My ignorance is showing

[Scarab0088]

There are still parasitic drains on the house batteries after the salesman switch is thrown...like the switch itself draws a bit of juice.

Same thing for the chassis batteries...it's not much, but enough to cause a noticeable drain on the banks after only a week or so of sitting

The only way to ensure that the batteries are protected from draw in storage is to disconnect them. At first, we would pull the negative leads...big hassle.
So, we installed mechanical disconnects on both banks and have never had a problem since.

The keyless entry is gonna be a problem with no juice...is there a keyhole for a back-up entry on the Venetian? Probably is.
For ease, maybe place the battery disconnect outside the RV, before you would need to enter the entry door.

Best luck

[twinboat]

Don't these big motorhomes have a generator start panel out near the generator ?
Start the genset from outside, let it charge the chassis battery a bit and then hit the button and open the door.

As far as jumping batteries, you should hook the positive to positive and then hook the other cable to chassis grounds, on both vehicles, away from the battery tops.
Its not so much when hooking the cables up but when taking them off, the batteries could be gassing from the boost and the spark can light the gas off.

I know nobody does this, until a battery blows its top off in your face, but that's what's preached.

[edge68474]

To Kurtsara.

"
Do you really think if you're truck battery goes dead your ELECTRIC locks should still unlock with the key fob? Do you think the locks have a separate 12 volt battery? "

I don't think a 12 volt battery will fit in there, will it.
I just took your comment as a blast at me sir.
I hadn't really thought of it. Excuse me!!
But I am good at some things.

[Aegon]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Don't these big motorhomes have a generator start panel out near the generator ?
Start the genset from outside, let it charge the chassis battery a bit and then hit the button and open the door.

As far as jumping batteries, you should hook the positive to positive and then hook the other cable to chassis grounds, on both vehicles, away from the battery tops.
Its not so much when hooking the cables up but when taking them off, the batteries could be gassing from the boost and the spark can light the gas off.

I know nobody does this, until a battery blows its top off in your face, but that's what's preached.

This is a point worth repeating.

Connect the black ground away from the battery on a chassis ground. The hydrogen gas vented off from a lead-acid battery charging is highly explosive.

I saw the evidence of a battery explosion once, please take my word for it, you never want to see it in person. The sulfuric acid in the battery sprays all around, even in your face.

Enough said.

[TXTiger]

How far is home. It might be safer to just go back home and get the key.

[JFXG]

1. When you go to the coach, bring a key.
2. At earliest convenience, move to an area with no busybody HOA legally restricting your private property usage.

[Mudfrog]

Originally Posted by stoners

Got a new 2018 Thor Venetian. HOA won't let us park in driveway so until garage is built it is parked at a storage lot.

Went there yesterday and despite having turned off the switch the battery is dead.

Didn't take the key for the door lock since it has a key fob for lock/unlock but obviously that does not operate when battery is dead.

So can't get in to see if the generator will start with house batteries.

So I have will have to jump start the rig. Have never jumped anything with two batteries hooked together. How do I hook up the cables?

Thanks for any help.

I'm taking it that voltage for keyless entry comes from the chassis battery. Seeing that you turned off the salesman switch, i would bet that you still have coach battery voltage at this point. You have to get into the coach before you can go any farther, so the easiest thing would be to go back home and get the key. Come back, close the salesman switch, then use the auxiliary start switch to try cranking the main engine. Let it run for a bit, maybe take it down the road a few miles, to get some charge back into the battery.

If yours is like our Itasca, you may need to come up with a way to disconnect the chassis battery for times when the motorhome is stored for more than a couple of weeks.

As far as the HOA comment above, it probably doesn't help here. I would imagine the OP had/has a good reason for why he chose to go with one.

[ernest917]

You should have a generator slide release in a front compartment..... Then, generator should have a remote start switch on it.... That should give u power.....

[stoners]

Originally Posted by ernest917

You should have a generator slide release in a front compartment..... Then, generator should have a remote start switch on it.... That should give u power.....

Opened gen compartment today and apparently the house batteries are also dead and the generator would not start or even preheat.

Called my roadside assistance and made an appointment for tomorrow.

I parked the rig on October 14th. First discovery of the dead battery was on Nov 1. Seems awfully quick for both house and chassis batteries to go totally dead.

As for HOA's I hate 'em. Sued the one for our Maui condo and ultimately sold just to get away from them. Just bought this home a little over a year ago but DW wanted it in spite of the HOA. First researched the RV parking rules. They permit large RV garages and there are a couple others in this small neighborhood of 37 homes.

Thanks for all the replies.

[Mudfrog]

Originally Posted by stoners

Opened gen compartment today and apparently the house batteries are also dead and the generator would not start or even preheat.

Thanks for all the replies.

The genset may get its starting voltage from the chassis battery. And even if voltage does happen to come in from the coach batteries, it's probably not available if the salesman switch is still off. I'd bet a buck or two that your coach batteries have enough charge to do the job.