What do you do with your batteries?

[Bianchina3]

I am setting up my TT with a second battery. I will hook it up to the original and therein lies to lies the problem/question. If I hook them together I will have to completely disassemble the setup to take them to my house between trips. This seems like a hassle. We have the TT stored someplace that doesn't have electricity available and I want to make sure that they are charged before the trip.

What do others do?

[rana]

Without lugging them back and forth, about the only other options are to put them on solar while in storage or run out the day before and run your generator to get them topped off.

Is there a reason why you can't just park it overnight at your home before departure and plug in to your home electric? You probably want to be doing that anyway to get your reefer cooled down for the trip.

[Bianchina3]

I've thought of that but it is about 1/2 hour away from the house. Is overnight enough time to charge both batteries?

Also when I plug into the car does the car charge the batteries. When I plug into shore power does that charge the batteries?

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by Bianchina3

I've thought of that but it is about 1/2 hour away from the house. Is overnight enough time to charge both batteries?

Also when I plug into the car does the car charge the batteries. When I plug into shore power does that charge the batteries?

Depends on the condition of the batteries.
Yes.
Yes.

[wbdavey]

Overnight should be enough to charge your batteries assuming the batteries are not completely flat due to some load that remained powered up while in storage. Common loads such as CO detectors, smoke alarms, digital radios can drain your batteries while in storage.
The answers to your questions: yes, the batteries charge from the tow vehicle and yes, the batteries charge when powered from shore power.

[fonzie]

Add a battery disconnect next to batteries......


Here is one example how to do it....

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ood-74256.html

[fanrgs]

On our travel trailer, the two batteries sitting on the tongue were easily accessible (which eased battery maintenance). So, if our travel trailer was going to sit for only a few weeks to a month before being used again, I left them on the trailer at our storage lot. But, if it was going to sit for several months, I took them out, put them in my garage, and connected them to $4.99 float chargers from Harbor Freight. Those inexpensive, 12v deep-cycle marine batteries were used for 3 years and were still providing full power when we sold that trailer (and batteries) last month.

With our new 5th wheel, the battery is inside a basement storage compartment and, in turn, inside a vented battery box, which complicates maintenance and removal. So, I am replacing the dealer-installed 12v battery with two 6v golf cart batteries and installing a solar panel and controller. The controller will provide float and equalization charging stages when the trailer is parked, but will also provide the bulk and absorption stages needed when the trailer/batteries are in use.

If yo have generator, a third option would be to take it to your storage yard and use it to charge the batteries on an as-needed basis.

[Bianchina3]

Awesome responses everyone.

I already plan on add in a cut off switch to the battery box. I didn't realize they could sit for weeks without needing to charge. I am not too concerned with the total charge of the batteries since when we need them we will be on the road for a few hours before we get to the camp site.

[fanrgs]

If you are going to let the batteries sit on the trailer for up to a month before the next use, make sure they are fully charged before taking the trailer to the storage yard. Check the voltage and/or, better yet, the battery specific gravity with a hydrometer to make sure they are charged up.


One reason I brought my batteries home for long periods was winter weather. Batteries don't like cold and, if not fully charged, can actually freeze. So, if you are in a cold location, you may want to consider sheltering them in a heated location and keeping them fully charged all winter.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Bianchina3

Awesome responses everyone.

I already plan on add in a cut off switch to the battery box. I didn't realize they could sit for weeks without needing to charge. I am not too concerned with the total charge of the batteries since when we need them we will be on the road for a few hours before we get to the camp site.

We have a cut off switch and our batteries are still nearly fully charged even after 4 months of storage.

[ColoradoRick]

Yes, charged batteries will stay charged for quite a while..a month or more. (If they are healthy batteries.) We always plug the trailer into the 110-outlet at the house as soon as we pull up (to load or unload or wash, etc.) and that's the last thing we disconnect before pulling out.

My old camper didn't have a cut-off switch so I would just disconnect the negative (black) terminal from the battery. (It had a wing-nut for this.)

I've heard that we're not supposed to leave the trailer plugged into the truck when parked for long periods because the trailer will draw from the truck batteries. (Not sure that's true but I don't take any chances.)

[fanrgs]

Our 2012 FR travel trailer had a factory battery cut-off switch. It was a chrome plated push-pull switch next to the circuit breaker/fuse panel inside the main living area. It was very convenient for shutting all battery power off when we went hiking, kayaking, or sightseeing. Our 5th wheel's cut-off switch is located in the basement compartment containing the battery and is not nearly as convenient for quickly shutting everything down. So, you might check your trailer for a similar switch before installing a new one.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by fanrgs

Our ... battery cut-off switch ... was very convenient for shutting all battery power off when we went hiking, kayaking, or sightseeing.

Doesn't that kill the refrigerator, too?



Sent from my phone using Tapatalk.

[awellis3]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

Doesn't that kill the refrigerator, too?

Yes, it does.

[fanrgs]

Yes, but we have a sending unit for a wireless indoor-outdoor thermometer in our refrigerator. So we can read the frig temp without opening the door. If the temp inside is 40 degrees or lower, it has been able to maintain it while we are gone. Of course, we have never gone hiking in Death Valley in mid-summer with the switch shut off either. But, if we had, we probably would have had bigger problems than the frig temp to worry about!

That's an unlikely extreme, I'll admit, but we have towed with the gas and battery off on summer days without any problems as long as we don't open the frig door while in transit. And, for safety reasons, we don't travel with the gas on--which, if I remember right from our Alaska trip, is actually illegal in Canada.

[ColoradoRick]

Wow, no wonder people buy generators....I went to the trailer yesterday to work on my plumbing and it was in the 30's....felt even colder inside the camper!

So I turned on the battery and plugged in the little space heater...NOTHING....gesh, the batteries can't even run that thing?

[KyDan]

Space heater = 120v ac. Battery = 12 v dc. Two different systems. You should have been able to use your LP furnace for a few hours.

[TURBS]

This should help for amp draws.
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...aws-17300.html

TURBS
08 duramax tuned n modded, 32bhok Sabre
2015 camping "2 nights"

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by ColoradoRick

Wow, no wonder people buy generators....I went to the trailer yesterday to work on my plumbing and it was in the 30's....felt even colder inside the camper!

So I turned on the battery and plugged in the little space heater...NOTHING....gesh, the batteries can't even run that thing?

Suggest you read up on "the 12 volt Side of Life" website.
Your battery won't run 110vAC items like a space heater.
Nor will the outlets work on battery power.