Battery During Winter

[turkey_stalker]

Hello all. I am new to RV'g and have been on just one trip. When we picked up our RV the battery was dead and wouldn't hold a charge. The company gave us a free battery. I would like to keep the battery on a charge for the winter and am considering a battery tender. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I just want to make sure it doesn't totally discharged over the winter until spring comes around.

Thanks!!

[JBarca]

turkey stalker wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
You didn't say what kind of camper you have or if you are able to store it at home or not. If you are able to store at home, just keep the camper plugged in with a heavier construnction style extension cord, plugged into your house outlet (15 or 20 amp breaker). This is MORE than enough to keep the battery charged, as your on-board converter will charge it automatically. Campers are made to be plugged in while camping for weeks at a time, so if you check the water level a couple times to make sure it's not boiling out, there's no reason to remove the battery at all.

Now, if you're storing off site, then yes, bring the battery home and a trickle charger will work just fine.

I did forget to add we are not keeping it at home. Would this work fine? http://www.amazon.com/Deltran-Battery-Tender-021-0128-Charger/dp/B00068XCQU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top...

The battery tender is good, just they do not have a desulfate mode.

VDC Battery Minders have the float charge (trickle) and desulfate mode, even temperature compensation. Shop around for the same thing cheaper. The factory direct costs more
http://www.batteryminders.com/batteryminder-model-1500-12volt-1-5-amp-maintenance-charger-desulfator...

And Ctek makes them too. http://smartercharger.com/

VDC is a little cheaper, or was when I was buying mine. I have many of these Battery Minders, truck, tractor, mower, SIL's boat. The best thing there is to getting the most life out of a battery, that and keeping the fluid level correct.

[Uplander]

This may be over-kill but I have always removed my trailer battery and stored it in my basement which is heated. I also attach it to a battery "trickle-charger" designed to keep it charged all winter.
I have done this with TT batteries and boat batteries for about 40+ years. I feel it extends the batteries life. I also keep distiller water levels up to proper levels year round. Better safe than sorry.
Temps in my neck of the woods get well below zero during the winter and water does freeze.

[OH48Lt]

Best method is to pull it, charge it up with a smart charger, then put a quality trickle charger on it. Cheap investment for expensive batteries.

I got a couple of those trickle chargers from Harbor Freight. Discovered that they really don't go to trickle after the battery is fully charged up. Threw them out, and got a Battery Tender. There are other manufacturers of quality trickle chargers, but HF is not one of them. I put one on my TT battery, one each on my ZT lawn mower, 2 ATV's, and the motorcycle.

[fallsrider]

Last winter, I moved the battery into my storage building (unheated). I set a reminder on my desktop computer for the 1st day of each month to charge the battery. I would set my charger on 2 amps and charge it for 3 hours or so.

This is just one way of doing it. I plan to do the same again this winter.

[Jack_Diane_Free]

I leave mine on a trickle charger all winter in my home garage. Hook it up and forget it until the spring.

[Community Alumni]

I use the smaller Battery Tender Junior that I have for the motorcycle. The smaller version works the same and keeps larger batteries topped off. If you just want to save the money then the junior version will work as well.

[sgrizzle]

We live in nebraska and I have a parking pad behind the house that our camper sits on all winter (year)...I just take the battery in and store it in the garage until spring. During the camping season, I leave the camper plugged in. This has been the easiest way for me...

[Heap64]

Just be careful, I tried to take my two 12v batteries home last winter. One fell off the truck tailgate on our sloped driveway. That was an expensive mistake.

I now have 4 6v golf cart batteries, 500w of solar, inverter and battery monitor.

[midnightsadie]

take it home buy a harbor freight trickle charger about $6. set it in the garage and forget it, remember a battery needs a little maintance check water monthly.

[colliehauler]

cdru wrote:
Our trailer sets across the road from our house. I just make sure the batteries are fully charged, disconnect them, and let them sit. Our pontoon boat has two batteries, one starting and one trolling, and I do the same with them. We live in northern Minnesota on a lake and get temps way below zero, no problems. Been doing it this way for many years. cdru

This is what I do as well. My camper is in Northern MN. I have never had any problems. My RV has a battery disconnect switch so I don't have to pull the battery terminal.

[owenssailor]

cdru wrote:
Our trailer sets across the road from our house. I just make sure the batteries are fully charged, disconnect them, and let them sit. Our pontoon boat has two batteries, one starting and one trolling, and I do the same with them. We live in northern Minnesota on a lake and get temps way below zero, no problems. Been doing it this way for many years. cdru

We use the same approach with the 2 batteries in our boat and the one in the tractor. Charge in the fall. Make sure no load on them (disconnect positive). Use them in the spring. That has worked fine for the last 30 years. It does get very cold here in Ontario.

[cdru]

Our trailer sets across the road from our house. I just make sure the batteries are fully charged, disconnect them, and let them sit. Our pontoon boat has two batteries, one starting and one trolling, and I do the same with them. We live in northern Minnesota on a lake and get temps way below zero, no problems. Been doing it this way for many years. cdru

[turkey_stalker]

Thanks everyone!!

[Fishinghat]

Since you have no access to power at the storage site, you can either use a solar panel to keep the battery charged, or take the battery out and take it home. At home, put it on a trickle charger. A trickle charger is the preferred method.