charges both sets batteries. Once a month, take it out for a drive for an hour, with the generator running and the AC fans on, and refrigerator turned on electric. Loads needed to get generator warmer to get moisture out.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by ArthurH

This is only my second post on this forum since we got our 2016 Redhawk. I realize this thread is old but was searching for tips about what people who live in very cold climates do with your coach batteries in the winter that works.

Solar panels on the roof keep our house batteries charged.
And a small solar panel (20-40 watts) on the hood keeps the engine battery topped off.

If the snow looks like it's going to be up there for a few days, I'll climb up and sweep the panels clean.

Nice thing about winter in Colorado, still lots of sun.

[ArthurH]

Yeah, no, I’m not going to “drive around for an hour” in our RV with the generator, ac, and refrigerator on. (Not in winter in VT or any time.)
I will go out and start the engine and run the generator periodically and plug it into power. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep it plugged in all the time.

[ArthurH]

Originally Posted by pconroy

Solar panels on the roof keep our house batteries charged.
And a small solar panel (20-40 watts) on the hood keeps the engine battery topped off.

If the snow looks like it's going to be up there for a few days, I'll climb up and sweep the panels clean.

Nice thing about winter in Colorado, still lots of sun.

Thank you. So I assume you don’t cover it during the winter because you have the solar panels?

We get a lot of snow (and not lots of sunshine) and it won’t be possible to brush it off. I need to decide if we should cover ours.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by ArthurH

Thank you. So I assume you don’t cover it during the winter because you have the solar panels?

We get a lot of snow (and not lots of sunshine) and it won’t be possible to brush it off. I need to decide if we should cover ours.

We had a cover for our first RV and it was a total PITA to put on. This one's bigger and I'm older. The likelyhood of "bouncing" if I fall off is reducing year by year.


So, we decided to forego a cover. One thing that does work is that small 40 watt panel is about 15x15". It could be mounted down low and easier to wipe off.