Battery Disconnect Switch

[campman]

Yeah you`re probably right. on one rv i owned i had to install a master switch.

[ncitro]

Well i know everyone can`t do this but with my last rv and as well as this one i plan to power it up when in storage once a month and run my generator. This will keep my batteries charged as well. plus this helps maintain my generator.

Even with that I'd still recommend pulling the battery cables or a master kill switch. I'd bet in a month with the factory switch the batteries would be depleted an unacceptable amount. Any more than a week I'd want them disconnected.

[campman]

Well i know everyone can`t do this but with my last rv and as well as this one i plan to power it up when in storage once a month and run my generator. This will keep my batteries charged as well. plus this helps maintain my generator.

[Cate&Rob]

Canyonlight
Hi Dan,

Our 2015 Reflection 303RLS, built less than a year after yours, is wired so that the many things discussed do bypass the "battery"switch. The landing gear, the propane sensor, the radio memory, etc. One of the first things that I did was to install a true battery isolation switch. In my case, this was part of adding a second battery and I used a marine Batt1 / Batt2 / Both / Off four way switch. I moved both wires to the same terminal of the factory switch . . . so that it can't screw anything up unexpectedly.

Rob

[Canyonlight]

"

At a minimum, GDRV should have a label near the switch that explains how the rigs are wired. Many have destroyed batteries after running them down only then to discover the wiring logic.

Jim

Jim - that's a good point. Many folks have shared about dead batteries after the rig has sat at home or at storage or at the dealer usually in that 1-2 week time frame. Very destructive for batteries not too mention the high level of frustration or worse, aggravation.

Rig specific labels could share that certain things (and list what they are) required by RV electrical (or other) and/or installed by GDRV to NOT be disabled even when the battery switch is in the "OFF" position. I do not think any of this is covered in Owners Manuals......not in ours anyway or others I have looked at on the GDRV site.

This has been an evolutionary thing for builders in recent years I suspect including GDRV. It has been communicated about for several years elsewhere and a little on this forum as well. Our very early build 303 (built in 10/13) along with many other early GDRVs has a battery switch that does turn everything off. We store our RV indoors over the wither for 7 months with simply the battery switch in the "OFF" position and have done so for 7 winters. We still have the original battery. When we take the RV out of storage, the battery has had the "normal" battery discharge for just "sitting" still indicating about 3/4 charge. Front jacks, lights, etc work just fine.

Rob's Cate&Rob 303 even a 2015 may be the same or maybe that's when changes started to occur. Possibly Rob will chime in.

Dan

[Guest]

I've re-routed the main wire that feeds the rig so the switch cuts all power. Even the jack is disabled which makes the rig a little bit more secure from theft since it sits in a storage lot. We do not use the mostly worthless Furion unit (lacks blue ray) and look at our phones for the time in addition to using them to stream music to a Bose unit.

At a minimum, GDRV should have a label near the switch that explains how the rigs are wired. Many have destroyed batteries after running them down only then to discover the wiring logic.

Jim

[campman]

Well i won`t get in a debate about it but the last 5th wheel i owed 2019 year model and not a GD the disconnect shut everything off.

[ncitro]

It was one of the questions they asked Don (the CEO) at the rally. I think he passed it into Jerry (the VP of service), but Brian is right on, their answer was they are required by law to power certain items all the time when it leaves the factory. What you do after that is up to you...

[Country Campers]

It is for sure the propane detector. This is governed by the RVIA and probably another organization or 2 that require an RV to have specific items. The RV manufactures also power the radio so owners do not have to keep setting their stations, if that is important to you. It is a pain but that is how they need to be manufactured.

Brian

[OurNewEra]

Why does the battery disconnect switch not shut all power down during storage? I thought that`s what it was for? Now I am going to have to install another one at the battery.

That is a very good question for EVERY RV manufacturer. I'm going to guess so the CO sensor and smoke detectors work. ??? Either that or it is just easier to do it that way.

I disconnect my battery when in storage. If I won't be using it for longer than a couple of weeks I bring the battery home and put a Battery Tender on it to maintain the charge.

[Jlawles2]

campman Good question, along with why is it in the pass through compartment on 5ers especially. I know some of the circuits powered are the jacks, battery breakaway (this one actually makes sense), and CO/Gas detector. I think the clock on the radio is also powered along with the refer if its a gas / electric model.

[campman]

Why does the battery disconnect switch not shut all power down during storage? I thought that`s what it was for? Now I am going to have to install another one at the battery.