I went dry camping for the first time in my new to me 2014 class c and to my surprise the batteries did not make it thru the night the next night the only thing I left on was 1 led light and the refrig. when I got up same thing batteries volts around 5.5 is this normal?

bjones3211 wrote:I went dry camping for the first time in my new to me 2014 class c and to my surprise the batteries did not make it thru the night the next night the only thing I left on was 1 led light and the refrig. when I got up same thing batteries volts around 5.5 is this normal?Is the fridge on 12V or propane? If it's on 12V that's likely your problem. That heating element draws a lot of juice - run it off of propane unless the engine is running to charge the batteries. When on shore power obviously use 110V.If the fridge is on propane and you're sure there's nothing else on to draw it down then you may need to replace the house batteries.

I assume the water heater was not on electric?bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:I assume the water heater was not on electric?bumpyDo they make 12-volt electric water heaters? Or an inverter issue?

Most "new to me" units come complete with dead batteries.

bjones3211 wrote:I went dry camping for the first time in my new to me 2014 class c and to my surprise the batteries did not make it thru the night the next night the only thing I left on was 1 led light and the refrig. when I got up same thing batteries volts around 5.5 is this normal?5.5V is dead and the battery will quickly become bad at those voltages.How many and type of battery and what loads did your run? Seems like you need to become much more aware of and manage to your setup. Batteries have limited power and shouldn't be discharged below 12.1V or you will be buying lots of new ones.

battaries not holding up | Good Sam Community

klutchdust
Explorer II
Jul 21, 2016
Switched my 12 volt car batteries for deep cycle Trojans, huge difference. I had the same issues as poster, batteries were weak.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 21, 2016
bjones3211 wrote:
thanks for all the feed back yes the refrig was running on LP. guess I need to have the batteries tested the bad side is I don't dry camp much hate to put out a lot of money just to have them go bad again.

I have 2 12 volt deep cycle batteries
If you mean marine deep cycle batteries then they are just slightly better than starting batteries and are not deep cycle batteries. But they should be OK for a night.

How did you recharge for the second night?
jarata1
Explorer
Jul 21, 2016
I hope 2 of them would get you more then one night
Bordercollie
Explorer
Jul 23, 2016
Unless your old batteries test bad under load, I'd suspect a short or some item drawing too much current during the night. Appliance controls and alarms draw some 12 volt dc current from house batteries

If you disconnect the positive or negative cable on the house battery and connect an ammeter to the cable and battery post you may see how many amps are still being drawn with everything apparently shut off. If you are not able to test, have it tested by a trusted RV repair.

Was there a light left on in your storage compartment?
Did you have the furnace or furnace blower or ceiling fan running overnight?

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battaries not holding up

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