Forum Discussion

jsummers72's avatar
jsummers72
Explorer
Apr 09, 2022

Battery tender & storage

I have to store my rv in AZ for 4 months. I won’t be able to check on it, cause I live in AK. I’m wondering about leaving a Battery Tender attached for that long. I have covered storage. I have a battery cutoff in a new Arctic Fox tt. After checking water level- Should I … leave cables/wires attached to battery as they are; turn the cutoff switch ( disconnecting it from the rV) and then attach the Battery Tender? Everything I read say check water level monthly, but I can’t do that. Advise pls. Thnx in advance.

60 Replies

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  • obgraham's avatar
    obgraham
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2022
    Seattle Steve wrote:
    2oldman wrote:
    My advice is to disconnect the negative battery cable. I do that with my car, and 6 months later it starts right up.


    Pretty amazing that it starts right up with the negative battery cable disconnected! ;)
    He uses Wifi to access the battery.
  • Seattle_Steve's avatar
    Seattle_Steve
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2022
    2oldman wrote:
    My advice is to disconnect the negative battery cable. I do that with my car, and 6 months later it starts right up.


    Pretty amazing that it starts right up with the negative battery cable disconnected! ;)
  • garym114's avatar
    garym114
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2022
    Disconnect the negative cable from the battery. I have always done this even though my storage facility has power.
    No surprises, no need to add water, very small voltage drop.
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Apr 09, 2022
    I would not rely on a battery disconnect to completely remove all the battery draws. Personally I would put a battery maintainer on it, after disconnecting the negative battery cable, a good quality one. Arizona gets hot and I've read that the heat is harder on disconnected batteries than the cold.
  • KD4UPL's avatar
    KD4UPL
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2022
    If your battery is fully charged and then disconnected there's not need to have it on a charger for 4 months. If it goes dead in that amount of time it was bad anyway.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2022
    I’d disconnect the battery and hook up a battery tender.
  • rk911's avatar
    rk911
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2022
    jsummers72 wrote:
    I have to store my rv in AZ for 4 months. I won’t be able to check on it, cause I live in AK. I’m wondering about leaving a Battery Tender attached for that long. I have covered storage. I have a battery cutoff in a new Arctic Fox tt. After checking water level- Should I … leave cables/wires attached to battery as they are; turn the cutoff switch ( disconnecting it from the rV) and then attach the Battery Tender? Everything I read say check water level monthly, but I can’t do that. Advise pls. Thnx in advance.


    we usually snowbird between early January and mid-to-late May. while we're gone I leave battery tender devices on both of our other vehicles here at home. never have had a problem.
  • Fisherman's avatar
    Fisherman
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2022
    I have 3 battery tenders, one for my ATV and the other 2 do the boat battery and trailer battery. During the off season, they stay connected ALL the time and plugged in. I have never had to add water to the batteries even after 6 months of maintenance. They are made to stay connected and keep the batteries from sulfating. A couple of them have lasted 12 years, boat and RV 11. I'm pretty sure I'm doing something right.
  • Krusty's avatar
    Krusty
    Nomad II
    Apr 09, 2022
    I would charge the battery completely and disconnect it
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2022
    My advice is to disconnect the negative battery cable. I do that with my car, and 6 months later it starts right up.

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