Forum Discussion

rvit's avatar
rvit
Explorer
Jun 06, 2014

2 newbie questions

I could not find this in my manual. Does plugging in my MH charge the coach batteries AND the chassis battery or just the coach batteries?

And when I'm camping I see a lot of elaborate sewer hoses while I'm still using the simple open ended hose that the coach came with. Is it required at CGs to have a closed or clamping end where you connect to there line?
  • 99.9% of the motorhomes with RV batteries have an isolator relay to separate the two battery systems. The shoreline will only charge your RV batteries. The vehicle battery shouldn't have much draw when parked.
  • A good neighbor has sewer hoses with connections and donuts for connecting to the campground sewer connection.
  • Effy's avatar
    Effy
    Explorer II
    I won't touch on the batteries.

    As far as the hose, you want to get yourself a decent hose that can provide a sealed connection. Even if not required, the cost is well worth the mitigation of issues that an open/unconnected hose can bring. Believe me, you do not want that kind of issue. Also, the cheap hose that comes with your kit will deteriorate. And it will eventually fail when you are using it/dumping. Ask me how I know. Get yourself a decent hose. It's just not something you want to mess around with.
  • In our setup the shore power charges only the house batteries, but I also use a small charger plugged into the 120 VAC to keep the stater battery charged up.

    I have seen only one case where the park required a sewer hose support.
  • I am not familiar with your Pleasure Way but the easiest way to check if your starter batteries are being charged when connected to power is to measure the voltage across their terminals. It should change from less than 13V to more than 13V when you plug in IF they are being charged.

    As for sewer hoses, I would get one that has the screw on connection to the campground sewer connection. More and more campgrounds are requiring a sealed connection. This sealed connection can be attained with a screw on connection or the use of a rubber donut.
  • Question 1: It will charge only the house batteries
    Question 2: You don't need an expensive dump hose. As long as it connects to the dump valve on the RV you are OK
  • the hose that dealer put in units as a starter kit are cheap!!! get a got set of hoses two 10 ft with fittings as far as battery charging it depends on each unit on how it was wired