What to use to keep battery charged while sitting?

[DatacomGuy]

We keep our TT in a storage yard while not using. Whilst i pull the fuse (my version of a disconnect) from the power lead, it still loses a bit of charge while sitting.

My wonderful (sarcasm) helium fridge requires a fully charged battery to run, even if on propane. Itll fire up, but not cool.. So, precooling the fridge a day or two prior to a trip doesnt work and our first 24 hours camping is with a warm fridge and multiple coolers full of ice. And a grumpy owner.

Id like to install something to fix this issue.. Whether its a minder or a solar setup..

What would you do or recommend? Or am i missing something?

[Eyetattoo]

If you're just looking to keep your batteries topped of when in storage and not recharging while in use, you should only need a 20watt panel with controller. That is what I have now and it keeps my 2 T105 6volt batteries at a full charge while at the storage lot. I am however looking to add another 100watt panel to help with usage when we are camping.

[Bisker]

hddecker wrote:

BarneyS wrote:
Get one of these battery boxes with built in solar charger. That way your batteries will be secure and still stay charged up. 🙂
Torklift website
Barney

Edit to add picture.

That's a nice box, at least it would keep the honest people honest. My luck I would come back to the rig and the batteries box and all would be gone.

I like this, is there any issue with over charging? Any problem with this when hooked up to shore power? Forgive the questions but I'm an electrical idiot.

[hddecker]

BarneyS wrote:
Get one of these battery boxes with built in solar charger. That way your batteries will be secure and still stay charged up. 🙂
Torklift website
Barney

Edit to add picture.

That's a nice box, at least it would keep the honest people honest. My luck I would come back to the rig and the batteries box and all would be gone.

[BarneyS]

SplinterFL wrote:
Nice, but don't you'll worry about weight...every pound is more gas to pull it. I'd be looking for a plastic box.

The small amount of weight difference between a plastic box and that aluminum one is negligable and would not make a bit if difference in fuel milage or tongue weight - in my opinion.

The main item affecting fuel mileage is frontal area, not weight. The frontal area of a plastic box would be about the same as the aluminum one.
Even if it did affect the milage, I think the security of the lockable metal box far outweighs the small difference in weight between the two.
Barney

[Community Alumni]

DatacomGuy wrote:

PackerBacker wrote:
To the OP, slightly off topic but my Atwood helium fridge works great on propane, are you sure there's not another specific issue with yours?

We took it in for just this, fridge has been our major complaint on this trailer. They were able to cool the fridge in 24 hours no problem (while plugged in to shore power), both propane and elec. Denied any repairs... went out the next weekend, had the same problem again.

Propane cools faster than elec, but from my research, only if the battery is full. Doesn't make sense to me, but read that on here in another thread..

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on mine but so far it's been good.

... Eric

[westend]

BarneyS wrote:
Get one of these battery boxes with built in solar charger. That way your batteries will be secure and still stay charged up. 🙂
Torklift website
Barney

Old Torklift is certainly ahead of the curve with their RV products. The solar box is a plug and play item but there's better value in DIY, IMO.
I have their standard box and it is built well, the locking mechanism is genius.

Edit: The Solar box weighs 12 lbs. Two plastic boxes weigh 6 lbs. These are shipping weights so the actual item will be a bit less.

[DatacomGuy]

Heiny57 wrote:
Something sounds fishy. The power lights the propane and keeps the valve on when needed. Your power has to be very low for that to not work. How long does it sit in between outings?

I don't understand it either, but this is my first TT so i claim a little ignorance.

it sits, on average, 2-3 weeks. We try to go once a month.

[DatacomGuy]

SplinterFL wrote:
Nice, but don't you'll worry about weight...every pound is more gas to pull it. I'd be looking for a plastic box.

This is true..

[Heiny57]

Something sounds fishy. The power lights the propane and keeps the valve on when needed. Your power has to be very low for that to not work. How long does it sit in between outings?

[SplinterFL]

Nice, but don't you'll worry about weight...every pound is more gas to pull it. I'd be looking for a plastic box.

[DatacomGuy]

BarneyS wrote:
Get one of these battery boxes with built in solar charger. That way your batteries will be secure and still stay charged up. 🙂
Torklift website
Barney

Holy crap, this thing is awesome.

http://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camping/TorkLift/TLA7711S.html

[DatacomGuy]

PackerBacker wrote:
To the OP, slightly off topic but my Atwood helium fridge works great on propane, are you sure there's not another specific issue with yours?

We took it in for just this, fridge has been our major complaint on this trailer. They were able to cool the fridge in 24 hours no problem (while plugged in to shore power), both propane and elec. Denied any repairs... went out the next weekend, had the same problem again.

Propane cools faster than elec, but from my research, only if the battery is full. Doesn't make sense to me, but read that on here in another thread..

[BarneyS]

Get one of these battery boxes with built in solar charger. That way your batteries will be secure and still stay charged up. 🙂
Torklift website
Barney

Edit to add picture.

[DatacomGuy]

Thank you guys. To answer some of above..

* No shore power available where my TT is at..
* No cover (unfortunately) so its exposed..

Any recommendations on good solid reliable solar setups? Brand wise? Should i stay in the 80-100w range?

[Community Alumni]

old guy wrote:
take the battery home with you and put it on a battery tender.

We Cant Wait wrote:
I'd take it home 1) to keep it charged 2) because every time I turn around there's another thread about someone's battery being stolen from the trl while in a storage yard. Every TT I had it took about 2 minutes to remove the battery, in fact I left a small wrench right in the battery box for removing the cables.

x2. Probably the cheapest and most secure method. Especially if you've invested $$$ in high quality batteries. The last thing you want is for those babies to walk off.