First time TT family. Went out 3 times last summer. No issues with the battery. Did the recommended thing and removed the battery during the winter and put in our garage. Last month we took the TT to the dealer to have it check over for the summer. Put the battery in and it was totally dead. The dealer recharged the battery and I parked it at the RV storage lot. When out yesterday to check out everything before we leave in a few days and the battery was dead again. The battery is probably only 2 years old (max). Going to have to get a new one before Wednesday. Is there something I am missing in owning a TT and working with the battery. Do we remove the battery after each trip so it doesn't drain or how do avoid having dead batteries all the time.

Check out a product called battery tender. It will trickle charge your battery when not in use,your trailer charging system will more than likely overcharge if left plugged in all of the time.

Many of us use a battery disconnect switch when in storage. It's not hard to install one.

Also do not store the battery on concrete. Put wood under it when storing.

Will your trailer charging system overcharge your battery of kept plugged in? I am going into my fourth summer with my current battery, and it is plugged in from early May to mid October and is only unplugged when I am hauling it. Battery is still strong as an ox. In the winter, I just put my battery in the garage and make sure it is not sitting directly on concrete. I know I should have a battery tender, or at least put a charge on it once a month during the winter, but I never seem to get around to it and I know that my battery will likelyrematurely fail at some point.Also, check the water levels in the battery. If the water is below the plates in any cell, then your battery is likely toast.

Yes, ElbyJ, you need to disconnect it between trips or arrange for some type of trickle charger, maintainer charge to be placed in the battery.Most RV's have enough "parasitic" draws that it will kill a battery in a few days to a week from a full charge. Radio, circuit boards on the appliances, gas/smoke detectors, etc. To prevent their batteries from being dead all the time, many people install a BATTERY CUTOFF SWITCH like one of the ones pictured.Other options are leaving the trailer plugged into shore power or adding solar to keep it charged or hooking it up to a battery smart charger (3 stage). If using one of these, check the batteries water level once in a while (60-90 days) to make sure it don't boil dry.Use this opportunity to decide if you want to get a bigger capacity battery that might extend the amount of time you can camp with power when not using shore power. If that's something you do, now's the opportunity to buy bigger or multiple batteries as you want to replace batteries as a system, together, not add a new one to old ones.Hope all this helps. Good Luck!

Travel Trailer Battery | Good Sam Community

mlts22
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
Oftentimes, the battery that comes with the trailer may be fairly old. Were I using the trailer for any boondocking whatsoever, I'd chunk the OEM battery, buy two deep cycle, six volt, AGM batteries and wire them in series. Unless one is boondocking for extended periods of time, the two golf cart batteries will be good enough for most things.

Oh, check the converter on the RV... if it is a single stage, chuck it and get a Powermax Boondocker or other multistage charger, so it doesn't boil your battery.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Jun 04, 2013
My two Trojan T-105 6v batteries just gave out this week after being in almost continuous use for the past 8 years. I keep my trailer plugged in for most of the year and have a Progressive Dynamics converter with the Charge Wizard. During most of that time (until the past 6 months) I very seldom had to add any water to them and just made sure the tops were clean and without any corrosion on the terminals.

I decided to replace them with two 12v group 27dc batteries from Costco. The reason being that I have a new Torklift Power Armor battery box that is made for 12v batteries and the 6v GC2 batteries are too tall for it. In addition, I felt the 12v will provide some redundancy for the batteries that are in my truck in case they go south.
Here are the new batteries in the new box but not hooked together or installed in the trailer yet.
Barney
the_happiestcam
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
Have two 6 volt maintenance free for over 4 years now. Just as strong as day one. They stay on solar when parked in the yard.
hilandfrog
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
Olde Volks Place wrote:
Olde Volks Place wrote:
Well what is the thought on these "DRY CELL" type batteries DEEP CYCLE of course.

what is the life expt of them -- does anyone know

I guess what I meant was the "Optima" batteries that are maintence free. They have the different color tops for different applications.

is the jury still out on that type of battery ?

has anyone used or is using this style of battery if so what is your thought.

I've had a yellow top in our CJ-5 for 9 years... it sleeps in the unheated, no doors barn during the winter with neg cable disconnected, has stared up every spring so far :)

Repo
Olde_Volks_Plac
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
Olde Volks Place wrote:
Well what is the thought on these "DRY CELL" type batteries DEEP CYCLE of course.

what is the life expt of them -- does anyone know

I guess what I meant was the "Optima" batteries that are maintence free. They have the different color tops for different applications.

is the jury still out on that type of battery ?

has anyone used or is using this style of battery if so what is your thought.
APT
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
I always disconnect my TT battery at storage and remove for winter. I put them (2 golf cart ones) in my basement on a wood shelf with a trickle charger.
westend
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
Placing a battery on concrete won't effect anything inside the battery, Repo had the right answers for that. I have noticed that concrete can be affected by the residual acid on the outside of the battery case. Woodies can keep their pieces of insulative material and non-woodies are free to put 'em where they wish. It's a great country, ain't it!

BTW, I change the oil in my fleet every 3-4K mi. and if Charlize Theron happened to stumble into my bathroom while I'm on the throne, she may get pregnant. :B
ol__yeller
Explorer II
Jun 04, 2013
Not storing battery on on concrete is an old mechanics tale. Not a problem with today's batteries. I have done this for years with no issues.
ElbyJ
Explorer
Jun 04, 2013
Final Shot! Went to Interstate Battery yesterday and got a new battery for the TT. Asked them about storing the battery during the cold winter months -- they immediately replied -- Do not place on the concrete floors -- place on a solid wooded surface and periodically charge the battery during the winter. Also picked up a battery disconnect unit from Camping World afterwards. Easy to install and it works! Thanks for all the advice!
Fisherman
Explorer
Jun 02, 2013
Good luck! LOL I worked for Exide for 10 years and have given up on trying to educate people on the concrete myth!

That's okay, there's still a lot of people that can't get away from 3000 mile oil changes or believe that girls get pregnant from toilet seats. I store my batteries on concrete in the garage during winter where it gets cold, real cold, but they are happily connected to either a VDC or CTEK charger. Boat battery is 10 years and the last RV battery was 11. Maybe I have special concrete.

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