Batteries

[Jaums04]

We got a 26bh last year. It was our first travel trailer, so we are very inexperienced. We stored it over the winter. When we went to pick it up earlier this spring the battery was totally dead.

First, any recommendations on what we should do over the winter? Iowa, so late night winters.

Also, is there a “better” type of battery I should get.

Thanks for any input.

[ALJO]

Opinions on batteries will vary, so I leave that up to others. Seems you don't hug your TT regular, I would take the battery home and put it on a battery maintainer (3 or 4 stage batt.charger)

[GrumpyDad]

Most folks upgrade from a single battery to 2x 6v golf cart style batteries. They hit a sweet spot between price and capacity.

Over winter, no matter what battery, you want to have your battery brought into a heated storage area (like inside your house) and charged on a smart charger once or twice.

Whenever I store my trailer for a week or more, I completely disconnect the batteries to prevent the small parasitic drains from running them down. Most trailers have things that always draw...

[GrumpyDad]

Your battery strategy can be pretty simple if you normly camp places with electricity. If you normally camp without plug-ins, battery discussions can take up an awful lot of your life.....

The guys and gals on this site are very knowledgeable.

[Mustang65]

As mentioned you will get a lot of opinions regarding the storage or the TT and batteries. If you as 20 people their thoughts you will get at least 20 different opinions regarding battery storage. Which one is the correct answer, that depends on a lot of things.

Some members take their batteries out at the end of the season and put them on a work bench in the garage with a 3 stage smart charger.

Some members take them out because they do not feel safe leaving their battery investment in a storage area, in fear that someone will take them for their own use.

Some members can not take them out because they suffer from lack of youth (yours truly), or have injuries, so they just charge them up to 100% and pull the 30 amp fuse between the battery(s) and the TT.

A member took his batteries and put them in the storage area, not a recommended way to store them.

Some members are lucky and have a Shore-Power hookup at their storage.

Other members purchase a smaller SOLAR panel and SOLAR charge controller to keep the battery topped off over the winter in storage.

And the list goes on.

Leaving a FULLY Charged battery, full on water and with the 30 amp fuse pulled over winter, there should be no issue, as the discharge process slows down to a snails pace in cold temperatures, but if it is an older battery I would pull it and take it back to the house and put it on a SMART charger.

I LOVE my SOLAR, for the last 5 years it has kept my Trojan T145 (260 Ah) batteries in great shape. The TT's battery charge controller has not been turned on since I added SOLAR.

Tip: After each outing, if you do not have shore power while not using the TT, PULL the 30 Amp fuse between the battery and TT. It only takes a week or 2 to totally drain your battery if you do not. There are parasitic loads that constantly put a drain on the battery (CO detector, radio circuit board, fridge circuit board..)


The decision is up to you,

Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[jimp]

Google BatteryMinder or Battery Tender, simple and fairly inexpensive.

[Jagiven]

Battery choice really depends on how you like to camp. So let us know how you camp. If you always have an electric site, then a cheap dual purpose battery is fine. If your off the grid for a day or two, I would recommend a better battery. If you like the comforts of home and being off the grid then a much better battery setup is required. So let us know how you like to camp.

As for why you had a dead battery, there are parasite power drains that will drain the battery in after a few weeks. The key is to fully disconnect the battery. A fully charged battery will make it through an Iowa winter sitting outside. Better yet is to bring it home for the winter and put it on are battery maintainer, that is what I do. The key is to fully disconnect the batteryeven during the summer if it's at a storage lot.

[Murff]

Hi Jaums,

There is some good advice above. As for a "better" battery, it depends on the type of camping you pursue. If you camp at RV parks with full hook ups, a decent 12 volt Deep Cycle will serve just fine.

If you like to dry camp, it's recommended that 2 six volt golf cart batteries be purchased. The large 6-volts will last several days before they need to be recharged.

As I have mentioned here before, if you are near a battery distributor, such as Interstate, call them and ask if they have any "blemished" batteries in stock. Blems have scratches or some other reason that they don't look like a shiny new one. However, they still have same warranty but can be 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a new one.

Murff

[GrumpyDad]

While I'm on a roll here, I'll mention that battery storage is much simpler in places that do not freeze!

Also, when camping, the largest electricity draw is often your furnace fan, which again isn't much of an issue in places that don't freeze.

So, the colder the climate, the more you have to pay attention to your batteries, for at least two reasons.

[29BHS ECO]

I Keep my tt plugged into 120v outlet , keeps the inverter on therefore the battery stays charged. I have the tt parked next to my garage so power is close by. Your local interstate battery dealer will have the rv/marine battery you need in stock. They are probably the best Battery you can buy. Wally world will also have what you need and probably cheaper. Just remember you get what you pay for. Just say'in Larry