Hello from Holly and Steve O - Battery Question Included!!!

[SODowd]

Greetings from Central Florida. We were big boaters and then switched over to land cruising about eight years ago. We started small with a Jayco 20MRB to get the feel of RV life. Along with our two small dogs, we quickly found that we loved the get-away lifestyle that RV life brings, but needed more room. In 2022, we upgraded to our Imagine 2970RL. We loved the difference in the quality and the comfort of the dual slide-out main area!

One issue that I can't get my arms around is how do you set your battery(s) when not using your trailer? I am going through batteries quickly. I was using a 120V adapter on the trailer to allow the converter to run and keep the battery charged while at storage. That does not appear to be the solution.... Any thoughts or advice?

[ncitro]

SODowd The converter will cook the batteries over time unless you keep them well watered, which I suspect is what you are experiencing. When not in use I would suggest pulling one of the battery cables off the battery (the shut off switch does not in fact disconnect everything). I found when I was still running lead acid that doing this I got 3-4 years out of them if I kept an eye on my water levels. After a while I got sick of the maintenance and made the jump to Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries (which in turn led to a whole inverter and solar project). If you normally camp with hookups a lithium battery will probably last you the life of the camper and will be truly maintenance free.

Fair warning if you want to go that route you will probably want to replace your converter as a part of the project, we can help you with that part, its a simple replacement.

[SODowd]

Neil, Thank you for the info. I did replace the converter last September, so I am OK on that step. Today, I replaced the battery, tested the output, and left it in storage with the battery lead disconnected. I also did not run a 120V AC line into the unit. I will check it out this weekend and see how it is holding charge.

[ncitro]

Sounds good. Usually I find if you pull the cable it should last well. It will naturally discharge some over time even with no load but its a pretty small amount. Keep an eye on your water levels when in use would be the biggest thing to get a decent life out of it.

If the converter you replaced with is lithium compatible then you are one step closer to true maintenance free

[Eleven99]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. Since we have a good break of time (3+ weeks in storage) in between trips, I usually pull the battery from my unit when I drop it off. I take the battery home and use a trickle charger to keep the battery active. Note: I have my unit stored under cover which does not allow my solar panel to keep the battery topped off. I do have access to 30 amp service at the storage unit if I need to work on the unit or have the AC on.

[acoleman43]

SODowd I use a Victron IP22 charger on my lone lead acid battery. It can be used on both lead acid and lithium batteries. This charger has 5 modes: Bulk, Absorption, Float, Storage and Recondition. It will automatically detect what your battery needs. When in storage mode it reduces the charge voltage to 13.2v to keep it topped off but not fry it. This reduced voltage limits gassing and corrosion (basically a trickle charger).

As a bonus you can change the mode from charger to power supply and use it as a DC power supply if needed.

I plugged mine into the back of the main distribution panel which has a dedicated AC breaker. I ran +/- wires to the battery (on the tongue of my trailer) for trouble free battery "storage".

[TucsonJim]

Just another consideration. When selecting a battery, you have another choice between flooded lead/acid and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4).

Many folks forget that there is a mid priced alternative called an Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) battery. They are truly maintenance free, and are typically less costly than a LiFePO4 battery. If you don't need a large amount of battery power, an AGM battery might work for you.

Jim