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Old 06-10-2014, 03:34 PM   #1
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Should the battery run down when not plugged in for a while?

We have a new Roo and went camping 2 weeks ago. We were plugged in the entire time and then unplugged it until our next trip. Everything seemed to be off. Any idea what may have run down the battery?
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Old 06-10-2014, 03:38 PM   #2
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Don't know your exact trailer but anything that appears off can really be on. Any radio, tv, phone charger, adapter outlet can have a very small amount of power going to it. Unless it is totally unplugged or the battery disconnected it will use power. Do you have a 12 volt disconnect switch? Usually a silver knob near your power converter that you pull or push. That will totally disconnect the battery.
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Old 06-10-2014, 03:42 PM   #3
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If not disconnected it will. Several things use battery. LEDs on LP, CO2 and Smoke detectors. Leds on 12 v TV or stereo. Display on stereo. Little green light on antenna power booster or power indicator light on frig. You may or may not have all of these but the little bit of drain can discharge the battery quicker than you'd think. Oh yeah, don't forget about the frig on propane still needs battery power to also.
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Old 06-10-2014, 04:13 PM   #4
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Get your battery charged back up and don't do that again. Draining your bat like that will shorten its' life and you want all the bat power life that you can get ...
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Old 06-10-2014, 04:20 PM   #5
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like the others said, there are a number of parasitic power drains you don't see.
that's why many of us install a battery disconnect switch.

but doesn't your Roo have this switch already, since they are supposed to be a factory item now? and are you using it?
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Old 06-10-2014, 04:29 PM   #6
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Here is a short article on Parasitic Power Drains and what to do.

What Kills Your RV Batteries?
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Old 06-10-2014, 11:11 PM   #7
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If you get yourself an AC/DC clamp meter on Amazon for about 50 bucks...you'll be able to clamp the red battery wire and SEE your amp drain when everything is turned off.
Let's say it is 1 amp....then each day you will use 24 amp hours when away from the trailer. If you have 2 large 100 amphour batteries that means you'll be dead in about a week... If you have .5amp drain..then 2 weeks etc. etc.
This will let you plan for how long you can leave your coach without recharging. Also useful for when you ARE using your coach....to know how many amps you are drawing our so you know when to recharge.

Alternatively...remove the negative post cable from your battery after fully charging and that will give you a few months of worry free storage.
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Old 06-11-2014, 01:29 AM   #8
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Two weeks? Something is left on drawing power because it should halve lasted far more than two weeks.
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Old 06-11-2014, 05:03 AM   #9
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My battery will die within 2 weeks if it is not disconnected. All the parasitic loads adds up.

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Old 06-11-2014, 06:41 AM   #10
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Yep, two weeks in storage will kill the battery. We installed a cut off switch and now the battery will last a few months.
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Old 06-11-2014, 07:16 AM   #11
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Ditto- when my trailer was new and only had one small battery- it
was nearly dead after 2 weeks just sitting in my driveway.

I pulled out each fuse and checked across the terminals with a digital
amp meter. I was shocked to see a little bit here a little bit there
all added up. Even the power center charger itself was a drain when
not plugged into shore power.

Get a battery disconnect switch and use it (if you don't already have one.)
These can be added near the power center or directly on the battery
post. Just google battery disconnect switch or read up in our FAQ-
there are several articles there on batteries including this one-
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ead-16392.html
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Old 06-11-2014, 08:21 AM   #12
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That would drive me insane trying to find the draw. Both my TT and 5er could sit connected for weeks without issue.
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Old 06-11-2014, 08:34 AM   #13
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Two weeks? Something is left on drawing power because it should halve lasted far more than two weeks.
Once did the numbers here (can't remember the thread) and added up the parasite draws. Figured a week "with everything off" for a 75AH battery.

If you don't keep the camper plugged in 24/7, your should install a disconnect or remove it.
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Old 06-11-2014, 08:36 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lakemominmi View Post
We have a new Roo and went camping 2 weeks ago. We were plugged in the entire time and then unplugged it until our next trip. Everything seemed to be off. Any idea what may have run down the battery?
I have a Roo as well. There are items in the trailer that run off the battery full time. The main one being the CO detector. You cannot turn this off directly. You will also notice that your radio time will show up on the screen (in the right light) that is because even though the radio is off, it's using juice for memory. Ever wonder why after your battery dies, your saved channels and the time is reset?

The best way to save the battery is to push the disconnect. I have a 2013 Roo 233ss. I have one built in under the fridge next to the inverter. Not sure where yours might be or even if you have one. Some will put a battery quick disconnect next to the battery just for this purpose.

Remember, your battery will have some drain to it even when disconnected. but it wont be even near dead after just two weeks.
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Old 06-11-2014, 08:37 AM   #15
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That would drive me insane trying to find the draw. Both my TT and 5er could sit connected for weeks without issue.
I don't doubt what you are saying; the "without issue" part may be masked by how you use the camper after it has been sitting. Just plugging it into your truck to tow it to where you open it to load up can flash charge the battery enough to mask it's heavily depleted state. It is also possible your CO/Propane detector is inoperative.
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Old 06-11-2014, 08:41 AM   #16
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You have a factory installed disconnect switch, which will prevent the batteries from going dead. On our '13 IKSS they put it un front of the rear bunk, which is a silly place since you have to have one of the slides out to reach it. I think they moved it - but regardless, on ours the big slide still runs with the disconnect activated. The power tongue jack also works, but the lp detector and other parastic drains are all disconnected. Just hit that when you store it without power and you should have no problems.
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Old 06-11-2014, 10:07 AM   #17
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What I'm saying is, my TT would sit weeks, months at times, and the battery not go flat. My 5er? Sat for three weeks not plugged in (Before I added extra batteries) and still showed full on the display.

Now I'm thinking about an experiment. Switch to two batteries (Since getting it down to one would be a PITA.) and let it sit. I'll check the starting voltage, then after a week check again, and see how long it takes to get to 70% charge, 12.32V by industry standards.

I'm now curious as all get out because I've never had an issue leaving it sit a couple of weeks.
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Old 06-11-2014, 10:24 AM   #18
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Maybe that tiny antennae power switch could have been on?

Yeah I have let mine sit for weeks and battery was fine-though I do enable the disconnect after every trip now.

Is the battery bad? Is the converter charging when on shore power?

Check the breaker for the converter-mine had tripped and I didn't even know it until I noticed the battery was not reading full.
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Old 06-11-2014, 11:00 AM   #19
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I don't doubt what you are saying; the "without issue" part may be masked by how you use the camper after it has been sitting. Just plugging it into your truck to tow it to where you open it to load up can flash charge the battery enough to mask it's heavily depleted state. It is also possible your CO/Propane detector is inoperative.
Most every time I go into it, then and now, I'll hit the battery level button. That reminds me, I really want to add a digital display one day.

Reason being, it's important to cycle batteries, so I mind them to see how things are doing. Once they drop to 2/3 on the display I'll plug it in. About twice a year on my old TT I would turn all the lights on, pull the battery down to 50% (12.06V) and then charge it with a quality battery charger. With my 5er being all LED lights I'll need to come up with another solution for that.

But as part of my pre trip systems check I would always check the current battery state before plugging in. It was usually in good shape? And my CO2/propane detector worked until the day I traded, least the light was green and would scream when checked with the button.
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Old 06-11-2014, 11:04 AM   #20
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I get a 0.5 Amp reading on ours when everything is turned off except LP Gas alarm, smoke alarm, thermostats for furnace and AC's ..., no lights or anything. Over a one day period that makes 12 Amps, over one week that makes 84 Amps.
If a regular wet cell 12 V deep cycle battery holds let say 100 Amps only roughly 50% of that is available before the voltage drops below a usable level. Of course this depends on the trailer.
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