Stored Class A - Keep plugged in or not?

[WCVonderburg]

We store our coach beside our house. I have two new Interstate 6 v deep-cycles for my house batteries. I watch the battery fluid level carefully. Do I leave the coach plugged in to keep charge up? Or run the coach engine periodically to top off the house batteries. I understand that the generator is not an efficient battery charger. I've also heard leaving it plugged in leads to sulfation and early battery failure. Thanks!

[ZephyrKnight]

Bill & Shirl,

We also "store" our motorhome on the side of the house and we keep ours plugged in 24/7/365 when we're not in traveling in it...as a matter of fact we like to "use it" every so often to make sure everything stays in working order. I know that there are more people that store unplugged, but we have found that outta sight - outta mind is a bad thing for RVs. Although there are just as many views opposing this, we have found that our RV actually works when we travel as opposed to having to fix it while we're on the road since we made it a practice to store it on the side of the house. When we're ready to go...so is the coach.

Just my 2-cents worth.

Happy Trails

[akadeadeye]

We keep ours plugged in when in storage as well. Just check your battery water level every 3 or 4 weeks to be sure the charger isn't drying them up. Add more distilled water if needed. Also, run your generator for a couple of hours every month to "exercise" it.

It is not good practice, I am told, to start your diesel engine unless you intend to drive it somewhere for 10 to 20 miles. This method should not be used to charge up your batteries.

On our coach there is an option in the control panel to turn off the charger or to disconnect the batteries. I have done this but you still need to monitor your batteries unless they are disconnected since there are still small drains coming from things like your propane leak detector, radio, etc.

I find it is just easier to plug in, let them charge, and put a reminder to check them on the first of the month. Hopefully, we will use the motorhome before the 1st of every month so I don't have to worry about it.

Don

[Wizard]

We also keep ours plugged in all the time but I keep the battery disconnect switch turned off when its in the shed. Every time I start to get ready to leave home, I check the battery water level and turn the disconnect on the day before we are to leave.

[Deerhunter]

We also keep our Newmar plugged in when we are home. I solved the problem of keeping the motorhome ready to go by keeping the batteries charged, checking the water on the 1st of the month or just before a trip. Also, I start the engine & run the generator with both ACs on while I take the MH on a short trip around town about every two weeks. I will go to Home Depot, Lowes, Sam's, or some other place I need to go. I've found that this has probably prevented breakdowns on the road by giving me advance warning to any problems while still in the home vicinity. I keep a notepad handy so I can jot down anything that I might want to check when I return home from my little excursion.

[kennersonf]

Ditto, ditto, ditto. I keep my coach plugged in all the time. If you have the three stage charger/inverter then you will not hurt the batteries unless you let the batteries get low on water. Keeping the batteries fully charged will lengthen their life span.

[WCVonderburg]

Thanks, everyone. Good advice. Fortunately, we have a gasser, so no start-up issues. Pluggin' it in now . . . what we really need to do is go somewhere and drive the beast.

[Steve N Sal]

If you have the opportunity to keep it plugged in I would sure do that. I have that capability where we store ours and take advantage of that.

[squeak]

keep mine pluged in 24/7 never shut the ref. off full of water ready to go all the time only thing to load is the food. that make it so easy some of my freinds unload all the stuff and it takes them days to get ready to go.

[Gary RVRoamer]

I need to correct a misconception: Your generator does not actually charge the batteries itself. It merely provides a substitute source for shore power and the regular house charging system runs just as if it were plugged into shore power. So running the generator is just as efficient as shore power for charging.

[lrgdog]

I also store my 26 foot skyline Aljo along side my house, I have a 30 amp service on the blockwall (Driveway was dirt when installed from house to wall) If I'm going to get it ready to go I plug it in to shore power, other than that I disconnect the batteries from the coach and use a "Battery Minder" for the batteries, great invention, keeps the batteries from sulfating, keeps them charged and shuts itself off when not needed ... BUT ... you still must check water level occasionally. unless of course you use a gel type battery. I do shut the propane off and shut down the refer, my preference, a lot of folks don't. Just can't see the wear and tear for nothing

[crumgj]

I'd like a Plan B for winter storage. I've got a gasser and store it away from an electrical source. This will be my first winter (Michigan) trying to maintain the batteries. My game plan is to remove the batteries (coach and chassis) and store them in a heated area for the winter. While I'm not excited about this I'm not sure if there is a way to avoid freezing the batteries during the 3-4 months of hard winter. Anyone have any suggestions?

[Theberrys]

We leave ours plugged in all the time. Now we do have a pretty three stage charger and I'm sure that helps. I check the water level every month and fill as needed. I monitor the power draw with a:
http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4400-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1280429165&sr=8-1-fkmr0
from the comfort of my shed and when all is quiet and turned off it draws between 40 and 60 watts. If it goes over that I check it out and fix the problem. Mostly it's that I left something on and need to turn it off.

Maintenance charging helps keep the batteries from freezing in the winter. Of course Albuquerque isn't Minnesota, so it may not work in that severe winter.

Dick

[wa8yxm]

First, You should run the coach generator at least once a month under 1/2 load for at least 1/2 hour.. This is not long enough to charge the batteries (Full charge takes 4-8 hours if you have the proper size converter, perhaps 1/2 that for a top off)

Second... If your converter is a 3-stage or better (Xantrex, Progressive Dynamics 9100 with wizard, or 9200 (Built in wizard), IOTA, WFCO or many others. By all means leave it plugged in.

If it's a single stage PDI 9100 WITHOUT wizard, Magnajunk, er, magnatek. I'd not do that.