We have had tent campers, travel trailers, 5th wheelers and now a destination trailer and i never had to replace the battery. But the time is coming real soon. This may be a stupid question but will not be my first. Should I turn off the electric feed to my Rv before I disconnect the battery? What happens if I remove the battery to take to a supplier and I leave the shore power turned off? What do I need to know?

I would leave the RV plugged in. The converter should supply and run the RV just fine while the battery is out for exchange. Fridge and other items need 12 volts to operate properly.Take a picture of the battery cables and/or mark them clearly what terminal they belong to before you remove anything. If you have a battery switch use it. Keep the main positive cable from touching anything. Wear eye protection.

time2roll wrote:I would leave the RV plugged in. The converter should supply and run the RV just fine while the battery is out for exchange. Fridge and other items need 12 volts to operate properly.Take a picture of the battery cables and/or mark them clearly what terminal they belong to before you remove anything.The destination trailer has electric frig, etc. Has propane furnace and stove range..

If you have solar, some solar controllers must have a battery connected whenever the solar panels are connected. With one of those you should disconnect the solar panels from the controller before removing the battery.Otherwise, turning the battery disconnect switch off (assuming you have one) and possibly turning the AC power off (depends on what converter you have) are all that are electrically necessary. Taking pictures of the battery setup before you disconnect the wires (and marking them) so as to know what ones go where when you get the new battery is often a very good idea. If any of the terminals are questionable or need cleaning it's a great opportunity to take care of that.If you remove the battery and have the shore power turned off, you just have a trailer with no power anywhere for anything. It's kind of like your house when there's a power outage. You should avoid towing it down the road without a battery as the breakaway brake system won't be operational; in many states, in fact, it would be illegal to do so. That's obviously not a concern for just having it sit in one place.

Patrick45 wrote:Should I turn off the electric feed to my Rv before I disconnect the battery?Cardinal rule when connecting / disconnecting any electrical circuit is to first turn power off completely, then do your connection / disconnection. If once the battery has been removed and you want power back on just make sure the connections that normally fasten to the battery terminals are taped up so they can't inadvertently short out. When you install the new battery turn the power off again, make your connections, and turn everything back on again. This way you'll be ensured you'll never short anything out. And please, when you do hook up your new battery make absolutely sure you've connected it correctly - positive cable to the battery's positive terminal, negative to negative. You'd be surprised how many get this wrong. :R

The procedure replacing my rV BATTERY | Good Sam Community

Sam_Spade
Explorer
Mar 31, 2017
Patrick45 wrote:
Thank you so very much. I certainly have replaced in vehicles over the years but nothing with a converter.

It is roughly equivalent to replacing the battery in a car with the engine running.
Patrick45
Explorer
Mar 31, 2017
Thank you so very much. I certainly have replaced in vehicles over the years but nothing with a converter.
mkirsch
Nomad II
Mar 31, 2017
I would unplug unless you can disable the charge feature of the converter. Otherwise the battery wires will be "hot" because the converter is trying to charge the now-missing battery. Too easy to clunk them together and short them out.

Worst thing you'll have to do is reset the clock on the microwave.
Sam_Spade
Explorer
Mar 31, 2017
First, if the battery is more than 5 years old, don't bother to test it, just get a new one.

Charge the new one before installing.
Disconnect the negative cable first and re-connect it last.

Probably would be best to turn off the converter/charger or kill the AC during this time. The stuff that won't work if you do that should be fine for an hour or so.
j-d
Explorer II
Mar 31, 2017
If there is more than one wire connected to a battery terminal, I tape or ZIP tie them into a bundle so they get pointed back to the correct terminal, and that all of them get connected.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Mar 31, 2017
Using a cell phone take images
Emphasize which wires go to which battery posts
Prepare to use baking soda solution to clean up even good looking tray and hold down hardware
Choose your method of how to seal posts and terminals against corrosion
Unless I lived a long way from where am getting the battery from I will make two trips
Remove original and replace with new battery in one clean sweep
Risking a direct short from disconnect cables powered by alternative power producing devices is not advisable
Food can store in the home for awhile
New or not make sure the new battery gets a thorough charging right off the bat
I proved by testing that top charging a new battery increases it's lifespan
Few RV converters can correctly top charge a battery
time2roll
Nomad
Mar 31, 2017
Patrick45 wrote:
The destination trailer has electric frig, etc. Has propane furnace and stove range..
OK to unplug. Some things may not work.

If the trailer does not move you may not even need a battery.
Remove the cables and leave the battery in place. Swap when needed.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Mar 31, 2017
Patrick45 wrote:
Should I turn off the electric feed to my Rv before I disconnect the battery?

Cardinal rule when connecting / disconnecting any electrical circuit is to first turn power off completely, then do your connection / disconnection. If once the battery has been removed and you want power back on just make sure the connections that normally fasten to the battery terminals are taped up so they can't inadvertently short out. When you install the new battery turn the power off again, make your connections, and turn everything back on again. This way you'll be ensured you'll never short anything out. And please, when you do hook up your new battery make absolutely sure you've connected it correctly - positive cable to the battery's positive terminal, negative to negative. You'd be surprised how many get this wrong. :R
2oldman
Explorer II
Mar 31, 2017
..
DrewE
Explorer II
Mar 31, 2017
If you have solar, some solar controllers must have a battery connected whenever the solar panels are connected. With one of those you should disconnect the solar panels from the controller before removing the battery.

Otherwise, turning the battery disconnect switch off (assuming you have one) and possibly turning the AC power off (depends on what converter you have) are all that are electrically necessary. Taking pictures of the battery setup before you disconnect the wires (and marking them) so as to know what ones go where when you get the new battery is often a very good idea. If any of the terminals are questionable or need cleaning it's a great opportunity to take care of that.

If you remove the battery and have the shore power turned off, you just have a trailer with no power anywhere for anything. It's kind of like your house when there's a power outage. You should avoid towing it down the road without a battery as the breakaway brake system won't be operational; in many states, in fact, it would be illegal to do so. That's obviously not a concern for just having it sit in one place.