Leaving RV plugged in

Hi, Just wondering if anyone leaves their RV plugged in all winter, to keep the battery charged? Is it better to take the battery out of the RV, and put the battery on a battery maintainer? Looking forward to replies.
Thanks. Bill

I take the batteries out, for convenience. Our WC has a three stage charger, so I could leave it hooked up to ac all the time, but find it easier to remove the batteries and keep them charged with a Deltran dual battery tender.

I have been leaving our 2005 29 RLBS plugged in year round.
I ran a 10-3 with a ground from my garage breaker box. I have one wire dead headed so if I upgrade to a 50 amp Camper. The other is wired for a 30 amp service.

I pull the battery, store it in the basement and keep it on a maintainer.

I leave both my group 27 batteries in the 5W all winter but have installed two battery maintainers onboard to keep each charged. I use a separate cheap extension for power because I don't want to expose my more expensive WC cable to the elements. This works well.

Mine is plugged in all the time unless im boondocking. But I have upgraded my converter/charger to a 4-stage. I never have to worry about the batteries other than checking water levels.

Earl

I pull the batteries out during the winter (I installed a second battery in parallel with the factory one). During the summer I will give them a quick charge, put them back in, tow to it's summer home, once setup I disconnect them (I installed a switch), in the fall I turn them back on to charge overnight and tow back home for winter storage.

Plugged in all the time at home unless we are camping somewhere. I am still on the same two group 27 batteries the trailer came with in 2006 and I have only added water to the batteries twice and that was a very small amount.

If you leave your Cat plugged in all winter, make sure to check the battery fluid levels every so often. Also, make sure you check your house breaker occasionally as well. If it trips and you don't know it, your battery will freeze and burst.

TC

TC wrote:If you leave your Cat plugged in all winter, make sure to check the battery fluid levels every so often. Also, make sure you check your house breaker occasionally as well. If it trips and you don't know it, your battery will freeze and burst.

TC

I have a night light by a window I can see every night when I get home from work to know my trailer has power for the refer and batteries. Its one of those green lights that's low energy. I get out of my truck and I look over and can see if the light is on or not through the window.

Earl

Scruffy takes ours out and keeps it charged in the garage.

Tater

We keep ours plugged in. The inverter keeps it charged with very little power consumption. I have heard that a battery can freeze, but how cold does it have to get. Plugged them in this year and they charged right it. I have block heaters in my truck and tractor. Last winter, all 4 batteries went dead ad the temperature hit -15. It actually got cold enough while I was driving to gel the fuel in my truck (air temp -30, speed 60mph, wind chill -76).

Why waste the life of the electrical components if you dont have to...

I have always pulled the batteries in all of my seasonal equiptment and toys...

Is there an advantage to leaving the battery in and the rig powered up?

THEHIWAYMAN (aka Tim) wrote:Why waste the life of the electrical components if you dont have to...

I have always pulled the batteries in all of my seasonal equiptment and toys...

Is there an advantage to leaving the battery in and the rig powered up?

Off season
Batteries need kept charged but not over charged to get max life. Battery sitting around uncharged will sulfate. Also battery will self discharge as it sits.



Earl

THEHIWAYMAN (aka Tim) wrote:Why waste the life of the electrical components if you dont have to...

I have always pulled the batteries in all of my seasonal equiptment and toys...

Is there an advantage to leaving the battery in and the rig powered up?

Yep, not having to bend over to take out four 75# batteries. Not to mention the cabling that's involved.

Also, by leaving them in, you pert near HAVE to keep the power on, cuz the charging action is what keeps the batteries warm.

TC

In the past Two trailers I have owned I have always left them plugged in but on a daily Timer which will shut power off for the Daytime and turned on at Night. In my old Trailer the Batteries would last about 5 to 6 years and it had the old style converter not the three stage coverter charger my wildcat has. Always has worked for me.

THEHIWAYMAN (aka Tim) wrote:Why waste the life of the electrical components if you dont have to...

I have always pulled the batteries in all of my seasonal equiptment and toys...

Is there an advantage to leaving the battery in and the rig powered up?

The only advantage I see is that if you loose power at your house during a storm, you do not have to reinstall the batteries during the storm, to use your camper until power is restored to your house. Personally, I do not like to have the camper plugged in to the a/c with the cords out in the weather all the time. It is much easier to remove the batteries and keep them charged "maintained" in the shed.

I leave mine plugged in all the time as well. I did this on our previous 2004 model with no ill effects but always wondered if I was doing harm to the converter. I replace my battery every 2 years and use the old one for an electric fencer and I always take a generator for dry camping. Should I go with a trickle charger or am I OK?

I agree guys about haveing to keep the battery charged in the dead of the winter, it just seems to me that its alot less wear and tear on the WC to use a small battery maintainer in a warm enviroment than run the converter...

Pulling the battery is not much more work than all the rest of the winterization process...IMO

I've heard all my life that you should not set your battery on a concrete floor or directly on the ground. Something to do with it causing the battery to discharge much faster than normal. It never made sense to me. I have always set my batteries on a block of wood. Anyone know if there is any sound reasoning to this theory?

I have always kept mine off the ground or concrete as well. It seems the old rubber linings was high in graphite (or so I was told) letting them discharge. Newer batteries have a different coating (?) That stop this....however, I still keep my old habit going.

Yep, batteries made these days can be set on concrete without fear of discharge. But, as TLC said...old habits can be hard to break.

TC

TC wrote:

Yep, not having to bend over to take out four 75# batteries. Not to mention the cabling that's involved. Wink

Also, by leaving them in, you pert near HAVE to keep the power on, cuz the charging action is what keeps the batteries warm.

Four batteries do get heavy real quick and I hate to see my wife lifting them in and out. Also keeps me from tripping over them in the house.

robertz675 wrote:

TC wrote:

Yep, not having to bend over to take out four 75# batteries. Not to mention the cabling that's involved. Wink

Also, by leaving them in, you pert near HAVE to keep the power on, cuz the charging action is what keeps the batteries warm.

Four batteries do get heavy real quick and I hate to see my wife lifting them in and out. Also keeps me from tripping over them in the house.

TC

Four batteries do get heavy real quick and I hate to see my wife lifting them in and out.

Ya I guess four batteries would be a little more of a pain in the arse than just my one...

point taken...

Thanks for all of the replys. I decided to take my battery out and put it on a maintainer.
Bill