kyjohn
Well-known member
When at home, should you keep your Motorhome pluged in and should you keep the battery switch turned off? We are new to this and want to make sure we do this right when we are at home. Thanks
lil tippy said:Also, are you going to use an existing outlet or install a dedicated 30 or 50 AMP service?
kyjohn said:Going to use the outside 20amp GFI.
kyjohn said:When at home, should you keep your Motorhome pluged in and should you keep the battery switch turned off? We are new to this and want to make sure we do this right when we are at home. Thanks
NY_Dutch said:Every motorhome we've owned has been kept plugged into an outdoor GFCI outlet when we're at our base cottage, since we often continue to live in the coach while we're remodeling the interior. I'm just now getting the materials together to add a dedicated 50 amp outlet after upgrading the cottage wiring and service. The GFCI has never been a problem.
Frizlefrak said:I have a 30 Amp outlet on the side of my house. I leave my travel trailer plugged in year round. I check the battery monthly. Never had any issues.
kyjohn said:Yes, that sounds like the best way to go. Might do that some day but might go with the 50amp. I take it you never over charge the batterys?
Gary RV Roamer said:If the battery switch is off, the batteries will eventually discharge on their own (called self-discharge). If you don't want to leave the main house charger engaged, you should probably add a trickle charger (battery maintainer) if it will be more than a few weeks between uses.
As often happens, this whole topic got overly complex and scary, with numerous cautions about things that can go wrong. Go ahead and plug in. Just keep an eye on the batteries for signs of overcharging, e.g. lots of moisture on the battery tops, loss of water in the cells, and warm to the touch sides. If you don't have any of those issues over the course of 2-3 months, you have no worries. But if you can't remember to "keep an eye out", probably best to not have the charger operating.