Danger from charging golf cart inside toy hauler??

Sam Spade wrote:
I suspect not.
A "proper" battery tender will NOT charge at a fast enough rate to "gas" the batteries in any significant amount.
Then, it is doubtful that the RV is really sealed good enough to promote accumulation.
And what ignition source would there be ??

You doubt the RV is sealed good enough???? Maybe not to your standards, but corrosive Gas will just accumulate and corrode out everything inside that toyhauler garage. Lead Batteries OUTGAS. How much depends on the charger you are using. A proper Battery Maintainer will not outgas. There is a reason that good Battery Minders cost a lot MORE than the Harbor Freight cheap ones. Doug

PS. You ought to see the corrosion in some Motorhome Coach battery compartments that ARE vented thru the bottom and back wall of the compartment.

Not on a charger, but I did have a battery explode in my Toyota Camry when I turned the key to start. I unfortunately don't remember what happened to the battery as far as if only the caps blew off. But I do remember the whole car shuddering when it went off. Fortunately this happened in my driveway so I was able to quickly douse the engine compartment with copious amounts of fresh water from the garden hose and prevent any acid damage.

As far as charging in your TH; An RV is far from airtight and I can't imagine any appreciable buildup of hydrogen. With an automatic maintainer I would probably let my batteries charge. But I would also shy away from the $4.99 Harbor Freight tenders as I've had a couple of those fail on me. One stopped charging and the other was overcharging at something like 16 volts.

I managed a business operating a fleet of electric golf carts. We learned to house them in metal buildings away from combustibles. Occasionally they do catch fire when charging, usually a result of a bad battery or corrosion / loose wiring. If yours is in well maintained condition then the risk is minimal.

But battery compartments are ventilated for a reason. Hydrogen does go boom.

HadEnough wrote:
A tricke charge to keep them topped off is absolutely no concern.

A "trickle charge" absolutely CAN be a concern....for several reasons.

A proper automatic tender-type charger should be no concern.
There IS a difference and it is important.

I suspect not.
A "proper" battery tender will NOT charge at a fast enough rate to "gas" the batteries in any significant amount.
Then, it is doubtful that the RV is really sealed good enough to promote accumulation.
And what ignition source would there be ??

I would also worry about corrosive fumes/gas being generated inside a closed space. Corrosion is not a good thing. Doug

I had access to a warehouse with thirteen hundred flooded batteries stacked on pallets. I manufactured from scratch a 200-ampere maintainer set at 13.4 volts and manifold distributed 150 pairs of maintenance leads. Most batteries were there <15 days. They sold by the pallet. No explosions no flying corrosive asteroids.

SidecarFlip wrote:
I have to say that I've never seen a battery explode, heard of it happening but I've never had it happen personally

Have seen a few in the shop back in the old days. They did not go off like a bomb... more like a pop and the top comes off. Could be worse if water was low and full of h-o mix.

For the OP... with a good brand charger I don't think you would have any issue. Worst case leave the ceiling vent open along with a window agar.