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Old 06-12-2018, 03:56 PM   #1
Glenda Clark
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Battery Dies Constantly

Took my camper out last weekend , the Battery drains way too fast.
Had the furnace on for awhile. It was cold out. I realise your running the electric off battery , the fan/blower , and igniter off propane.
But should battery fade that quick ?
I had to get up at 3 am , plug power into my truck , leave truck running , to charge my battery back up , just so I could get some heat inside camper.
32 degrees.
Upon leaving , went straight to Les Swabb and bought another battery, to run duel batteries on camper. Salesman installed it with cable connections for duel battery connections. He also recommended getting a good size 12 volt , 20 watt , solar panel maintainer. That way when I'm out in the sticks , I can attach it to the battery , and move it around with the suns position. So , I bought one of those too.
This is getting pricey to have an RV.

ANY ONE HAVE THIS ISSUE TOO ? I can't be the only one that this has happened to.

Any words of Wisdom here you guys ?
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Old 06-12-2018, 04:30 PM   #2
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A lot of factors come into play on battery life. Size and type of battery, etc. Fan blower on furnace will drain a battery fairly quickly in my experience. At those temps it was probably running quite a bit.
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Old 06-12-2018, 04:53 PM   #3
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I'm guessing this was an original equipment group 24 battery. Is this the first or second season? Adding a second battery is a good idea if you're dry camping as much or more than with hook ups. Hopefully the tech at Less' matched your existing battery and used a "deep cycle" RV type battery. But, did he test the original battery to make sure it was good?? A poor battery will draw down a good battery so the test would be important.
Finally, a 20 watt portable solar panel may be too small to keep your batteries topped off.
Most manufacturers recommend 100w for a dual battery set up. Might want to check if Les will let you upgrade.
And, yes, RV does NOT stand for "Real Value"
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Old 06-12-2018, 05:15 PM   #4
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I drain power with the light on over the kitchen table for 20 minutes.
Heater wasn't on long periods of time. Maybe 10 minutes to get temp inside warmer.
Battery tested was fine , but it was on truck power coming home , so was fully charged.
Yes , deep cycle marine battery on both now.
Plus my solar panel.
Hopefully this fixes my issue.
Less Swabb tire store felt so , and recommended the panel.
I should be good to go now.
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Old 06-12-2018, 05:42 PM   #5
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If you have 2 batteries, IMO, they should be replaced at the same time; same brand, same capacity etc. If not, you very well could experience what I did when the dealer gave me a 2nd battery to go with the existing one on my new trailer. The "old" one degraded, sucked juice and died (bulged case) while the new one tried to carry the load.

I don't think a 20v solar panel will do you much good...and, owning an RV is very pricey.
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Old 06-12-2018, 06:01 PM   #6
Glenda Clark
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12 Volt , 20 Watt Solar Panel , maintains battery when Not Plugged into DC , or My Truck AC.
The Sales Man at Les Swabb Tire/Battery store , recommended it , and said it's what he has on his Camp Trailer and it helps to maintain your battery by using the sun.

we'll see what happens. Lol.
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Old 06-12-2018, 07:11 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenda Clark View Post
12 Volt , 20 Watt Solar Panel , maintains battery when Not Plugged into DC , or My Truck AC.

The Sales Man at Les Swabb Tire/Battery store , recommended it , and said it's what he has on his Camp Trailer and it helps to maintain your battery by using the sun.



we'll see what happens. Lol.

Yes 20 watts will maintain your batteries if your NOT USING them. It will help keep a fully charged battery full while it’s sitting there waiting for you to use the trailer. I assure you it will not keep up with your usage.
I hate to say, but the salesman may have misled you. “Maintaining” a battery is much different than “charging” a battery after a day/night of use.
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Old 06-13-2018, 05:42 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenda Clark View Post
I drain power with the light on over the kitchen table for 20 minutes.

Is the light LED? If not replace them with a LED bulb would help a lot. I did a test in my parents trailer, I am able to power 7 LED wedge bulbs per 1 incandescent.
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Old 06-13-2018, 05:46 AM   #9
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Yes , LED lights , Inside and Out.
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Old 06-12-2018, 06:48 PM   #10
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There is wealth of experience giving you advice on this forum. If you choose to listen to a salesman instead that's your prerogative. A dual battery system should have both batteries replaced with identical batteries. If you don't believe it take a two cell flashlight and run the batteries down. Replace just one of the batteries and tell me how well that works. As far as a 20 watt solar charger that would be great for charging you cell phone but not a group 24 battery, much less 2 of them. Good luck and let us know how it works out.
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Old 06-12-2018, 07:19 PM   #11
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I trust you guy's 100%. In regards to the LARGE solar Panel I purchased. It is for Camp Trailers and Motor Homes , specifically designed for being out in the woods , NO DC Power hook up , it is to charge your batteries by using the sun , if it drains down.

This Large solar Panel is not for your cell phone. I can plug mine into my cigg' lighter in truck for recharging, if desired.

Guess it's a wait and see game with all of this. I am new at this , and I am doing the best I can . Time will tell.
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Old 06-12-2018, 07:31 PM   #12
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Unhappy

Chuckster57 , I might have phrased my comment incorrectly , if the trailer is sitting there , nothing is being used , the solar panel will help maintain the batteries , but , once you Start drawing power , they go down , which is understandable. I wouldn't have the solar panel attached 24/7 anyway. That is for recharging during the day when nothing is running , and there is No DC hook up.
1 battery lasted ok , untill I turned afew things on in my trailer , and it started to go low.

The Tire Salesman sent me to a different >Farm Supply/Rv Store to get a 12 volt Rv Solar Panel 30 miles away.
There were different sizes. I picked out the 20 Watt. There were Larger One's and Tiny one's. Tiny one's are for your cell phone , the Large one are for Rv's/ Motor Homes.

I am doing everything in my power to get this accomplished by myself , I have No one to help me in person.
I am trying guy's. Not so easy.
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Old 06-12-2018, 07:30 PM   #13
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I applaud you for at least trying. ANY wattage is better than none, so at least your not losing. Please post your results.
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Old 06-17-2018, 08:47 AM   #14
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couple thoughts...

Have you double checked to see your button behind TV for searching channel's is not on...


Also, do you have a led light bulb above table or in any of your lights. I was shocked how much they drained our battery.


As for solar, we are spoiled. Bought our camper with 150 watts on roof. Love it....never have any problems....
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Old 06-17-2018, 11:13 AM   #15
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Nice reply Chuckster57.
Everyone’s situation is different, what works for some may not be good enough for others. 20 Watts 8 hrs a day may work 80% of the time for some folks and the other 20% just doesn’t matter. Some people don’t even need or want electric. It’s all prospective.
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Old 06-18-2018, 03:53 AM   #16
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Charging from Truck Connections

I have one thing to add to the many helpful replies you have gotten. Your trailer battery may not receive a 'full' charge from your truck even if you hook up and drive all day. I was warned about this on the walk through when I bought my 3150RL in 2012 and in my experience I have found it to be to be true. I don't have the expertise to cite the amps, watts, battery specs, and wire gauges, but I guess the wire that delivers truck power from my F350 diesel is too light or has too few amps to efficiently charge the battery fully . And 30 minutes is never enough to fully charge a battery no matter what charger is used.

Hooking up for 30 minutes or driving 6 hours to my next destination will only deliver a partial recharge to my battery, and I don't know how many hours it would take to fully charge it. The battery might get enough juice to deliver the needed volts for a short time, though. If this was your primary method of charging your battery, it may also have ruined the battery because of it's chronically low charge state, which damages the lead plates through 'sulfonation'.

I was told that the best ways to fully charge the battery was to plug the camper full time into proper power, use a battery charger or trickle charger, or use a properly configured solar charger. And of course allow enough time to completely charge the battery.
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Old 06-18-2018, 06:13 AM   #17
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This is a site that the information is dead on. Great place to learn, probably more than you want.

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/...solar-systems/
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Old 06-12-2018, 07:35 PM   #18
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Battery Dies Constantly

And your doing a mighty fine job!!!

No it isn’t easy.
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Old 06-12-2018, 08:50 PM   #19
Glenda Clark
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Thank you for understanding.
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Old 06-12-2018, 10:01 PM   #20
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Get a generator !
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