I feel like a newby!!!
I'm posting here after more than 15 years of (mostly) enjoyable 'camping' in everything from a tent to my current RV since I just made a blunder when I already knew better.
The rig (in my sig) has been a good and enjoyable vehicle for many years. Unfortunately the love of my life and co-pilot passed to be with Jesus and the Angels late last year. The rig sat in the storage lot of the six months prior and the recent 5 months - almost a year! In that time, only once did I go to the lot and fire it up to circulate fluids and then drive it 4 miles to turn the tires - plus a single trip of a day each way to visit friends. (and for that recent trip, I had to use the generator to charge the batteries to get the engine started.) That seemed to work out OK. BUT...the dual 12v AGM batteries turned out to be dead when I tried to get going this past weekend. They would charge using the generator, but not hold it. Long story short and memory 'joggled' - AGM batteries self discharge. They must be maintained on a trickle charger (not possible at my remote lot) or discharged and re-charged at least every 60 days - every 30 days is better.
So...yep, I have two new AGM batteries in the rig - an expensive lesson I will not soon forget.
The rig (in my sig) has been a good and enjoyable vehicle for many years. Unfortunately the love of my life and co-pilot passed to be with Jesus and the Angels late last year. The rig sat in the storage lot of the six months prior and the recent 5 months - almost a year! In that time, only once did I go to the lot and fire it up to circulate fluids and then drive it 4 miles to turn the tires - plus a single trip of a day each way to visit friends. (and for that recent trip, I had to use the generator to charge the batteries to get the engine started.) That seemed to work out OK. BUT...the dual 12v AGM batteries turned out to be dead when I tried to get going this past weekend. They would charge using the generator, but not hold it. Long story short and memory 'joggled' - AGM batteries self discharge. They must be maintained on a trickle charger (not possible at my remote lot) or discharged and re-charged at least every 60 days - every 30 days is better.
So...yep, I have two new AGM batteries in the rig - an expensive lesson I will not soon forget.
