Camper winterization question

[Cobra]

I have a coachman slidein. I winterized it last week. My neighbor who has a 5er came over and said it was not a good idea to keep the camper plugged into the garage for an extended time. Instead the battery should be disconnected. My camper manual does not address that and he can't tell me why but says his 5er manual stated that. My question to him was, what if I was camping in Arizona all winter. The camper would be plugged in and charging the battery.



Does anyone know what is right.



Thanks for the info

 

[chuck3]

I'm no expert but IMO I would not leave it pluged in too long, I don't know if the charging unit shuts off on these after they are fully charged, but if not it would dry out your battery.

 

[dmurdock]

If your camping in it it's not a problem, because you are using a lot of the current. Depending on the type of charger you have, you can boil the batteries pretty quickly. Most "part time" rv's don't have "intelligent" chargers, so when in storage, leave the camper and the batteries unplugged. I just disconnect mine now, but I plan on buying a switch I can us to quickly disconnect them from the trailer.

 

[RJOL]

Batteries

If you live in an area where winter temps go below freezing for long periods, take the batteries out and put them on a trickel charger. Keep them off the cold concrete floor (put them on blocks of wood). If you live in a mild climate (only freezes a few times a year)... just leave them installed and put them on a trickel charger. Been doing this for years without a problem... .

 

[BigMike]

I keep mine plugged in whenever I'm not using it. In winter, I run a small heater to help keep the moisture down, thus I need my batteries charged. It's a pain to disconnect and remove on my 5er. So far so good.

 

[SnoKing]

If you have a good digital volt meter, measure the voltage of the battery after it is fully charged. If it is above 13. 3 to 13. 5 volts then your charger is putting out too much to leave it on all the time, and you will boil the water out of the batteries. SNOKING

 

[Cobra]

winterization question

Thanx amillion for the replies.

Lots of good info that I hadn't thought of myself.



Snoking, I will check the voltage in the am tomorrow. So if it is below 13 I can go ahead and leave it plugged in. It won't be plugged in all winter. I hope to leave for Arizona right after Christmas.



Thanks again guys.

 

[TowPro]

Re: winterization question

For several years, I left the battery's in my 5th wheel, I just ran a timer about 6 hours per day. Where I live, the power has been know to go out for a day or more at a time during the winter, and I leave my RV "move into ready".



My new camper (Terry) has a smart charger in it. Well, its a smart charger after you buy this thing called a charge wizard that plugs into the charger. I now leave it plugged in all year, I only use about 6oz of water in 1 battery per year!

Originally posted by Cobra

Thanx amillion for the replies.

Lots of good info that I hadn't thought of myself.



Snoking, I will check the voltage in the am tomorrow. So if it is below 13 I can go ahead and leave it plugged in. It won't be plugged in all winter. I hope to leave for Arizona right after Christmas.



Thanks again guys.

 

[DGFoster]

Ive never worried about it,mine sits all summer at the camp ground plugged in all the time,and in the winter it sits at my father in laws pluged in,and when we go up for the weekend we have a place to stay,and I am on 4 years on the battery.

I was told the chargers don't run all the time. .

Hope this helps.

 

[RustyJC]

Re: Re: winterization question

Originally posted by TowPro

My new camper (Terry) has a smart charger in it. Well, its a smart charger after you buy this thing called a charge wizard that plugs into the charger. I now leave it plugged in all year, I only use about 6oz of water in 1 battery per year!

We also have the Progressive Dynamics IntelliPower power converter (model 9155) with the Charge Wizard accessory. We leave our 5ver plugged in while in storage, and also only have to add water about once a year to the battery.



Rusty

 

[FDziurda]

If the battery voltage is between 13 - 13. 8V when they are fully charged (floating), they should be fine.



When I purchased my trailer, the Dealer advised leaving it plugged in when it was not in use, to keep the batteries charged. The on-board regulated charger will not over charge the batteries.



They said many folks don't realize that even tho they think everything is off, the Propane detector is not, and will drain the batteries, over time.



Good Luck,



FDz

 

[RJOL]

Originally posted by FDziurda

When I purchased my trailer, the Dealer advised leaving it plugged in when it was not in use, to keep the batteries charged. The on-board regulated charger will not over charge the batteries.



FDz

I don't disagree with this, but I've always been concerned that with you 110V plugged in, you keeping power on the converter/transformer, even if the battery charger regulator is shut down. If nothing else, seems to be a waste of energy/money. That's why I keep a trickle charger (very low amperage) pluged in during storage... .