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.

[hilandfrog]

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

[Dman1]

Olde Volks Place wrote:

Dman1 wrote:
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.

Dman1, You mention that you keep it plugged in from May to Oct but then you UNplugg it when hauling it.

Are you saying that when you are going to a camp site the TT battery is not hooked up thus NOT supplying power to the TT. The reason I ask is that I have read on here that the braking sys EMERGENCY brake cable relies on the TT battery to opperate and lock the brakes should there be an issue, is this true or not.

Thanks for any info on this question

My battery stays connected from May to October as well, and I do not disconnect it while towing. Yes, battery power is required for the trailer brakes to function. Sorry for the confusion.

[JKQ]

Storing it in a garage in below freezing temp could be the culprit. Regarding removing it after each trip, that's unnecessary unless your concerned about security. If you don't have a battery disconnect switch do the next best thing, disconnect the negative cable from the battery & place it in a plastic or paper cup so it does not have any contact with the battery. My last trailer had no disconnect switch & I left the battery like that for almost 6 months & it still had power although in need of charging. Also make sure it has enough (distilled) water.

[Oaklevel]

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

x2

Will discharge & eventually ruin the battery if left on concrete. Battery disconnect is the best idea........

Good Luck.....

[Olde_Volks_Plac]

Dman1 wrote:
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.

Dman1, You mention that you keep it plugged in from May to Oct but then you UNplugg it when hauling it.

Are you saying that when you are going to a camp site the TT battery is not hooked up thus NOT supplying power to the TT. The reason I ask is that I have read on here that the braking sys EMERGENCY brake cable relies on the TT battery to opperate and lock the brakes should there be an issue, is this true or not.

Thanks for any info on this question

[ElbyJ]

Fantastic answers to my question. Now I know how to fix the problem.

[CincyGus]

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!

[Dman1]

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.

[Dog_Folks]

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

[sch911]

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

[renegaderailfan]

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.