Outside storage in snow

[lots2seeinmyrv]

First time living in snow country...for those of you who store your RV outside:

1) Do you keep your trailer plugged into the house and put a small space heater inside and set it at 40 degrees?

2) Keeping the battery charged...if I keep the trailer plugged into the house it will stay charged. OR is it best to pull out the battery and put it in the basement so it does not freeze.

Would like to know your procedure.

Thank you.

[Doug33]

Years ago I took the battery off the TT to charge it in my garage. After a few hours, the CO detector in the bedroom above the garage went off. So I've never since tried to charge a battery anywhere inside the house.

[MKirkland]

I'm lazy. I winterize, use a battery kill switch and store the trailer in heated storage until the end of march. The batteries were fully charged when I pulled the trailer out 5 months later.

[lots2seeinmyrv]

We ordered an air conditioner cover and put it on yesterday. Was trying to figure a way to cover the refrigerator vent.

Took all the Max Air vents off yesterday...cleaned up the lap sealant, pretty dirty under there, and put new sealant on there too.

What a job! Got the pink stuff in and almost done getting it ready for winter.

[SprinklerMan]

I cover my air conditioner . the reason if we get a large amount of snow , then if it rains the snow can act like a sponge and wick the water up into the air conditioner . Some would say this is not possible , but similar happened to roof top ac units on flat roof buildings , a couple years back .

[atreis]

Gdetrailer wrote:
I guess you didn't bother to read ALL the posts..

The OP does indeed have a modern THREE STAGE converter.

It WILL NOT HARM, DAMAGE, BOIL, MUTILATE, FOLD, SPINDLE the batteries if left on 24/7/365..

...

Correct. Gotta work for a living. 🙂 Also agreed about the converter.

[APT]

TT outside @ storage facility, no power, RV antifreeze in all lines and traps.

Batteries - in basement on Battery Tender Plus.

[lots2seeinmyrv]

Yep, sounds like a couple options for winter storage. Hope this helps some other RV'ers who are not sure what to do. Thank you:)

[Doug33]

john&bet wrote:
I winterize mine. Plugged in 24/7. Battery stays in all the time. OEM convertor. Not fried or boiled a battery since we got it new in Feb. '05. No heat added.

That's what we've been doing for 8 years running, with no issues.

[rbpru]

As you can see there is no one answer. We know the factories in Indiana do not bring the TTs inside during the winters and the units sit outside at the dealerships.

When I purchased mine in December it had a sticker indicating it had been winterized. I assumed that was because it was a used unit and may have water in it prior to my purchase. Also, since the TT was on the sales lot and not plugged in, the battery had been removed.

When I brought the TT home I set it next to the house so I could remove the snow when I was over 6 inches or so. Many people do not do that either.

This year I am trying a TT cover and will keep it powered but not heated. The DW and I have been known to take it out for a mid-winter weekend of snow shoeing at the State Park.

[jaycocreek]

lots2seeinmyrv wrote:
First time living in snow country...for those of you who store your RV outside:

1) Do you keep your trailer plugged into the house and put a small space heater inside and set it at 40 degrees?

2) Keeping the battery charged...if I keep the trailer plugged into the house it will stay charged. OR is it best to pull out the battery and put it in the basement so it does not freeze.

Would like to know your procedure.

Thank you.

I keep mine plugged in 24/7 at home outside.When I plan on many trips in the winter months fishing/hunting,I use a quartz heater set to keep the inside above freezing leaving all my groceries in it...

If I don't plan on a bunch of winter trips,I bring in all the food etc but I still leave the trailer plugged in and batteries in place..

[lots2seeinmyrv]

beemerphile1 wrote:

lots2seeinmyrv wrote:
I found the booklet.

WFCO ULTRA III Distribution Center
Model WF-8955PEC...

You have a three stage converter/charger which can be left plugged in and connected 24/7.

Thank you for letting me know this, appreciate the help.

[Gdetrailer]

atreis wrote:

lots2seeinmyrv wrote:
First time living in snow country...for those of you who store your RV outside:

1) Do you keep your trailer plugged into the house and put a small space heater inside and set it at 40 degrees?

2) Keeping the battery charged...if I keep the trailer plugged into the house it will stay charged. OR is it best to pull out the battery and put it in the basement so it does not freeze.

Would like to know your procedure.

Thank you.

1) No!! What a horrible waste of electric that would be (even at 40 degrees).

You do have to winterize the plumbing so that it isn't damaged from freezing water.

2) Assuming you're using a stock converter, leaving it plugged in could be bad for your batteries. I leave mine unplugged and let the solar panel keep the batteries charged, but without the solar panel, I would make sure the batteries are fully charged, disconnect them completely, reconnect them every couple months for a few hours to charge back up. Fully charged batteries won't freeze in MD. (Dead batteries could.)

I guess you didn't bother to read ALL the posts..

The OP does indeed have a modern THREE STAGE converter.

It WILL NOT HARM, DAMAGE, BOIL, MUTILATE, FOLD, SPINDLE the batteries if left on 24/7/365..

You would have to go way back to perhaps late 1990s and earlier to find an old school single stage which would have a great chance at boiling the batteries dry..

The only issue I see is leaving the converter on and batteries connected 2/7/365 is you DO need to "monitor" the battery electrolyte levels periodically. This can be an issue with "sealed" no maintenance FLA batteries. In the case of sealed batteries FLA batteries the water over time will be lost and you can not add any in when that happens..

But for the most part 2 or 3 stage converters drop the voltage well below the boiling point once battery has been fully charged. This drastically reduces lost water (note, I did not say it stops water lose, just reduces the amount of loss).

[beemerphile1]

lots2seeinmyrv wrote:
I found the booklet.

WFCO ULTRA III Distribution Center
Model WF-8955PEC...

You have a three stage converter/charger which can be left plugged in and connected 24/7.

[Jerry9n]

I'll post my two cents worth. I winterize it with antifreeze, then drain the antifreeze and blow it out. Anti freeze in traps. Drain and flush water heater. Leave roof vent open a little. As far as battery, I have a main battery disconnect and wired in a float battery charger with a separate connection for a lightweight cord.
That way I can run a lightweight (and much less expensive cord than my 30 amp cord) cord out in the snow all winter and not have my converter (I replaced my WFCO which never worked quite right) powered up all winter.

The antifreeze/blow out may be overkill, but doesn't take that much longer and is easier than a broken water or faucet or having a connection fail and pink stuff all over while closed for the winter.