Battery died on the first day

[Marlin1357]

So excited to pick up my Hummingbird today. I just did the walk thru. The man doing the walk thru with me said he shut everything off. I took the trailer home. I got to my storage space and backed in the Jayco Hummingbird. Took me over a half an hour but I did it all alone. I am sure the Airstream next to me was happy I didn't hit him. I unhitched everything. Went to buy a lock and get a 2x4. When I came back I used the power Jack several times to try and lift the jack off the ground to put the 2x4 under the Jack. The power went off. Is that normal or do I have a bad battery? Thanks.

[suzhou]

My first questions would be how much was it charged when you picked it up? Perhaps is was not a full charge and already low. Also, if the power just went off then it could be the fuse for the power jack. Would check that and if good then put a charge on it and then see if it holds.

[Deal Breaker]

It's not normal if your battery was fully charged. Even so, still doesn't mean your battery is bad. I'm guessing you checked other systems in the coach and they were all dead as well? Check the battery connections, mine were loose when my trailer arrived. Check your breaker/fuse panel for any visible issues. Any reading on your battery charge level monitor?

[Marlin1357]

Thank you. It showed full power during the walk thru. This is going to sound stupid, but how do I charge the battery at the storage place. Will hooking up the power to my truck give it some juice?

[BCx213]

Originally Posted by Marlin1357

Thank you. It showed full power during the walk thru. This is going to sound stupid, but how do I charge the battery at the storage place. Will hooking up the power to my truck give it some juice?

Remove the battery (possible theft) and charge it at home with a battery charger...this assuming that you do not have power at the storage yard. Charging the battery thru your TV for a couple hours won't charge it sufficiently. I leave the trailer plugged into my truck while operating the jack and slide so that I do not drain the battery while disconnecting from the TV and setting up.

Note while in storage you should disconnect the battery anyway because the propane detector will drain the battery. Do not leave the battery discharge or it will sulphate and render it useless.

[kiknads]

mine showed fully charged when plugged in even with no battery connected

[DanNJanice]

All trailers will show fully charged when plugged in.
Un-plug and then check it again.
If you feel the battery is charged (IOW lights and stuff appear bright), check the fuse for the jack. It is quite common to blow this fuse by running the jack too high.

[doonkin]

I'm constantly blowing the power jack fuse when I lift it too high.+ go up too far. Check the 30amp fuse outside.
I keep a bag of em handy.

Were you plugged in when the power jack died?
When dry camping I always kick on the generator to use the
power jack/slide out . It just feels like too much of a draw to do that off battery power

[doonkin]

Sorry btw
If you're new to all this (n sorry if you know this aready)
Usually the power jack fuse is outside, in the short distance
btw the jack n the battery. It's a little plastic housing on the wires. Pop it open n you'll see the fuse, n if it's blown. Again
sorry for being 'duh' in explaining but you said you're new to this n i had to find this out too

[paulandkaci]

Originally Posted by Marlin1357

So excited to pick up my Hummingbird today. I just did the walk thru. The man doing the walk thru with me said he shut everything off. I took the trailer home. I got to my storage space and backed in the Jayco Hummingbird. Took me over a half an hour but I did it all alone. I am sure the Airstream next to me was happy I didn't hit him. I unhitched everything. Went to buy a lock and get a 2x4. When I came back I used the power Jack several times to try and lift the jack off the ground to put the 2x4 under the Jack. The power went off. Is that normal or do I have a bad battery? Thanks.

We have the same trailer, guessing it is the power jack fuse. We did the same thing. It is hanging off a pigtail from the junction box at the front of the trailer. Try that before replacing battery.


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[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by Marlin1357

When I came back I used the power Jack several times to try and lift the jack off the ground to put the 2x4 under the Jack. The power went off.

When you use the tongue jack or slides, I would recommend connecting your TT to the TV with the engine running, or connect the TT to shore power. This will save your battery for the more essential tasks like supplying power to the heating system, fridge, CO sensor, fresh water pump.......

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[Marlin1357]

Originally Posted by doonkin

Sorry btw
If you're new to all this (n sorry if you know this aready)
Usually the power jack fuse is outside, in the short distance
btw the jack n the battery. It's a little plastic housing on the wires. Pop it open n you'll see the fuse, n if it's blown. Again
sorry for being 'duh' in explaining but you said you're new to this n i had to find this out too

Thank you. I am new to this and am learning so much from all the comments. I really appreciate all the help I can get. Thanks again.

[Marlin1357]

Yes, I did put the Jack very high. I am buying a charger today and following the suggestions you guys all made. Thank you everyone for all your help.

[bansai]

Another item you'll want to pick up if you don't already have one is a decent multi-meter that you can read your battery voltage with, directly on the battery terminals.

This little tool can save you a lot of frustration as you will know immediately if you have a blown fuse, or wiring issue causing your problem, or if your battery is low / dead. You can also trouble shoot the rest of your electrical system, from your truck, to the back bumper of your camper if / when needed. Thankfully, it's usually something simple like a fuse.

One other tip. If you find that you need to extend your power jack a lot - get yourself a stack of blocks that you can put under your jack and use them every time you park. It will save battery, wear and tear on your jack, time, and if you get big enough blocks ( I use 8x8 posts cut to 18 inch lengths, laid on their side) it makes a very stable 'ground point' that your camper is sitting on.

Edit - and one other tip
If your camper doesn't have a master battery disconnect - install one.

Since it's still winter around here, I have my battery sitting in my basement on a trickle charger, but I don't remove the battery every time I take my camper to storage - the battery disconnect will ensure you have a full battery when you pick up your camper after it sitting idle for a couple weeks.

[cekkk]

Not to hijack the thread, but I have lifted my trailer to max many times over several years and never blown a fuse. I wonder if it could be brand related.

[Mikey]

X2 on fuse. That's my bet from your description of what happened.

[Lolead]

If you have not purchased a battery charger yet I would highly recommend a "smart" charger like a "Battery Tender" although there are other brands on the market. This is what we use on our motorcycles during the winter storage and the last battery in our Gold Wing was still good after 9 years,

[64osby]

Originally Posted by bansai

... I have my battery sitting in my basement on a trickle charger,...

I thought batteries were supposed to be charged in a well ventilated area due to the potential gasses charging will emit?