Season soon to end - putting RV into storage

[joebedford]

The last time I stored the RV in Florida, I had power so left the a/c set for 85F which got rid of the humidity. This time, no power for 7 months.

I got some pails of damp-rid and put a vent cover on so I can leave one vent and one window (partially) open.

I'll disconnect them, but I'm also worried about the house batteries being dead when I come back. I'll have a spare battery or jumper cables to get the the generator started (so I can run the levelling jacks). I have less than a mile from storage to my site for next winter.

PITA but I'm taking 6 golf cart batteries north with me so I can tend them.

Any other hints what needs to be done?

[markchengr]

Do not leave windows/vents open in Florida. I speak from experience. Florida air is so humid that you'll come back to a mold disaster. Keep it closed up with as much Damp Rid as you can manage.

[joebedford]

Grit dog wrote:
Summers down south are battery killers.
So you’re leaving the Rv batts in though?

I have 2 12V deep cycle batteries in the RV. One is 10 years old and the other is 5 years old. I'm thinking of disposing of the 10 y.o. one and going with only 1 12V. If the summer kills one or both the batteries, it'll motivate me to change them / it.

It's my plan to leave the RV here until we're done RVing (a small number of years) then haul it north to sell it. I don't see much dry camping in our future.

[Grit_dog]

joebedford wrote:

Veebyes wrote:
Simply disconnect to eliminate any parasite draws on power.

I'm going to do that with the RV batteries but not the golf cart batteries. Summer heat is really hard on batteries; different than winter cold.

Ha, yeah good point. Summers down south are battery killers.
So you’re leaving the Rv batts in though?

[JimK-NY]

Most batteries will lose about 5% of their charge every month. Storing disconnected for 7 months should not be an issue and the batteries should still be well above 50% charge. IMO that would be safer than trying to trickle charge them without checking on water and charge levels.

[RetiredRealtorR]

joebedford wrote:

RetiredRealtorRick wrote:
Yup. Just move to Florida like everybody else does ... and forget about it!

Sorry, no. I'm looking for good weather all year round not just winter.

As I see it, "good weather all year round" means NOT having to store my RV . . . and no "season soon to end" either. My season is 12 months.

[joebedford]

Veebyes wrote:
Simply disconnect to eliminate any parasite draws on power.

I'm going to do that with the RV batteries but not the golf cart batteries. Summer heat is really hard on batteries; different than winter cold.

[joebedford]

RetiredRealtorRick wrote:
Yup. Just move to Florida like everybody else does ... and forget about it!

Sorry, no. I'm looking for good weather all year round not just winter.

[Veebyes]

My routine since 2006 has been to disconnect the battery bank & leave it sit November to April every winter.

The first few years the trailer had a massive battery bank of 6X6V wet cells. Since 2011 I have been using a single 4D AGM. Same treatment. Disconnected, untouched all winter. No problems till the first one aged out after 9 years.

Four seasons into the second AGM now.

Simply disconnect to eliminate any parasite draws on power.

[RetiredRealtorR]

"Any other hints what needs to be done?"

Yup. Just move to Florida like everybody else does ... and forget about it!

[joebedford]

I let my Class A driver's license lapse so if I ever got into an accident I don't know if I'd be covered. I'd rather not haul it too far.

[Grit_dog]

Dang, may as well take the whole camper north!
Not sure why you’d need to babysit the batteries other than theft concerns.

No power?
How bout a little solar to keep the batteries juiced and a couple little 12V fans inside?
I personally wouldn’t want to leave anything hooked up and running for months unattended, but you were good with it before, so as long as the insurance is paid up I suppose….

Oh, and a cover. Unless it’s not worth covering…

[pianotuna]

Joe,

Just charge them fully and disconnect.

or

Add a modest solar charging system between 15 and 30 watts per 100 amp-hours of storage.