Is a house battery necessary if plugging in at campground?

I disagree with some of the posts on here about budgeting for a battery. Just because a person has a budget doesn't necessarily mean they can't afford nicer things in life. It just means that they are aware of where they spend their money. I also disagree with the statement that trailer ownership is expensive. I would say my total cost for maintenance is less than $50 a year for a couple of tubes of caulk and maybe some bearing grease.

To answer the question about whether you need a battery. That has already been fairly well covered, but in general:

Some converter/chargers require a battery, some do not.

You will need a battery to operate the refrigerator on LP while driving down the road.

You will need a battery to operate the trailer brakes in the event that the trailer becomes disconnected from the tow vehicle.

If you are always going to rent hookup sites then any inexpensive 12 volt automotive battery will work. In fact as noted previously you can probably get by just fine with a $30 lawn tractor battery from Walmart to operate the brakes if the trailer becomes disconnected.

In fact if your tow vehicle battery is getting old and tired you can buy a new battery and put the existing battery into the trailer. You'll lose your nine dollar core charge, but you'll also gain a trailer battery for nine dollars.

I have an AGM in my Roadtrek. The battery compartment is not sealed that tight from the coach so that saves a problem from arising.

mbopp wrote:
If you never camp w/o AC power you could buy a lawn & garden battery. It's still enough to activate the brakes.

I wanted to put a deep cycle battery in the battery compartment on my B but couldn't find any small enough to fit through the tiny door. I used the lawn and garden battery with the most CCA I could find at Rural king. It's been in there a year and hasn't given me any trouble. One time I was at a campground when a thunderstorm took out the power to the shore line. The interior lights run off the battery and didn't flicker. The same with my TV/DVD player. It can run off 120 or 12 volts but I usually have it in the 12 volt setup. One advantage to a house battery is if your vehicle battery dies because you left the lights on, you can remove the house battery and use it to jump start the vehicle.

Besides the obvious required use for the brake.

All you lights run off DC which is off the battery. Most RV fridges AND air conditioning units need the 12 volt for their thermostats. These 2 will come on but when they reach the required temp and shut down they will NOT come back on without DC power to them.

So yes you need a battery. I found Walmart had the best price for them. They are less expensive then a car battery so don't sweat it.

Allworth wrote:
Having to "budget" for a battery doesn't seem like a good start. You may not realize just how expensive it is to maintain the basic systems of an RV.

Batteries should "almost" be considered expendables, like paper towels or beer, just more expensive.

A pair of new batteries from Costco $180.00 Five year life $0.09 per day I would like to get a days supply of IPA for that.

If you never camp w/o AC power you could buy a lawn & garden battery. It's still enough to activate the brakes.

2oldman wrote:

1rickw wrote:
I don't want to sound rude, but if you have to "Budget" for a battery, you may want to re-think getting a Recreational Vehicle.

x2

X-3, don't want to turn you against RV'ing, but you'll find it a lot more expensive than just a battery.

Three answers to the "Is a house battery necessary"

On a trailer YES!!!, DO NOT TOW WITHOUT A PROPERLY CHARGED HOUSE BATTERY

(why: well you see, it is that battery that engages the EMERGENCY brakes on the trailer if trailer and tractor (tow vehicle) part company at an unfortunate time).

On a rig with selected converters such as the Magnetek 6300 line YES, dang convrter needs an upgrade but then (if trailer does NOT have electric brakes) you can do away with it, but till you upgrade, YES you need a battery.

Note: When I said "RIG" I meant motor home OR trailer.

On a motor home with a decent well filtered converter such as a Progressive Dynamics 9100 (or better yet 9200 or 9100+wizard).. Optional.

If the battery shorts, or leaks, it won't be a good day.

The comment "good" battery makes it interesting.

If you are always camping with hookups, you may not need "full performance" from a battery...A battery that's a few years old might be extremely OK for operating the brakes in the event of a breakaway and powering the lights when you stop at a gas station, etc.

Conversely, if the battery is truly dead- you do have the brake issue and some risk of running your TV battery dead (or not depending on the specifics of the tow vehicles wiring.)

I guess you need to determine the condition of your battery- although 10 years old...I'd bet a beer you really need a new one.