Hello. New RVer here. Thanks for looking at my question.Have a new TT and it does have a solar panel, although it is minimal..thinking 20w.I've had the unit for about a month and only used it once but anytime i have gone in it the batteries have been fully charged. Keep in mind , this was within a week of purchasing it and then within a week or so of using for first time and being on shore power. Today i went in it to see how it was holding up in our first rain and it was the first time in it for about 2 weeks and the batteries appear to be dead. Is the expectations for TT that the batteries will die? SHould it be getting a trickle charge that keeps it charged? THanks, Newbie.

When the batteries were not dead how were you determining that they were fully charged?

Inside the TT on the control panel there is a button i push that shows the level of charge. It has always been full charge when i checked. I've also always been able to move awning and slide. Today....nothing.Being new to this i am trying to determine if the batteries drained, and that is normal, or if they should not drain and there is some other issue.

A 20W solar panel is the bare minimum that would keep an unconnected battery charged. If you have any peripheral current drains on the battery, then even the solar panel may not be sufficient. Also, you said it went dead after it had been raining .... indicating that if it was cloudy and dark, then solar panel simply could not keep up. If I were you I'd either get a larger solar charging panel and system ... or hook up some trickle charger to the battery in adddition to the solar.

Too much parasitic drain for a 20 watt panel. You might get by if you can disconnect the loads but keep the solar charging. Do you have a main switch to be storage or in-use? Otherwise you really need 100 watts to keep up and even then still run the risk of a depleted battery with no sun for an extended period. 20w is storage only. No real help while camping.

As Ed said. It will be even worse if you had it sitting with the frig on gas. My rig just sitting with the frig on and everything else basically turned off will consume about 1.6 amps per hour. 1.6 x 24 hours = 38.4 amp hours. To put that back in with 20 watts or about 1 or 1.2 amps at it's very best in noon sun it would take 32 hours. So lets say you have your rig stored in full sun and get 6 hours of charging you will produce about 6 amp hours of energy. 6 ah hours divided by 24 = .25 amps available per hour plus you need to keep up with the normal self discharge of the battery. That is with ideal conditions.I cant remember my bare minimum drain with just the led tank light panel and propane sniffer and radio but I'm guessing its more than that .25 amps. Other guys know more about solar but I'd guess 50 to 100 watts would do it. If you get to that point stop and consider your future camping possibilities and wire it and add a worthwhile controller for more solar that you may add down the road. You can add good wire and controller and depending on those components start with say 100 watts and later add panels without redoing everything. It gets deep and gets into generators, running the ac, wanting to invert and on and on. You have come to the right place as some of these guys have been doing this stuff a very long time.So you basically need to plug it in and then keep an eye on the battery water usage. It wont need constant watering but you will need to check it monthly or whatever until you get a handle on it. Use distilled water and fill to the proper level. You are basically safe as long as electrolyte is over the plates all the time. You can fill until the liquid touches the bottom of the vent area side channels. As you slowly add water it will suddenly look like what they call a cats eye. That's as high as I ever run it. To fill it more you will start getting a lot of corrosion and filth on top of the battery.Wear safety goggles and have an eye flush bottle on hand when working with batteries. NEVER create a spark of any sort near the battery as hydrogen gas is produced during charging and discharging.

battery charging & solar panel | Good Sam Community

azrving
Explorer
Nov 10, 2015
rbadger28 wrote:
Am I okay to let the batteries sit dead for a couple weeks and just let them charge when on shore power next?

No. It's the worst thing to do to a battery, well that and not having electrolyte covering the plates. You also need to get a digital volt meter. They are cheap and easy to install. You want your battery voltage to be between 12 and 12. 6 or 12.7 volts all the time. No, it wont kill the battery instantly if it dips to 11.9 or 11.8 but the basic rule I follow is dont go below 12 volts.

I have talked to several people who find this strange. They often think of a battery as being a gas tank like their vehicle and it has full and empty. It is like a gas tank but it's range or band of usable power lies between 12 and 12.6 volts. You could dip to lower voltages but the battery life may be shorter.

Having your battery sucked dead as it has will kill it very soon. If you intentionally wanted to kill your battery the best way to do it would be to put a load on it and come back a couple weeks later to find it flat dead, then partially charge it and do it again. You need to get it fully charged and keep it charged. The final determination is not to charge it a relatively short time and perhaps see what you believe to be 12.6 volts or see full on the idiot lights. The final determination will be to use a hydrometer and look for a specific gravity of about 1.265 or above.

You dont need to use a hydrometer all the time but when a battery is sucked dead I always do so that I know it's all the way up. From there you just need to stay above 12 volts and do regular charges.

The cheapest thing for you to do is educate yourself quickly to 12 volt battery and RV use. People blow through batteries blaming brands and battery styles only to end up with another ruined battery from under charging. RV's are basically designed to be plugged in all the time. When you unplug that cord the whole energy management program becomes you. From getting power from your tow vehicle connection or plugging in at the storage place or running a generator or sitting in the desert on solar for months it all becomes you. It's completely different than walking in the door and flipping on a switch. It all falls on us. We become Pacific power or Detroit Edison.

There is endless reading material in here and it may seem confusing or overwhelming at first but it will come to you. In the end you will find it was easy if those basic things are adhered to.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Nov 10, 2015
NO!! Not unless you wish to replace them.

rbadger28 wrote:
Am I okay to let the batteries sit dead for a couple weeks and just let them charge when on shore power next?

Forum Discussion

battery charging & solar panel

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

6 Volt Batteries and Solar Charging

Battery charging

Solar battery charging question?

Truck charge camper battery?

Battery charging