Winter battery charging/generator operation

[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.

[CAG]

Well, that is so much BS!


You can take them out if you want, and I know you weather is different there but if maintained (keep water in them) and on a trickle charger they will be fine.



I never remove batteries, and when I had two golf cart 6 volts in the toy hauler, I did not want to be removing them. They are heavy and difficult to deal with.



Keep a trickle charger on them. Check the water each month when you run the genny and forget about it.

[GHen]

I leave mine in all winter, but I have a full battery disconnect. If I leave them hooked up and the solar panel gets covered with snow, they would be dead in a week. With the full disconnect they always stay better than 80%.
Temps normally don’t get under 10F. If it was 0 or less, I would probably take them out and store them in the garage.

[Docsouce]

I have one battery tender on my house batteries, with the battery disconnect tripped, and one tender on my chassis battery. I check the water level every month when I fire up the generator for 1/2 an hours exercise. In the 5 seasons I've been using this set up I haven't had to add any water.

[Bullitt6283]

I keep the RV plugged in, and let the converter take care of the house batteries. I also have a Battery Tender plugged into a dashboard 12V outlet to keep the chassis battery charged.

[cherv]

email jyco motorized services, include the last 8 digits of your vin # question does shore power charge both coach and chassis batteries? looked at your specs and you have a 60 Amp converter which should charge both batteries. my unit does after talking to them...(EMAIL, MOTORIZEDSERVICE@JAYCO.COM[/email])

[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.

[Bullitt6283]

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.

Welcome!
To answer your questions...
1. ) and 2. ) If your storage is outside, you could obtain a couple of small solar panels to maintain the batteries, otherwise remove and take them home as you said.
3.) Yes, you would need to reinstall the house battery. NOTE: when removing the house battery, be SURE to identify the cables and where they go. There have been mistakes made and they can be expensive.


.

[Trapper2020]

I’m in the south and I leave them in. A good battery will loose around 5% of its charge a month. I run the generator monthly and this keeps the coach batteries fine for the winter. I installed a cheap electric monitor on the batteries and check the batteries voltage every time I go to rig. I also have a trickle charger for any time I may need it for starter battery. Water is checked monthly. Safe travels

Enjoy the journey

[Rice1951]

I store my coach inside unheated storage with no access from November thru March. I remove the chassis battery and both coach batteries and store at home. I put stabile in gas tank and run the generator prior to storage and then start it up again in the Spring after I get it back home. So far this has worked through the past 3 winters. If I had monthly access I might consider something different but that’s why this forum is so great because you find out there really are different ways to skin a cat.

[Mavrik]

Thanks very much for the quick and informative replies. This really is a great community that I am looking forward to being a part of for years to come.

@Bullitt I should have also mentioned originally that while it will be stored outside I will also have a cover on it so I wasn’t planning on using solar at all to keep them charged. I will most definitely identify the wires when I remove though thanks to your suggestion.

@Rice I am fairly handy so the removal/reinstall of the house battery to start the generator once a month should be fine to do. This gives us an excuse to check on our new baby anyway and tinker around on the interior. Heck I’ll even pick up some fast food and we can have dinner in it. Really impress my bride

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated as always.
Happy Veterans Day to our neighbors down south and Happy Remembrance Day to everyone here in 🇨🇦

Mavrik

[msherw]

Keep your 24B plugged in to shore power. The Progressive Dynamics convertor will charge and then float your batteries as appropriate.

Unplug shore power and run the Onan on your schedule. Why unplug shore power? There is another thread on this subject. See: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...wer-81481.html

Keep the inside of the rig above freezing and all will be well.

[Gord]

I have a 2019 Redhawk 31XL. I live in the cold of London, Ontario. I remove the coach battery after I winterize. I change the oil in the generator and run it for about 30 minutes before removing the battery. I have inside storage, but not heated. After the RV is parked I remove the truck battery. I place them on a mat in my garage and about once a month I charge both batteries. Also did this with my old RV. Never had a problem with the generator by not running it during the winter in this RV or my old one.

[Antper]

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.

Too much effort for me to remove batteries and I dont have power access at my rented parking spot any ways. I will visit the RV once a month and run the Generator which will charge up the house batteries any ways.

[klirg]

I have a 3/4 amp trickle charger on the house battery and one on the F 450 battery. No problems.

[Johnynorthland]

Anybody using solar trickle chargers? If so which ones?

[Snapchen]

Originally Posted by Mavrik

Thanks very much for the quick and informative replies. This really is a great community that I am looking forward to being a part of for years to come.

@Bullitt I should have also mentioned originally that while it will be stored outside I will also have a cover on it so I wasn’t planning on using solar at all to keep them charged. I will most definitely identify the wires when I remove though thanks to your suggestion.

@Rice I am fairly handy so the removal/reinstall of the house battery to start the generator once a month should be fine to do. This gives us an excuse to check on our new baby anyway and tinker around on the interior. Heck I’ll even pick up some fast food and we can have dinner in it. Really impress my bride

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated as always.
Happy Veterans Day to our neighbors down south and Happy Remembrance Day to everyone here in 🇨🇦

Mavrik

I have had 2 Greyhawks. The current unit is 29MV.
After winterizing, I run the generator for 30 minutes, allow the generator to cool, drain the carb on the generator. There is a screw below the altitude adjustment knob that when removed drains the float bowl. This avoids the gum and subsequent generator surging that is the main problem periodic running of the generator is supposed to prevent. Don’t forget to replace/tighten the drain screw after draining. Then remove the house and chassis batteries, take them home and put them on a trickle charger. You do not need to return to the RV unless until spring unless you are concerned about snow load.

[Johnynorthland]

Also there is a device that you install that will charge the house and chassis battery together if it’s plugged into shore power. I don’t recall the name of it so if someone can post a link would be helpful for this situation and others.

[Weatherman1]

We have a 2016 31XL and use two portable solar chargers that we keep on the dashboard in the cab
They work very well even when it is cloudy!

[Bandit12]

We don't have a MH, but for our travel trailer we stored it at the local fairgrounds the last two winters. They required I remove the batteries and the propane tanks. I did so and kept my batteries on a tender in my unheated shop. This year, since every event at the fairgrounds were cancelled due to Covid, they changed their rental policy. They now require payment for 6 months storage regardless if your trailer is in the lot or not. Last winter, someone tried to break in my trailer. They didn't get in mine, but they did several others. As such I decided instead of paying for storage I would install a 50 amp RV pedestal in my front yard near where I park my trailer at home. I intend to keep my trailer plugged in all winter and let the solar panel and onboard converter do its thing.