TT battery

[ssemalone]

What is the best way to keep the TT battery charged when not on the road?? Plug it in like the boat, use a trickle charger??

[JBarca]

gheicher wrote:

LewBob wrote:
I have been quite satisfied with my Battery Minder. I take the two 12-volt batteries off the trailer and into the garage (for convenience), hook them to the Minder and check water level, just in case, about once a month.

When charging multiple batteries, it is my understanding that it is best to charge the battery individually and a bit risky to hook batteries directly in parallel. A diode should be used for isolation in case the batteries are at different charging levels.

Hi gheicher,

I agree with you, if you have 2 separate batteries that have very different states of charge, say one at 50% and one at 95%, it would be better to charge each separately. The charging needs of that big a difference can be a factor.

That said those of us who boondock off the grid have multiple batteries hooked in parallel on the camper. Some 2, some 3 and some 4. However there are ways to hook them in parallel that are better for a more balance equal discharge and charge. See here,

http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/batt_con.html

I also have 2, group 27 deep cells on the camper and hook them up in parallel, however this way, notice where the battery leads are to the camper in relation to the battery posts.


By following that method both batteries are forced to discharge and charge a lot more equal than the older way of tagging onto the 1st battery and then jumping to the second.

When it comes time to add a heavy charge, both batteries are equally discharged so charging can now be at higher rates of as each battery is forced to accept the the same charge rate. Ideally the amp hour capacity and the age of the batteries are the same.

Like LewBob, when I store the camper away from power in the winter, I take the 2 batteries home along with the interconnection cables and hook the cable and the VDC battery minder up to both like the TT converter would in the method of parallel like I showed above.

These battery minders only put out 1.3 amps and are not made to bring a deeply discharge battery back up, you do that with a stand alone changer, then put the battery minder on to keep the voltage at float stage and adds a little charge if needed.

Hope this helps explain what LewBob may be doing and others running multiple battery setups.

John

[mosseater]

I keep our TT plugged in at home and let the trailer system keep it up. Starting our 6th year and haven't had a problem yet. Just remember to keep it watered and the terminals clean.

[dannytas]

Chuck_thehammer wrote:
I use a "battery tender"... brand, battery maintainer

same with motorcycle and generator batteries ....

X2 I have 5 "battery tenders" for my cars, buggy and trailer.

[Seattle_Lion]

My trailer power system does a very good job of trickle charging as needed. In 9 months of use, I have had the trailer connected to AC when not traveling (we camp where there are hookups) and fluid levels remain correct and the batteries (2 of them) seem to be fine. According to my dealer's service manager (he seems to really know what he is talking about), my TT has a charging controller like the Battery Tender. I use a Battery Tender on my generator battery. It is always connected.

[gheicher]

LewBob wrote:
I have been quite satisfied with my Battery Minder. I take the two 12-volt batteries off the trailer and into the garage (for convenience), hook them to the Minder and check water level, just in case, about once a month.

When charging multiple batteries, it is my understanding that it is best to charge the battery individually and a bit risky to hook batteries directly in parallel. A diode should be used for isolation in case the batteries are at different charging levels.

[the_happiestcam]

smkettner wrote:
+1 for solar. Especially in TX.

+2 - one 60 watt panel with a 30 amp charge controller, keeps my two 6 volts always ready.

[JBarca]

I use a Battery Minder Plus. This unit has a pulse desulfate mod. The Battery Tenders are good however most do not have the desulfate mode. Desulfating your deep cell battery is the key to longevity.

While I do have a Progressive Dynamics converter which has high voltage desulfate, I still use the VDC Electronics Battery Minder when the camper is sitting between trips.

http://batteryminders.com/12-volt-maintenance-charger-desulfator-1500 I have the prior model, this newer one is even temperature compensated.

I have 5 of these, have 1 on the truck, tractor, lawn mower, SIL's boat battery and the camper.

Desulfating is a big deal. Search the web for the model number you are looking for. They sell for less through sales outlets then factory direct.

Hope this helps

John

[time2roll]

+1 for solar. Especially in TX.

[LewBob]

I have been quite satisfied with my Battery Minder. I take the two 12-volt batteries off the trailer and into the garage (for convenience), hook them to the Minder and check water level, just in case, about once a month.

[thomasmnile]

OP: Not mentioned in any post, but all depends on the availability of power where you store your trailer. If at home or if you store your rig away from home and power is available, placing a maintenance charger like the Battery Tender or Battery Minder is a good idea. Our trailer is in a storage facility with no access to power, so I bring the batteries home and place them on a maintenance charger in the garage. Solar charger setup might be OK if the collector panel gets good sun exposure, but I could buy several Battery Tenders for the price of a solar charger............and my trailer is stored under cover.

[ewarnerusa]

hotqld wrote:
a solar panel on the roof so it charges your battery all the time.?

+1, keeps batteries bursting full. A nice charge controller performs all the battery maintaining features like 3 stage charging and equalization. Happy batteries ready to perform when called upon.

[westend]

Lowsuv wrote:

Tvov wrote:
I usually disconnect the battery between trips. About 3-4 days before we go on a trip I reconnect the battery, plug in the TT at our house, and the battery charges up (and we cool down the refrig).

Seems to work fine for us.

I agree .
Been doing this for over a decade .
A battery will freeze and crack during winter freezes if it is uncharged .
I disconnect my TT batteries fully charged after a trip .
We dry camp without hookups about 70 %
We connect the batteries and plug the TT into 120v at home while packing.
Charge them with the stock duramax alternator for the minimum couple of hours to our destination .
I think this method is less stress than leaving the batts on a trickle charger .

I thought leaving the charger on was a bad thing, too. Turns out that leaving a small amperage charger on your batteries is about the best care you can give them. I got this from Enersys battery data sheets and advice from this Forum.
Now, I have solar so the batteries are maintained by the charge controller, it is programmable so I can set it for any amount of charge I wish.

[Sandia_Man]

We have a smart charging converter (Iota IQ4) and just leave our rig plugged in 24/7 when stored in our backyard.

[Lowsuv]

Lowsuv wrote:

Tvov wrote:
I usually disconnect the battery between trips. About 3-4 days before we go on a trip I reconnect the battery, plug in the TT at our house, and the battery charges up (and we cool down the refrig).

Seems to work fine for us.

I agree .
Been doing this for over a decade .
A battery will freeze and crack during winter freezes if it is uncharged .
I disconnect my TT batteries fully charged after a trip .
We connect the batteries and plug the TT into 120v , (about 24 hours)at home while packing.
Charge them with the stock duramax alternator for the minimum couple of hours to our destination .
We dry camp without hookups about 70 % so good batts are important .
no genny . no solar . 9 day to 2 day boondocks camping .

I think this method is less stress than leaving the batts on a trickle charger .