Taking a Poll, Do you Plug in or Not?

[D_and_A_plus_6]

Happy Easter Everyone.

Taking a Poll, When not at the Campground, do you keep your Camper/RV plugged-in or Not?

At our Family dinner today, talking about who plugs in and who don't. It's 2 plugs in and 1 don't.

Thanks for all of you info and votes.

[eichacsj]

We have a main battery power switch now, when not planning a trip we always shut it off. So not plugged in.

To support some here, we use to leave it plugged in all the time, we have a (2) 6 volts bat setup. It did drain the water level down fast so we had to add water every month. Just set our phone to remind us, wasn't a big deal, easier than pulling or disconnecting them. Batts lasted about 3 years, here in AZ that is the going life of any battery in a TT or car.

[Nvr2loud]

I pull the fuses for the onboard charger and plug in when at home. I can then use all the 120 Volt appliances, and the battery is plugged into a trickle charger (trickle charger gets 120 volt power from one of the trailer receptacles and provides 12 volt power through the 12 volt power plug)

I was frying my battery each summer when using the onboard charger and keeping the trailer plugged-in at home.

[John___Angela]

SoundGuy wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
No need. Its plugged into the sun. 🙂

Unfortunately the sun is only a part-time employee :W ... and it won't run my trailer's 120 vac system, particularly the electric heater which I use pretty well every day at this time of year and in the fall to keep my Man Cave at a comfortable temperature. :B

Yepir. Solar is not the cure all. I was thinking more along the lines of those who are plugging it in when not using it to keep the batteries up.

Cheers

[SoundGuy]

John & Angela wrote:
No need. Its plugged into the sun. 🙂

Unfortunately the sun is only a part-time employee :W ... and it won't run my trailer's 120 vac system, particularly the electric heater which I use pretty well every day at this time of year and in the fall to keep my Man Cave at a comfortable temperature. :B

[the_happiestcam]

60 watt solar panel with 30 amp controller are always plugged in when I am at home. No need to disconnect anything, batteries stay charged.

[BubbaChris]

Plugged in. We asked our RV tech about using a Battery Tender and he said we should trust our converter. I'm checking water levels in the batteries less and less frequently as I'm seeing very little need to add water (typically an ounce or two only in one cell).

Right now it's just a regular household circuit from the garage. I'd love to upgrade to 30 amp so I can run the Air while cleaning up post-trip.

[sbowman871]

pasusan wrote:

8iron wrote:
Plugged in 24/7, 12 months a year unless driving or dry camping.

Same here.

Same here.

[RVcircus]

I leave ours plugged in.

[hawkeye-08]

Personal preference, I keep mine plugged in, both during camping season and in storage. My Dad disconnects (with switch) and runs battery charger on trickle during storage and plugs in a few days before he goes out or keeps it plugged in, depending on parking availability (he keeps his trailer at our house and sometimes we have the outlet by the garage taken and he plugs into our trailer then before he goes out). If we are parked in backyard, he plugs into 30A by garage when parked.

Neither of us has problems with batteries boiling. The bigger risk is letting batteries go dead, so if you are going to not plug in, make sure to use the disconnect switch so your batteries don't go dead.

Enjoy camping...

[Uppercrust]

Our rig is stored in the driveway between trips and always plugged in. I like to leave the fridge run all the time, so I can keep basics in it and less hassle to pack, I grocery shop before a trip and just load it into the camper. Last year we finally decided to install a 30 amp outlet outside the garage.

[NinerBikes]

Only time I am plugged in is at a campground running my generator for my 21 ft travel trailer and it's microwave oven. When not camping, batteries are always disconnected.

[rbpru]

I keep ours plugged in between trips to keep the battery up. The phantom loads will draw the battery down in a week or ten days. I turn the fridge off.

Over the winter I have done both, this year I kept it plugged in, last years I pulled the battery and let it set cold. No real difference.

[johntinacamping]

Always plugged in. We have a nice carport over ours and keep the fridge going and it's leveled with all jacks down. Just like we're at a campground other than having water hookup.

[pianotuna]

The sun does it for me, for storage. When in use I plug into shore power as frequently as I can.