Dead House Batteries 2016 Minnie Winnie 22R

[SantinoDad]

My House Batteries gave up the ghost and need to be replaced.
Questions:
1) I would like to remove my (2) existing batteries and clean up the battery tray. I am not sure if I am going to take my rig in for new battery installation or do it myself. Can I drive my RV with the House Batteries disconnected and removed?
2) What special precautions do I have to make if I am going to drive my rig with the house batteries removed?

[d23haynes57]

Disable the charging relay or controls. If you can disconnect the batteries why can't you replace them? Consider a battery upgrade possibly going to Lithium. You should also consider adding some monitoring and controls so they can be better managed to avoid destroying the new set.

[Mark_K5LXP]

Before you do anything, take lots of photos from numerous angles of what's there. Once cables are undone things can all start looking the same especially if there is some period of days or weeks from when the batteries are removed until new ones are installed. I use temporary labels on things and bundle cables together that are normally together. Between all that, installation is a reverse of removal and goes smoothly. This is absolutely a job within the capacity of anyone that can lift batteries and operate hand tools.

If the rig is parked, not running or on shore power then you can readily service the house batteries. But if you're going to use or drive it without batteries the cabling would likely be energized and something could be damaged if the loose terminals would contact chassis ground or some other component. So in that event, you'd wrap the cable ends with an insulator of some kind like plastic wrap or sheet packing foam and some tape, then secure them so they're not flopping around.

It would be useful to understand why these batteries crapped out. It could very well be they've exceeded their best by date and a new set resets the clock. But batteries don't often just "die", they're usually murdered from improper use or storage. If you don't correct the issue, the next set is sure to succumb to the same fate.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

[Tony Ramirez]

"But batteries don't often just "die", they're usually murdered from improper use or storage. If you don't correct the issue, the next set is sure to succumb to the same fate."

GERAT POINT!

[NoviBill]

All of the above are good comments.

The battery tray is often rusted (acid fumes don't help prevent rust).
As said above take lots of photos before removing.
I tape a glove over the positive terminal ends to make sure nothing shorts out.
At a minimumm take a stiff wire brush and remove any lose rust.
Use several coats of Rust-Reformer paint.
If you batteries are not on a rubber mat, cut up an old rubber floor mat to fit.
If you go to LifePo4 batteries:
1 LifePo4 battery will have as much power as 2 AGMs - Except for starting your generator. Most 100 amp hour LifePo4 can output 100 amps full time and 200-300 for a few seconds. In warm weather (50f or above) that is enough to start your generator. In colder weather it might not be.
2 100 amp hour LifePo4 batteries or 1 200 amp hour battery is better - But: The draw when charging is high so you might consider a DC-DC charger between chassie alternator and the house LifePo4 batteries.
LifePo4 batteries don't charge below freezing so look at heated batteries if you winter camp.
The 3huge pluses - 2x the power per size, 1/3 the wight and 10x the lifecycle.
*This all sounds complex, but it is fairly stright forward with a few hours of research.