2017 Sandpiper 376BHOK Battery Draining

[Roland Fam]

Our brand new Sandpiper has had a multitude of issues. We have been on one camping trip and then had to put it in the shop for several months. The biggest issue was the ac leaking and not running. Another issue that they were supposed to fix was that the battery is draining when we park it. There is nothing on and the inverter switch is off.

We just took our second trip after getting it out of the shop. The ac seems to be fixed, but the battery issue is still happening. We parked it yesterday with everything off, I went out there today to clean some things out and the battery is dead! What could be draining the battery like this? Suggestions?

We love our new RV, but we are getting so frustrated with all of the problems we seem to be having. Forest River has been kind and helpful, but things still aren't as they should be with the camper. Please help us figure this out??

[brad2388]

Originally Posted by Roland Fam

Our brand new Sandpiper has had a multitude of issues. We have been on one camping trip and then had to put it in the shop for several months. The biggest issue was the ac leaking and not running. Another issue that they were supposed to fix was that the battery is draining when we park it. There is nothing on and the inverter switch is off.



We just took our second trip after getting it out of the shop. The ac seems to be fixed, but the battery issue is still happening. We parked it yesterday with everything off, I went out there today to clean some things out and the battery is dead! What could be draining the battery like this? Suggestions?



We love our new RV, but we are getting so frustrated with all of the problems we seem to be having. Forest River has been kind and helpful, but things still aren't as they should be with the camper. Please help us figure this out??

Yep thats normal. The battery disconnect is only for the inverter. Nothing else.

The lp gas detector will drain the battery plus anything else left on like a light or a fan.

You will have to disconnect the battery each time you store the unit away from shore power.

I cant figure out why forest river did it this way! The battery disconnect should have killed the whole camper not just the inverter.

I added another disconnect at the batteries as well.

[chop249]

Originally Posted by Roland Fam

Our brand new Sandpiper has had a multitude of issues. We have been on one camping trip and then had to put it in the shop for several months. The biggest issue was the ac leaking and not running. Another issue that they were supposed to fix was that the battery is draining when we park it. There is nothing on and the inverter switch is off.

We just took our second trip after getting it out of the shop. The ac seems to be fixed, but the battery issue is still happening. We parked it yesterday with everything off, I went out there today to clean some things out and the battery is dead! What could be draining the battery like this? Suggestions?

We love our new RV, but we are getting so frustrated with all of the problems we seem to be having. Forest River has been kind and helpful, but things still aren't as they should be with the camper. Please help us figure this out??

We have owned our FR unit for 1 year this week. It's been in the shop 6 of the last 12 months......

[BDavis]

We have a 365SAQB. To address the battery issue I added a battery cutoff switch thus completely isolating the batteries and then added a 3rd battery. If it is going to sit for more than a few weeks I remove the third battery and keep it on a trickle charger at home. They other "quick" option is a battery jumper box that can be used to "jump" the unit.

I did the third battery since I run the invertor while driving and it has a residential refrigerator.

[sailtrkr]

Yup we have had the same problem with our 2015 35ROK. There are little gremlins in there stealing power at all times when the battery is connected. Just bought a cutoff switch to add to the battery(cheaper than a Perko) but haven't put in on yet as ours has been in the shop for 4 months for a broken window. Think that was caused by slide stress but I guess we'll never know. FR not admitting guilt

[camaraderie]

Battery cut off switch...less than 10 bucks anywhere will solve the problem.
I also suspect that the batteries are NOT being fully charged AND have been damaged in capacity due to being allowed to go flat.
Note that it takes at least 4-6 hours with your battery charger plugged in to fully charge a battery. The IDIOT LIGHTS that show your battery full when plugged in are simply measuring the CHARGER output...not the battery. To get a true battery reading...disconnect (by using the switch above OR by removing the negative wire.) for 24 hours and measure with a voltmeter at the battery terminals. Anything less that 12.2V means you are less than 1/2 charged and you are damaging battery life cycles/capacity and 12.7Volts means you are fully charged. Cycle between 12.2 and 12.7 volts in charging to maximize your battery life.