Travel Trailer Battery

[ElbyJ]

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.

[mlts22]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[mooky_stinks]

hilandfrog wrote:

Dog Folks wrote:
Also do not store the battery on concrete. Put wood under it when storing.

Hello there boys and girls-

I guess I'm going to keep posting about this myth and have no intension of offending the persons I quote. 🙂

Will a battery be damaged or discharged by letting it sit on concrete? NO!

Why do so many people believe that concrete is a battery enemy? Years ago,batteries could have been electrically discharged by sitting on a concrete floor.

For more than a decade, automotive and commercial battery containers have been made of polypropylene, which is a highly insulative material.


read more from interstate batteries...

http://www.thebatteryterminal.com/TechTalk_Batteries_on_Concrete.htm



Repo

Good luck! LOL I worked for Exide for 10 years and have given up on trying to educate people on the concrete myth!

[Olde_Volks_Plac]

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

[hilandfrog]

ElbyJ wrote:
Thanks for the info. Apparently the subject matter of whether or not to store a battery on a concrete floor during the winter is still being debated! The battery that came with my Keystone Passport doesn't have standard battery posts like you see on your car battery. I am not crazy about them -- so when I get a new battery tomorrow, I will also install new battery cables and a disconnect switch to keep the battery charged for a longer time period.

This is more a issue of cold and of the battery "discharging" to keep from freezing, no such thing as perpetual motion :), were any battery able to keep from discharging Energizer/ Duracell et al. would be out of business.

That some may have encountered greater discharging while having their batteries on concrete during winter.....

Have a great summer, tinkering with these things are as much fun as camping in them at times.

Repo

[ElbyJ]

Thanks for the info. Apparently the subject matter of whether or not to store a battery on a concrete floor during the winter is still being debated! The battery that came with my Keystone Passport doesn't have standard battery posts like you see on your car battery. I am not crazy about them -- so when I get a new battery tomorrow, I will also install new battery cables and a disconnect switch to keep the battery charged for a longer time period.