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Old 10-10-2015, 05:08 PM   #1
77vetter
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Plugged in Or Unplugged?

I have winterized my Outback fifth wheel and have it in my storage shed for the winter. We are in SD and we have hard/cold winters.

I am planning on leaving the battery in the unit and leaving the unit plugged into 110.

Should I rethink and pull the battery out and bring it in the house and put on a trickle charge? I am assuming leaving the unit plugged in will keep the battery charged and I should be fine come spring?

The trailer has a quick disconnect for the batter so if I use the disconnect but leave the trailer plugged into 110 will that still keep the battery charged?
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Old 10-10-2015, 05:13 PM   #2
bsmith0404
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I would pull them, bring them into a warm basement, place them on a 2x8 and trickle charge them. They will freeze up there during your winter and even if you leave them plugged in you will most likely find dead batteries that won't hold a charge come spring. Been through it in Wyoming and Wisconsin with RV, boat, ATV, lawn mower batteries.
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Old 10-10-2015, 06:28 PM   #3
77vetter
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So if I remove the battery there is no reason to keep the trailer plugged in then is there?
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Old 10-10-2015, 06:34 PM   #4
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If your rig is a newer series and has a multistage converter such as a Progressive Dynamics unit with the Charge Wizard circuitry, leaving it plugged in should work fine, as a fully charged battery will not freeze, and these modern converters maintain the battery instead of just keeping a trickle charge on them.
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Old 10-10-2015, 07:49 PM   #5
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If you leave the battery in your unit, plug into shore power and use the converter to keep the battery charged, you will need to regularly check the fluid level in the battery so that it doesn't get too low and leave the plates exposed. Leaving the battery without checking it over the whole winter will likely result in this happening. Come Spring, you may find yourself with a battery that is completely "dry".

If the battery is kept in a fully-charged condition and the fluid level maintained, it should withstand sub-zero temperatures.

If you are leaving the battery in just so that it can be charged by the converter, it makes more sense to remove it, take it inside and put it on a trickle charger over the winter.

Depending upon how you have your quick disconnect "connected", it may not be able to be charged by the RV's converter.

I'd be tempted to take the battery out and leave your unit unplugged.
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Old 10-12-2015, 09:33 AM   #6
tommy_z
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While at my dealer for PDI, I overheard a call from a service tech. The tech said if you're going to leave the coach plugged in, then you MUST leave the battery connected. Apparently the caller did not do this over the winter and his converter was dead. Without the battery as a load, the converter will try to charge at max current and fry.
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Old 10-12-2015, 10:25 AM   #7
mikell
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Been leaven plugged in for more years than I can recall never an issue . Just add water and with the newer converters you rarely need to do that. Then again we camp all winter anyway.
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Old 10-12-2015, 01:48 PM   #8
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The main problem with leaving them plugged in while in storage, out of sight, out of mind. The battery can go low on water, lose charge, freeze and be dead by spring. Just me, but I prefer to pull the $200 investments, put them in a warm location, pull the tops, top off the water, and put them on a battery tender. This process keeps me from having to spend $200 on new batteries in the spring.
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Old 10-14-2015, 04:26 PM   #9
77vetter
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Thanks for all the advice. I have pulled the battery and disconnected the rv from shore power.
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