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Winterizing Question

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Ddm086

RVF Newbee
Joined
Oct 22, 2020
Messages
1
So this may be a dumb question. I have 6 volt batteries on my toy hauler. The winters get below freezing but we do take out trailer out a couple of times ring the winter. The batteries are a beast to get in and out of the trailer. How bad is it to leave in the trailer with solar panels keeping them fully charged?
 
Fine if they truly stay fully charged. I leave the motorhome plugged in at all times, while at home.
 
I'll second leaving in the trailer especially since you can keep them charged w/ solar.
 
Or a trickle charger if your solar panels get covered with snow for any period of time. At our rural camp (Northern Maine) the panels would get covered for long periods if we were not there. We solved that by adding heat tape to help uncover them, but also have a diesel generator as backup. It's not a problem for short term, but we are away from camp for weeks at a time during the winter. Most solar panels are sloped to shed, but it doesn't always work in the nastier weather.
 
So this may be a dumb question. I have 6 volt batteries on my toy hauler. The winters get below freezing but we do take out trailer out a couple of times ring the winter. The batteries are a beast to get in and out of the trailer. How bad is it to leave in the trailer with solar panels keeping them fully charged?
We were instructed by our Camping World technicians to not keep our RV plugged in or solar panels left on if we are not consuming power in the RV. So we keep our camper fully covered in a trailer/Hayshed here in Idaho. And since we get nighttime temps below zero Fahrenheit, we disconnect the batteries, took them out and store them in a heated garage room on pieces of wood. Once a month, I hook up the battery charger on slow charge and make sure I maintain at least 80% charge.
 
We were instructed by our Camping World technicians to not keep our RV plugged in or solar panels left on if we are not consuming power in the RV. So we keep our camper fully covered in a trailer/Hayshed here in Idaho. And since we get nighttime temps below zero Fahrenheit, we disconnect the batteries, took them out and store them in a heated garage room on pieces of wood. Once a month, I hook up the battery charger on slow charge and make sure I maintain at least 80% charge.
Did the “Camping World technicians” tell you why? We have always kept our RVs plugged in over the winter (going on 50 years) and have never had a problem with batteries or the electrical system. I think I would want some explanation about why you shouldn’t keep the RV (or, at least, battery maintainers/chargers) plugged in.

TJ
 
Did the “Camping World technicians” tell you why? We have always kept our RVs plugged in over the winter (going on 50 years) and have never had a problem with batteries or the electrical system. I think I would want some explanation about why you shouldn’t keep the RV (or, at least, battery maintainers/chargers) plugged in.

TJ
TJ, I am the most illiterate low aptitude person when it comes to anything technical. They said if you don’t consume the power, it will degrade the batteries. I took their word for it. They know more about an RV than I do. I asked of keeping the refrigerator on would be adequate and they said no. Maybe if you keep your thermostat set on the lowest setting that would be adequate.
 
TJ, I am the most illiterate low aptitude person when it comes to anything technical. They said if you don’t consume the power, it will degrade the batteries. I took their word for it. They know more about an RV than I do. I asked of keeping the refrigerator on would be adequate and they said no. Maybe if you keep your thermostat set on the lowest setting that would be adequate.
My guess is that you were not “the most illiterate low aptitude person when it comes to anything technical” in that discussion! :rolleyes:

TJ
 
Perhaps he does not have a smart charger and they are concerned with overcharging the batteries. If that were the case, I would at least keep the batteries on a Battery Tender. But neither am I an expert.
 

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