What do you do with your battery connection, once you get to camp ?

[craigav]

With all the above in mind, the "Dealer" is representative of all of the employees that work there, and with that said and with the apparent shortage of employees for RV dealers and repair shops, certainly there will be some employees who are also learning and while they may try to be helpful, they may not be any help at all.

BTW, that is a big part of the reason for the Forum's here, to ask questions and share information. There really isn't any bad or wrong questions for those who seek to gain more knowledge.

~CA

[CAG]

Originally Posted by craigav

With all the above in mind, the "Dealer" is representative of all of the employees that work there, and with that said and with the apparent shortage of employees for RV dealers and repair shops, certainly there will be some employees who are also learning and while they may try to be helpful, they may not be any help at all.

BTW, that is a big part of the reason for the Forum's here, to ask questions and share information. There really isn't any bad or wrong questions for those who seek to gain more knowledge.

~CA

Sales people should not answer mechanical questions and visa-versa. There is no shame in saying "I don't know, but I will get an answer for you".

[Captnjimk]

Sauter 44

If your new to RVing, I would highly suggest adding a second house battery to your rig. It helps all of us if you state what kind of rig the you have.
Enjoy but don’t get frustrated with the little things that may go wrong.
I read, the somewhat outdated, but valuable, The Complete RV Handbook, three times before buying my first one.
Happy Trails

‘17 Jayco Alante 26x
‘21 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited tow car

[VKC]

Ask that dealer why they recommend it.

[joe w]

Originally Posted by Captnjimk

Sauter 44

If your new to RVing, I would highly suggest adding a second house battery to your rig. It helps all of us if you state what kind of rig the you have.
Enjoy but don’t get frustrated with the little things that may go wrong.
I read, the somewhat outdated, but valuable, The Complete RV Handbook, three times before buying my first one.
Happy Trails

‘17 Jayco Alante 26x
‘21 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited tow car

Good advice regarding a second battery, I have two group 24's wired in parallel on our TT.

[videoarizona]

Maybe this is what the dealer was thinking:

After a long drive, the battery will be fully charged. Once connected to AC at the campground, it's ok to disconnect the battery as long as it's fully charged. Even WFCO converters will/may slightly overcharge batteries. This can slightly boil out some battery acid....which is why we need to check our battery acid levels throughout the season. Then when leaving, connect battery back up to use it while traveling and top it off.

As far as leaving batteries in a tender. I stopped doing that probably 5 years ago. I found it reduced the life of the battery. Don't ask me how or why, as I used to be a firm believer in battery tenders. Now, I simply plug the batteries in once in a while to top them off.

Two motorcycles, sailboat and a travel trailer with lead acid batteries. I've extended my battery life considerably. And I live in Arizona. BTW, I leave my GC2 6 volt batteries on the trailer over the summer. They are fully charged in May. They are still almost full come September. They get the charge then as we drive up to the mountains for a boondocking week!

For the person who asked the question, I did install a simple battery disconnect switch on one leg of the battery out put to the trailer. I put the switch on the battery box. Simple and easy to disconnect. When not in use, I keep the key in my truck glove box.
Hope this helps.

[Spaceguy85]

Originally Posted by saunterr44

When I get set up at the RV park, I connect the AC and disconnect the battery.

Good idea, right ?

I've seen some battery disconnect switches that would make that step easier... do YOU use one ?

Ideas ?

We leave ours connected. Think about this, if you loose AC, and your battery is disconnected, you will be in the dark. With it hooked up, you always have a backup for lights, etc. It has happened more than once to us. There is really no reason except when storing to disconnect the battery. Just go camping and enjoy, with one less thing to do.

[JRD]

I wonder if the dealer didn’t mean to unplug the connector from your tow vehicle when connecting to AC (rather than disconnecting the battery).

[Crabman]

My last two trailers remained plugged in when at home 24/7 with battery connected. When I traded in my Jayco it was 7 years old still had the original group 24 Interstate battery. My current trailer is 5+ years old, same deal still has original battery. These smart charger converters do not hurt the battery, but rather they maintain it.

[joe w]

Originally Posted by Crabman

My last two trailers remained plugged in when at home 24/7 with battery connected. When I traded in my Jayco it was 7 years old still had the original group 24 Interstate battery. My current trailer is 5+ years old, same deal still has original battery. These smart charger converters do not hurt the battery, but rather they maintain it.

Yep I agree, mine stays connected and has remained so even while in storage with a 20A supply line hooked up. I check the electrolyte every two months is all.

[XoXSciFiGuy]

The members here should band together, pool resources, and buy up all the Jayco dealerships. JOF members give better advice than the dealers do.

[ARoamer]

I'd seriously disconnect from that dealer. Storage or service work should be the only time a battery disconnect is required.

BUT, some rv's have a partial disconnect that leaves your emergency brakes connected and shuts off 12v slide motors and some other 12v loads during travel so they will not operate.

I hope they didn't try to tell you you could use a prius as a tow vehicle!

[saunterr44]

I have a 2016 Mustang - it worked for a while, but that one big assed mountain we tried to cross.....

[JFlightRisk]

snip...

Originally Posted by XoXSciFiGuy

JOF members give better advice than the dealers do.

Thank you for that kudo! That's one of the many reasons we are all here. Real world experience, and a ton of common sense. To top it off, we're not trying to sell you anything!

[curver900]

Originally Posted by CAG

Your dealer is an idiot and that’s being kind.

Hey now quit picking on idiots!

[XoXSciFiGuy]

To answer the question about the battery disconnect...I just leave mine as it is when I disconnect shore power. I use two batteries for the main battery power and have a third mounted on the hitch for the emergency trailer brake. All three charge automatically from shore power, or if I am boondocking I just toss out the solar panel with an MPPT controller on it.

We also have a generator that will do the shore power function off road. Has wheels and handles and will burn gas or propane. (I never use gas with it, though.)

One mistake some folks make when running a PORTABLE generator is that even if the gen will do say...5,000 watts continuous...you still have to GET the power OUT of the generator. You can't just use a long extension cord with a power strip at the end. You will bottleneck the electricity if you run too big an electrical load, and the breaker will pop on the generator. So you get one of THESE or one like it...and then put your extension cords to it. THEN a power strip at the end of one if you need that.

[arobinson6]

I turn the disconnect on and leave the house batteries charge

[XoXSciFiGuy]

Correction: Boy am I dumb sometimes. The third battery isn't for the trailer brake. It is to provide separate power to the CO2/Fire Alarm I believe. My bad..I only bought this RV two weeks ago.