Winter Storage in Minnesota
My 1997 Winnebago Chieftain will be going into storage for the winter very soon. For the first time since we have owned it; she will be in storage away from my home. It will be indoors but unheated....
Forum Discussion
Healthy batteries don't generally need to be constantly or periodically charged to survive the winter if they are fully disconnected. What I did in Fairbanks, Alaska (average nightly temp -55F, average daily temp -20F), was disconnect the ground leads. Next spring I put them on the charger and topped them off, they were fine. Did that over 3 winters there.
My battery compartment was lockable so I didn't even remove them from the RV battery compartment, just disconnected the grounds.
The acid in the electrolyte keeps them from freezing...if they are healthy batteries. Batteries on their last legs can freeze but if you can keep a charger on them at all times, even they will survive the winter. I used one of those small Schmacker float chargers to do that one year. Used that weak battery for another 2 years (chassis batt) when I went back south.
My battery compartment was lockable so I didn't even remove them from the RV battery compartment, just disconnected the grounds.
The acid in the electrolyte keeps them from freezing...if they are healthy batteries. Batteries on their last legs can freeze but if you can keep a charger on them at all times, even they will survive the winter. I used one of those small Schmacker float chargers to do that one year. Used that weak battery for another 2 years (chassis batt) when I went back south.
