Winter plugged in?

[JamoFly]

Gang - I have a class C in New Jersey. Stored outside, covered. Should I keep the RV plugged in or not? Do I take both batteries inside?

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by JamoFly

Gang - I have a class C in New Jersey. Stored outside, covered. Should I keep the RV plugged in or not?

I keep mine plugged in year round. It keeps the batteries topped up. We also use ours as backup housing if the power goes out or extra people come in for the holidays.

Aaron

[Funhaus]

Yep, I always kept ours plugged in too. I would just check the batteries regularly to make sure they had enough water.
Now I have to keep mine at a storage facility so i just make sure the battery is charged and disconnect it.

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by JamoFly

Gang - I have a class C in New Jersey. Stored outside, covered. Should I keep the RV plugged in or not? Do I take both batteries inside?

Do this and here is why; buy a float charger from china freight, fiche a plug up through the outside hood exhaust vent and plug it in and connect to your two coach batteries. Do make sure your house batteries are fully chged and watered prior to connecting. Do make sure your house main switch is turned off. Do check sometime during the winter on battery water levels. Reason for this method is because your converter is an electrical component with a set life expectancy. Float chargers are about $10-12 bucks. A typical winter storage has your converter running on float mode for about 3,200 hours. Think in terms of longevity of your component, like a light bulb has in useful life as an example. Do buy one of these
LED Car Battery Electric Cigarette Lighter Voltmeter Voltage Tester DC 12V-24V | eBay to check periodically your house and chassis battery. Been there done that. Note: Understand that a fully, or nearly full charged battery cannot freeze.

[Rrickim63]

I agree with above but wouldn't trust a harbor freight model. Just my opinion

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by Rrickim63

I agree with above but wouldn't trust a harbor freight model. Just my opinion

Your choice, however, they are ALL made in china. But if you think a brand other than china freight is good, it's your money.

[JamoFly]

Wow- thank you all!!! I only have 1 house battery, plus the one in the engine compartment. I'm not sure where the outside vent pipe is either....I'm a newbie, as you can tell!

[JamoFly]

Guys, I'm not sure - the "house" battery (only one) is inside under the entrance steps. #1: Can I trickle charge both that and the engine battery with 1 charger? #2: The convertor will be shut off if I have the switch on "off", correct? Dumb, I know....

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by JamoFly

Wow- thank you all!!! I only have 1 house battery, plus the one in the engine compartment. I'm not sure where the outside vent pipe is either....I'm a newbie, as you can tell!

It is on the side of your unit directly opposite the hood over your stove, if so equipped.If not so equipped, you will find a vent opening in the stairwell bat box which allows venting as your battery naturally gasses off. Fiche it through that hole if need be.

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by JamoFly

Guys, I'm not sure - the "house" battery (only one) is inside under the entrance steps. #1: Can I trickle charge both that and the engine battery with 1 charger? #2: The convertor will be shut off if I have the switch on "off", correct? Dumb, I know....

Yes, switching it off will isolate most of the house side of your unit. There are parasitic draws that will be mitigated by the float charger. Do buy that tester so you can quickly check both the house and chassis bats with a simple plug in check. Do search on the net for a 12v battery chart like this one Battery State-Of-Charge Chart For Voltage & Specific Gravity that will give you the conversion information needed to determine state of charge.

On the "does one do the job for both bats question" Do this; set up the float charger on the house bat, then check the 12v plug in the cab to see if your flow is both ways using the chart. In any event, your chassis bat is better isolated by the manufacturer in a class C chassis side than what draws are parasitic on the house side.

[wahoonc]

On Most Class C's the chassis/house battery is isolated from the engine battery. The converter does not charge the engine battery. Turning the main battery switch off will not cut all the parasitic draw, typically they are under an amp, but will still pull a battery down in a matter of a couple of weeks or less.

If you have the ability to keep it plugged into a regular house circuit the converter will keep the house battery topped up, then you would only need a maintenance charger on the engine battery. Make sure the liquid levels in your battery cells are at the correct level prior to storing for the winter. I check mine once a month as part of my preventive maintenance program. Typically I don't have to top them up more than once or twice a year.

I use the Schumacher battery chargers and maintainers on a wide variety of farm and lawn care equipment, zero problems with them over the years. I have a couple of them that are over 10 years old that are still in use. These stay plugged in 24/7 unless the vehicle is in use.

Aaron

[youroo]

Originally Posted by Rrickim63

I agree with above but wouldn't trust a harbor freight model. Just my opinion

I am in this corner! Youroo! !

[Still Kickin]

Made in china here, made in china there. It boils down to marketing and what your wallet allows you. Like I said, read your topped off house and chassis battery with your cheap china 12v socket tester before and after initializing your float charger (cheap or expensive china made) The point here is to "monitor" your bats. I have suggested a very inexpensive route, if you feel the need to plug and play, using the onboard converter, which is truly the easiest for the house side at least, then the "burn rate" at 3200 hours + per year, in your northern climate storage area, becomes 6400, 9600 hrs and so on as the years go by. It boils down to Washingtons or Jacksons, maybe Grant, only your wallet can help you there. In any event, hope this forum helps, it helped me when I was a newbie. Good luck.