Pre trip charge

The radio and propane detector will drain a battery in about a week.

oughtsix wrote:
A good quality battery charger is great for those times when you need a quick charge for when you left something on and killed a battery that you need for getting to work.

For charging a trailer battery at home when speed is not of the essence I would recommend a low power float charger... the "Battery tender" referred to by Lynmor.

My float charger with slowly charge a battery to full charge in about a week then maintain the full charge indefinitely. Slow charging a battery is better on the battery than a quick charge if you have the time for a slow charge.

I can leave a fully charged trailer battery in my trailer for months after which it will be about half charged. If your trailer is draining a battery in a week then you are leaving something on inside the trailer or there is something wrong... a bad battery or a large draw from the trailer of some sort. The salesman is telling you to disconnect the battery because he doesn't want to deal with the issue.

That's what we thought the first week, that we had left something on. We made sure we turned off everything we could. The only thing left plugged in was the microwave and that's only because we couldn't get to it. I'm dreading having to deal with Camping World again to see what might be wrong. We had to return it the next day after we bought it because the water heater didn't work because they left the bypass line on. But if it comes to that, I guess it comes to that. I was just hoping we could charge the battery on our own away from the camper and have that take care of things.

A good quality battery charger is great for those times when you need a quick charge for when you left something on and killed a battery that you need for getting to work.

For charging a trailer battery at home when speed is not of the essence I would recommend a low power float charger... the "Battery tender" referred to by Lynmor.

My float charger with slowly charge a battery to full charge in about a week then maintain the full charge indefinitely. Slow charging a battery is better on the battery than a quick charge if you have the time for a slow charge.

I can leave a fully charged trailer battery in my trailer for months after which it will be about half charged. If your trailer is draining a battery in a week then you are leaving something on inside the trailer or there is something wrong... a bad battery or a large draw from the trailer of some sort. The salesman is telling you to disconnect the battery because he doesn't want to deal with the issue.

Ditto on installing a disconnect switch.
A Battery Tender charger might be a good choice for you. It can be left connected all or most of the time between trips and over the winter.

imac1122 wrote:

AH64ID wrote:
Is your battery going dead between trips? If so you need to fix that first, it will make the battery all but useless rather quickly.

If the battery has a charge when you park it and you disconnect it there will be enough power to run the fridge on propane for a day or two to cool it down.

We bought it brand new about a month ago and it did go dead the first time we parked it because nobody at the dealership said to unplug the battery during the week.

I don't mean to sound like an idiot but this isn't my area of expertise at all but what kind of charger do I need to buy for at home if we take it out on Sundays and bring it home to charge?

If you are able to plug it in for 24 hours after you get back, and 24-36 hours before you leave I would simply install a battery disconnect switch and not bother with bringing it home between trips. The winter is different and it doesn't hurt to store the battery inside then.

There are lots of charger options, but one of the 10/2 amp models from a auto parts store should suffice. I'm sure someone will chime in with specific models.

AH64ID wrote:
Is your battery going dead between trips? If so you need to fix that first, it will make the battery all but useless rather quickly.

If the battery has a charge when you park it and you disconnect it there will be enough power to run the fridge on propane for a day or two to cool it down.

We bought it brand new about a month ago and it did go dead the first time we parked it because nobody at the dealership said to unplug the battery during the week.

I don't mean to sound like an idiot but this isn't my area of expertise at all but what kind of charger do I need to buy for at home if we take it out on Sundays and bring it home to charge?

As mentioned my refer has propane or 120 volts. I run on 120 volts but it switches to the propane automatically when the power is cut off.

While towing or boon docking we run on propane also.

Sillybugs2 wrote:
Get a charger and bring battery home to fully charge. Hook it back up the day before you leave and turn fridge on propane. We store our batteries in the garage between trips and if a long time between charge them up while they are in the garage.

That is exactly what I do as well.

OP, get a good charger (link to read up on battery chargers). Don't forget to bring the batteries with you and re-install them before towing as your brake's break-away circuit requires the battery to work.

Is your battery going dead between trips? If so you need to fix that first, it will make the battery all but useless rather quickly.

If the battery has a charge when you park it and you disconnect it there will be enough power to run the fridge on propane for a day or two to cool it down.

Why can't you just keep it plugged in? Maybe you could install a solar charger. The idea of bringing the battery home would be the best thing for the battery, but it is a bit of work. Keep in mind that batteries will last longer if kept fully charged. Your putting a bit of charge in it from time to time will shorten the life greatly.