Coach batteries

[jbaugh]

Hi,since purchasing our Sunseeker in September we have always kept in plugged in to shore power. We took it out a couple of times to state parks that were close and we used shore power there.

Now we have left for our tour of the U.S. and as long as we are plugged in everything is fine. Note we had never left the RV unplugged when not in use.

Upon arriving in Utah day before yesterday at my in-laws there was no place to plug in. We didn’t leave anything on overnight. I went out yesterday morning and the coach batteries were completely dead. I cranked up the engine and that allowed me to crank the generator which allowed me to run the lights and stuff.

After running the generator less than 5 minutes and turning it off, the batteries showed charged on the gauge and I know that couldn’t have charged up to full that fast.

What do you think I need to check first? Could the batteries have gone bad by being plugged into shore power all the time and not used or cycled? Or could something else be wrong?
Thanks in advance.

[Bluepill]

1. How old are the batteries?

2. Can you remove the battery caps to check the water levels? If so, have you?

[jbaugh]

It's a 2015 Sunseeker so I would guess 1 to 1-1/2 year old batteries.
I haven't checked the fluid levels in the batteries in 5 or 6 months. Will do that when I get back to Utah where I left the RV.

[bob dirt]

Being that you keep it plugged in so much....Battery maintenance 101 requires regular fluid checks. I have never had an RV that batteries were hard to get at.

[jbaugh]

I'm afraid you're right. I know they are not hard to get to. I thought they just trickle charged when plugged in so I didn't think they needed checking as often like I do the oil in the engine and generator. I'll probably be buying new batteries when we get back. Lesson learned for a newbie. Now to research batteries if I do need to replace them.
Thanks.