Community Forums

Luv2journey · 12-09-2013, 03:04 PM

Hello RVers

The motorhome is sitting in the driveway until Feb 1st when we leave for the south.

1) Should I keep the motorhome plugged in (15 amp plug in garage), so that the batteries recharge and engine keeps warm?

2) Should I keep the block heater on? or only use it before starting?

I have an 03 winnebago journey with a 330 cat.
Thanks
Dennis

no3putt · 12-09-2013, 03:09 PM

We leave ours plugged in to keep batteries charged but only plug in the engine block heater the night before we leave. Do not see any reason to heat the engine for months at a time, but could be wrong.

Libero · 12-09-2013, 03:54 PM

Leaving a block heater on more than 3-4 hrs before starting provides little value,

TXiceman · 12-09-2013, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Libero

Leaving a block heater on more than 3-4 hrs before starting provides little value,

X 2

Also, do not leave the batteries on continuous charge unless your converter has a 3 stage charge controller. It should taper down to a maintenance charge and no more.

Ken

Ed S · 12-09-2013, 05:14 PM

I store my rig from now until March. I put battery tenders on the batteries rather than having the inverter charge the batteries.
I turn the inverter off, so that no power drain.

sswilson · 12-09-2013, 05:22 PM

I have always stored my rig in the driveway with it plugged in with an oil filled heater inside. If I leave salesman switch off, it does not charge house batteries.

malexander · 12-09-2013, 05:47 PM

I've always had my rvs parked on the driveway by my house, plugged in. I have a 50a recep on the house. I too keep oil filled space heaters on inside and a couple of ceramic heaters on in the basement. I let the a/cs run in the summer.
To me, cabinets, appliances, upholstry, etc just seem like they "like" it better with some sort of controlled environment.

I can't make myself believe that extreme temps are good on anything.
Right now, it's inside my hangar, plugged in.

MSHappyCampers · 12-10-2013, 08:37 AM

We keep ours plugged in any time we're home, year around. We like to keep the temp at about 50 in the winter and 80 in the summer, and keep the fridge on all the time.

Libero · 12-10-2013, 08:37 PM

I keep my RV in my garage when we are not on the road. It is plugged in while in the garage. The charger is 3 Stage so it goes to "float" mode when the batteries are charged. I put AGM batteries in to reduce maintenance. The garage is insulated and I can heat it up with gas heaters as required. I normally keep the garage interior above feeezing all the time but still winterize the RV. Works for me.