Storing Travel Trailer and turning off battery power

[Team Smith]

I have a Forest River Salem 28RLSS 2018 Travel Trailer. I just removed the Shore Power and the Travel trailer still has power from the batteries. I have a Xantrex Freedom X 1200 Inverter that appears to be off but I still have power. Does anyone here have the same set up? Do I have to disconnect the batteries each time I store it? It has a power button on it and I pushed it but it doesn't seem to do anything but turn off the inverter but I still have power to the Travel Trailer from the batteries. I do not see any type of switch to turn off the battery.

[jimmarako]

Start up front by your batteries. I assume they are up front. Start following the red/positive wire. There should be a battery disconnect switch within a few feet of the battery. You need to switch that to "disconnect" and it will remove power to the trailer.

Note: some trailers have items that may bypass this disconnect switch. You can confirm by seeing how many wires go directly to your battery. Solar will usally go directly to the battery and thats OK, it adds juice. Some times the CO alarm, radio, USB chargers,... may bypass switch.

If anything bypasses the switch then you would need to remove the negative cable from the battery and let it hang somewhere.

Jim M.

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by jimmarako

Start up front by your batteries. I assume they are up front. Start following the red/positive wire. There should be a battery disconnect switch within a few feet of the battery. You need to switch that to "disconnect" and it will remove power to the trailer.

Note: some trailers have items that may bypass this disconnect switch. You can confirm by seeing how many wires go directly to your battery. Solar will usally go directly to the battery and thats OK, it adds juice. Some times the CO alarm, radio, USB chargers,... may bypass switch.

If anything bypasses the switch then you would need to remove the negative cable from the battery and let it hang somewhere.

Jim M.

Exactly!

IMO, there is no substitute for removing the battery and storing it (them) undercover if you are not going to be camping during the Winter. Preferably storing in a heated out building. Periodically be sure to check them for the proper charge for their chemistry.

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by PhilFromMaine

Exactly!

IMO, there is no substitute for removing the battery and storing it (them) undercover if you are not going to be camping during the Winter. Preferably storing in a heated out building. Periodically be sure to check them for the proper charge for their chemistry.

Why a heated building? Storing the lead acid battery in a heated building will increase it’s self discharge rate vs storing it out in the cold. A charged, really cold battery can be stored almost indefinitely without it discharging, thus it will require no monitoring or maintenance charging. If fully charged and healthy, the battery will not freeze at any low temperature you’re likely to find in North America.

I intentionally store all my vehicle/recreational batteries cold for winter. I get long life from them.

[JimM2109S]

Adding to jimmarako's post - look for more than one wire connected to the lug on the battery side of the disconnect switch. On my trailer, there are several items that bypass the disconnect switch by connecting to that lug on the battery side of the switch.

The only way to completely eliminate battery discharge is to disconnect the negative cable from the battery.

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

Why a heated building? Storing the lead acid battery in a heated building will increase it’s self discharge rate vs storing it out in the cold. A charged, really cold battery can be stored almost indefinitely without it discharging, thus it will require no monitoring or maintenance charging. If fully charged and healthy, the battery will not freeze at any low temperature you’re likely to find in North America.

I intentionally store all my vehicle/recreational batteries cold for winter. I get long life from them.

It may depend what you consider cold. The more run down your battery is, the more potential there is for electrolyte freezing. Being an old SOB, I have lost a lot of batteries through Winter neglect over the years.

I tend to store my batteries and forget them. However, if they are stored in plain sight in a place I frequent, I will have a tendency to check their charge occasionally and do any maintenance that is needed. The likelyhood of my hanging out in a very cold space is little to none these days.

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by PhilFromMaine

It may depend what you consider cold. The more run down your battery is, the more potential there is for electrolyte freezing. Being an old SOB, I have lost a lot of batteries through Winter neglect over the years.

I tend to store my batteries and forget them. However, if they are stored in plain sight in a place I frequent, I will have a tendency to check their charge occasionally and do any maintenance that is needed. The likelyhood of my hanging out in a very cold space is little to none these days.

Yes, do whatever works for you. Having the batteries indoors and heated creates more work as they require tending due to increased self discharge.

And yes, the more run down the battery is, the more potential for freezing. That is why I specifically said a fully charged battery wouldn’t freeze. So, I would fully charge the battery, totally disconnect it, and leave it out in the cold. At the start of next season, it will likely still be near full charge.

[Zoso1971]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

That is why I specifically said a fully charged battery wouldn’t freeze. So, I would fully charge the battery, totally disconnect it, and leave it out in the cold. At the start of next season, it will likely still be near full charge.

This has been my experience with liquid GC2 6 volts and 12 volt AGM.

[boondocking]

My GC2's sitting outside for the winter lose about 5% charge over that 6 month period. They are 9 years old and still going strong.

[Bob K4TAX]

Make sure the battery has the proper amount of water, fully charge it, disconnect the negative lead at the battery and visit it next Spring.

Be done and over with it.

Bob

[5picker]

X-whatever on fully charging and totally disconnecting the battery and leaving right where it is.

No need to keep it inside, heated or tucked in every night. Anything else is a throwback to old battery technology or old wives tales.

A properly charged battery won't even begin to freeze until about -50° below.

And to answer the OPs question, you will need to totally disconnect the battery or parasitic current draws (even with a battery disconnect in play if you do actually have one) will drain the battery during storage..

[Team Smith]

I live in Sunshine State of Florida and it never gets cold. Thanks for the info everyone. I guess I just need to disconnect the batteries. Yes, they are in the front near the propane.

[jeff64]

Be sure to clean top of battery and terminals with baking soda/water and a old tooth brush and rinse off. Batteries discharge through the residual "slime" that normally develops on top. Then you can top off cells, charge it, test it and put it to bed with confidence.