Community Forums

Lonallie · 11-05-2020, 05:29 PM

Hi, i'm parking my fleetwood 26' next to the house for the winter. I have new deep cell batteries and a new cranking battery. What are suggestions as to how to set her up for winter? We live in Western Washington so it won't be too cold or lots of snow. Should I plug-in house power (would I turn on house master power as well or not? Open the slider and extend the awning? She has no water or food etc...not sure of the best way to let her set...it'll be up for sale right after during the spring! Thanks

Bob_C · 11-05-2020, 05:39 PM

Leave slide and awning in.....my stuff stays plugged in with an oil filled radiator type heater........get yourself a battery minder to keep chassis battery up, unless your converter is wired to do that.....

Jim.B1 · 11-05-2020, 08:31 PM

We live in Ontario, Canada and will be storing our RV for the entire Winter this year.
There are a number of key tasks that must be completed if you anticipate temperatures to drop below freezing:
1) Drain the water system and either blow out the lines and or add pink plumbing anti-freeze
2) Do not open any slides or lower the levellers for such an extended period
3) Ensure water levels in the batteries are full and the batteries fully charged
4) Either leave the RV plugged in to charge the batteries or if not plugged in, ensure "all" power is shut of including the master switch
5) Allow for ventilation (roof vents open if you have Max Air Covers)
6) Remove all food
7) Add fuel stabilizer and run motor and generator to get stabilizer into the system
8) There is no need to run a heater if you are not using the RV, why heat it
9) Park the tires on wood, plastic etc rather than on asphalt or cement
10) Cover the tires to protect from UV Ray cracking on the sidewalls
11) Place dryer fabric sheets, moth balls or Irish Spring Soap around the interior to help avoid mice
If the RV is close to home, go out and run the generator under load for 10-20 minutes every month.
A very simple routine that should guarantee no surprises in the Spring.

happy2rv · 11-05-2020, 08:49 PM

My preference is to use Battery Tender battery maintainers while in storage. One for the coach batteries and one for the engine battery. Many power converters have a tendency to overcharge the batteries and boil off the electrolyte where a maintainer shouldn't. You can plug the RV in and the converter will keep the coach batteries maintained. However, as I said, the converter may overcharge them over time. On most RVs, the converter will not charge the engine battery, so you will need to make sure that gets maintained.

It's also not recommended to store it for months at a time without driving it. I'd try to drive it at least once a month and start the generator at the same time. You might get away with not driving it, but months of not exercising the generator is very likely to cause carburetor issues.

I agree with others, keep the slide in and definitely keep the awning in. I would recommend properly winterizing it. Even if you plan to keep some amount of heat in it, power tends to go off at the most in opportune times and, unless you check it regularly, you may not know if the heat goes off.

Arch Hoagland · 11-05-2020, 09:40 PM

Lonallie said:
".it'll be up for sale right after during the spring! Thanks"

Is there any reason you are waiting until spring to sell? The RV market is very good for sellers right now.

Lonallie · 11-06-2020, 11:24 AM

Ya can't sell yet...wife and I just healed from a positive Covid 19 test. Might do in a few weeks.
So it's been years since I used a trickle charge (battery tender) I assume they just plug into house power correct? The master power switch should remain off as well correct?

Can I use one good battery Minder/Trickel charger for both the cranking and house or get two minders?

Lonallie · 11-06-2020, 11:24 AM

ha the other thing is I need to update plates (two years worth)

Arch Hoagland · 11-06-2020, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonallie

ha the other thing is I need to update plates (two years worth)

Wow that could be expensive. Do they fine you in WA for not renewing plates on time?

Lonallie · 11-06-2020, 12:58 PM

Well if you don't drive it and she stays parked on your property they can't do squat...but if I go around the block they could bust me

Lonallie · 11-06-2020, 12:59 PM

updated plates will only be appox 180.00

Lonallie · 11-06-2020, 01:01 PM

what would a good load on the generator be? AC?

happy2rv · 11-06-2020, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonallie

So it's been years since I used a trickle charge (battery tender) I assume they just plug into house power correct? The master power switch should remain off as well correct?

Can I use one good battery Minder/Trickel charger for both the cranking and house or get two minders?

If you use a maintainer, leave the master power off and put the maintainer directly on the batteries unless there is some compelling reason not to.

Since the coach and engine batteries aren't tied together, I would do one for each.

My TT didn't have a factory battery disconnect, so I installed one at the batteries. Then I installed the connector for this https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende.../dp/B00EDFPN1O directly to the the paralleled house batteries. I would install another one directly to the engine battery, but I would leave the engine battery connected. If you have a factory installed engine battery disconnect, it should be OK to use it, but I wouldn't completely disconnect the engine battery. In addition to losing clock times, you would lose the transmission and engine computer data and it would have to "re-learn" everything. Not the end of the world, but its just better if you don't have to deal with the rough running and shifting that can come with that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonallie

what would a good load on the generator be? AC?

If it's not too cold, the AC would be a good choice as long as the compressor actually runs. It would be good for the AC as well. If it's cold enough that the compressor won't kick in, a space heater or two make good loads. I try to run my generators for 10-15 minutes every month with at least a 1500 watt heater on them.

Winemaker2 · 11-06-2020, 02:09 PM

I would run gen for more than 15 min. I'd say 30 to 45 min minimum with ~50% load them run w/o load for 5 min before shutting down.

happy2rv · 11-06-2020, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker2

I would run gen for more than 15 min. I'd say 30 to 45 min minimum with ~50% load them run w/o load for 5 min before shutting down.

Well, to be fair, Onan recommends 2 hours each month in their service manual and I won't argue with them or you. My current generators are portable generators and they recommend 10-15 minutes per month. I believe even 5 minutes per month is better than nothing. The most common problem people have with generators is clogged carburetors. Even a couple of minutes a month will pull fresh gas through the carb, greatly minimizing these issues. Other parts of the generator will definitely benefit from longer run times. This applies to gas powered generators, both portable and permanently mounted. Diesel generators have other reasons to exercise them regularly and although they aren't likely to have the carb issues, lp fueled generators still need to be exercised regularly.