Battery switch

azdryheat wrote:
Wrong, the battery switch has nothing to do with trailer brakes. Trailer brakes are not wired through the switch.

Mine are.

Closed (connected) when in use
Open (disconnected) when stored

I know the switch says off/on, but that is inaccurate nomenclature.

It ought to be called a storage switch.

Wrong, the battery switch has nothing to do with trailer brakes. Trailer brakes are not wired through the switch.

MarkTwain wrote:
Should the battery switch be left on while your are RVing and only turned off when you put your trailer into storage???

Generally yes.
- It must be on when towing in order to run the emergency break away brake controls. Otherwise, if the trailer separates from the truck, the trailer brakes won't activate when the umbilical cord separates.
- When on shore power, some chargers need a battery in the system but even those that don't benefit from the battery as is smooths out and peaks or dips in voltage as loads are added or removed.
- When in storage (and unplugged), there shouldn't be any need to power anything but there are small loads that may remain on (such as the propane detector). Given enough time they will run the battery down, so you want the battery disconnected.

One note, check the wiring to make sure everything runs thru the switch. Sometimes, you will find some items bypass the switch.