Forum Discussion

VA-Apraisr's avatar
VA-Apraisr
Explorer II
Jul 13, 2017

Storing camper and want to keep batteries charged....solar?

My brother is selling his house and need to move my RV to a storage facility. I have 2-yellow Optima house batteries I use for boondocking at the beach. Usually, keep camper plugged up to shore power to keep everything charged up, but not an option now. Seems I have two options: remove batteries and use trickle charger in my garage, or, solar panels for roof. If I go solar, how many do I need and is it difficult to run the wires down to the batteries? Any info appreciated.

PS: As for the coach battery, should I also remove that during the winter and trickle charger it in the garage too? Never had any issues for 14 years using house power to keep everything functional throughout the year.
Class C

10 Replies

  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Jul 14, 2017
    Carnation must have missed the last six words of my post.

    "Solar panels on the roof would keep your house batteries charged in storage and recharge your batteries when camping."
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Jul 14, 2017
    pastorbillv wrote:
    Ditto the comments about the disconnect switches. Work great. No battery drain.
    X3
  • pastorbillv's avatar
    pastorbillv
    Explorer II
    Jul 14, 2017
    Ditto the comments about the disconnect switches. Work great. No battery drain.
  • fitznj's avatar
    fitznj
    Explorer
    Jul 14, 2017
    As stated; if you charge them fully and then disconnect the +ve terminal (or use a disconnect switch); Should stay charged for many months.

    I used to do this until I installed solar panels; Now the solar panels keep the
    the batteries charged all year (I have a disconnect switch - so battery is isolated)
  • AJBert's avatar
    AJBert
    Explorer
    Jul 14, 2017
    Just curious but why are you using yellow tops? They are the same as a marine starting battery. The blue tops are the true deep cycle batteries from Optima.
  • CarnationSailor's avatar
    CarnationSailor
    Nomad
    Jul 13, 2017
    Lwiddis wrote:
    Solar panels on the roof would keep your house batteries charged in storage and recharge your batteries when camping. General rule is 1 solar watt for each battery amp hour. How many battery amp hours do you have? Generally runnng wire from the panels to the controller and then to the batteries is easy.


    If they are fully charged when you put your RV in storage, you don't need anywhere near 1 solar watt per amp hour. If all you are doing is maintaining the full charge, 30 watts will do the job.

    The first winter I just used my battery disconnect switch and they went from 100% down to 50% in 3 months - and they were brand new, good batteries.
  • korbe's avatar
    korbe
    Explorer
    Jul 13, 2017
    A third option would be to get them charged up and add a disconnect switch. They should stay charged for a few months, at the least if they are good batteries.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Jul 13, 2017
    Solar panels on the roof would keep your house batteries charged in storage and recharge your batteries when camping. General rule is 1 solar watt for each battery amp hour. How many battery amp hours do you have? Generally runnng wire from the panels to the controller and then to the batteries is easy.
  • CarnationSailor's avatar
    CarnationSailor
    Nomad
    Jul 13, 2017
    I use a 30-watt Renogy solar panel and a Battery Minder charge controller. The panel is about 18-inches square. I zip tie the panel to the top of my rear ladder, pointing it in the proper direction and elevation to get the most winter sun.

    I run a power line down the ladder and under the 5th-wheel to the charge controller which is next to my batteries in the front storage compartment. Keeps my 4 6-volt batteries topped off.

About Motorhome Group

38,721 PostsLatest Activity: Apr 19, 2023