Winter remote battery

I am  sure I  have saw  this question on here, but now  I  can't find  it:

Should we be charging our remote  battery over the winter, while it sits there?  Should we just keep  the Class c  plugged in, and that would charge it.

We see people with their units plugged in,  WHY?  to charge  the  battery.  The UNIT covers are on  some  of them,  so  they are  not  going  anywhere.

If we take the  Class C, we call  it  THE  BUS,  out for a ride once a month on  Sunday, 


would  that keep  the  remote battery charged? How long  should we ride?  An hour?

If this Question does  not make any sense,  PLEASE ask me more Questions so that I can  learn  something  here.

The battery needs to have a charge. A discharged battery will freeze and be rendered useless. The easiest way to do this is simply keep the RV plugged in. If the chassis battery isn't charged by the converter, a separate battery tender is needed. Check water level monthly.

It's not necessary to drive the unit, but if you do, operate it long enough to bring the engine and transmission fully up to temperature, to prevent moisture problems. It is necessary to exercise the generator under load per the manufacturer's recommendations.

My class C has been winterized and plugged in since the middle of October. It won't leave the driveway until April. There is no reason to expose the chassis to road salt.

Thanks for the reply  Happy Wanderer,

Are you saying  that keeping  the BUS plugged in to electric from the house,  through the winter, keeps the battery charged?

Since we are new  to this, we  are trying to learn from other people.  The people that sell these rigs are dumber than me when explaining stuff.  Lordy!  hahahah

Waving and thanks for being kind enough to  answer my post!

The converter will definitely keep the house battery charged, but I don't know about the chassis battery on your specific unit.

Just to be certain when you say remote battery do you mean the house battery? 

House battery = the one in the house part of the rig that operates the lights, water pump and other house stuff.
Chassis battery = the one in the engine compartment that starts the truck itself.

The simple answer is that plugging your rig in over winter will keep the house battery charged.  However, things are not always simple.  Depending on the actual converter installed in your rig keeping it plugged in all winter might overcharge your battery and boil it dry, ruining it.  Based on your signature you have a 2018 rig which SHOULD have a modern 3 stage converter/charger installed and thus not as big a worry as older ones.  However, I have a 2017 which has the old style single stage converter installed so you really need to check.

Regardless of the actual converter you also need to check the water level in the battery at least monthly if not oftener.

It is not always necessary to be plugged in though, if the batteries are fully charged you can turn the battery disconnect off and the batteries should be fine for a long time.  I check mine monthly when I run the generator and thus charge them back up then turn them off again.

Other options are a trickle charger or maintainer to keep the charge maintained or a solar panel and controller that will keep the batteries charged over winter without the potential for overcharging.

But remember any advice given here has to be adapted to your particular rig which no one here can actually see or know what options are installed.

It?s best for the batteries if they?re kept fully charged while the RV isn?t being used. Sulfation, the biggest battery killer of all, sets in as the battery discharges, and batteries will slowly self-discharge on their own, even when they?re not connected to anything. If sulfation is allowed to set in, it becomes irreversible, and the battery won?t be able to take a full charge. Our coach is plugged in and charging whenever it?s not in use.

Like others have said, it?s important to not overcharge the batteries, which is why a good three-stage charger is a good investment, if you don?t already have one. When properly set up, it?ll do a good job of keeping your batteries topped off without overcharging them.

Kev

To farther clarify, a lead acid battery in average condition, and nothing hooked up to it,, will lose 1 to 2 PERCENT of its charge PER DAY.. So with this in mind its easy to see that in 1 month it will be almost dead flat...So the need to keep it charged.>>>Dan ( If you allow it to get to this point very many times,, you can throw it away)

Thanks for the information.

  Yes, I meant  the house battery.  I must learn  terms as well.  I must look and  see if I have a battery I need to add water to.  I've never peeked under the step, where it  is  located.  I just assumed they  were all sealed batteries  these days.

And we know that word: ass u me is a bad word!  hahahah

It's raining  in Maryland today, by the way!  NO SNOW for Xmas.

We have only owned our coach since April, so I am not sure if the chassis battery is charged when plugged into shore (home 110v) power. I plugged on of these into it just to be sure the engine battery stayed charged. Oh... welcome to the site! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LX3AXQ/ref=asc_df_B004LWTHP25312121/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B004LWTHP2&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198098764513&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13889263732140579646&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033620&hvtargid=pla-383577409904&th=1

ziplock said:

Thanks for the information.

  Yes, I meant  the house battery.  I must learn  terms as well.  I must look and  see if I have a battery I need to add water to.  I've never peeked under the step, where it  is  located.  I just assumed they  were all sealed batteries  these days.

And we know that word: ass u me is a bad word!  hahahah

It's raining  in Maryland today, by the way!  NO SNOW for Xmas.

Click to expand...

I would recommend that you check the water if it isn't a sealed battery. I would also (with it plugged in) check the voltage at the "house" battery and at the "chasse" battery. Just to make shure they are being charged. You don't need any surprised.

Bill