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Old 05-05-2019, 06:29 PM   #1
RVDad
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Dead

Well, I've done it. I'm sure some of you have, but this time it was me.

Went to storage today to clean up the rig and get our new mattress laid out and everything was dead. No lights, no vaccum, no hitch jack. Nothing. I've read through a lot of stuff, never once did I read it was suggested to remove the battery or unhook the battery. So, now it sits in my garage, connected to the charger hoping to get some juice back before our trip this weekend. Lesson learned.

Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way? Any suggestions to prevent this moving forward?
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Old 05-05-2019, 06:37 PM   #2
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You need to keep some sort or charger on the battery. The three options I know are:

Plugging in to shore power
Having a solar panel connected to the battery
Having a battery tender connected to the battery

If your current battery is done and will not come back to life, you may want to consider replacing a 12v battery with 2 6v golf cart batteries connected in series to produce 12 volts. This will just about triple your usable amp hours. That is what I did when I killed my 12v battery.

Good luck!
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Old 05-05-2019, 06:41 PM   #3
RVDad
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Whoa, hold on now! This battery was brand new less than a month ago, I hope it's not completely dead! What are the odds of that happening?
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Old 05-05-2019, 06:48 PM   #4
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Whoa, hold on now! This battery was brand new less than a month ago, I hope it's not completely dead! What are the odds of that happening?
I’m not a battery expert by any means, but it will significantly reduce the life of the battery (lead acid) if you let it discharge more than about 50%. If it’s only a month old you are probably ok. You will know if it is damaged because it won’t hold a charge very well.

When you are using the battery, try not to take it below 60 or 50% charge before you recharge it. I use a 2000watt generator to recharge my batteries when I’m dry camping. If you are plugged into shore power, that should charge your battery and you don’t really need to worry about it.

Also, I pop the caps off my batteries about every month to make sure the metal plates are covered with water. If they are not, you can add distilled water so they are covered. Use distilled water only.

Edit-the above advice is for flooded lead acid batteries, not sealed AGM or lithium ion.
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Old 05-05-2019, 06:53 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by RVDad View Post
Well, I've done it. I'm sure some of you have, but this time it was me.

Went to storage today to clean up the rig and get our new mattress laid out and everything was dead. No lights, no vaccum, no hitch jack. Nothing. I've read through a lot of stuff, never once did I read it was suggested to remove the battery or unhook the battery. So, now it sits in my garage, connected to the charger hoping to get some juice back before our trip this weekend. Lesson learned.

Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way? Any suggestions to prevent this moving forward?
Been there done that, current 5er had more parasitic then the old one, went to 5er and battery dead, Charged it, installed a true battery disconnect switch and use it.
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Old 05-05-2019, 07:21 PM   #6
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Whoa, hold on now! This battery was brand new less than a month ago, I hope it's not completely dead! What are the odds of that happening?
The problem with depleting a battery to "dead" is that it literally destroys the rest of the battery's life. Here is a link from Interstate (my batteries);

https://www.intechtrailers.com/image...nce-Manual.pdf

Notice that you should never deplete more than 50% at any time. Also note the chart on the lower left indicating what happens to the cycle life of the battery if left to discharge 100% - an 88%+ reduction in cycle life if you let it "die". You just don't do it and take all precautions to prevent it. I'm going thru that right now with my dealership that pulled the breakaway switch and killed my new Interstates - they will be replaced with new ones.
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Old 05-05-2019, 08:04 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by RVDad View Post
Whoa, hold on now! This battery was brand new less than a month ago, I hope it's not completely dead! What are the odds of that happening?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
The problem with depleting a battery to "dead" is that it literally destroys the rest of the battery's life. Here is a link from Interstate (my batteries);

https://www.intechtrailers.com/image...nce-Manual.pdf

Notice that you should never deplete more than 50% at any time. Also note the chart on the lower left indicating what happens to the cycle life of the battery if left to discharge 100% - an 88%+ reduction in cycle life if you let it "die". You just don't do it and take all precautions to prevent it. I'm going thru that right now with my dealership that pulled the breakaway switch and killed my new Interstates - they will be replaced with new ones.
Well in my case if I remember correctly mine was pretty dead, I took home and put a slow charge on it for several days, then reinstalled with and a full disconnect. After that I could go to the yard (no Power) and run the slides out and in several times without issue.
I agree NOT the best for the battery, but not the end of the world.
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Old 05-06-2019, 04:44 AM   #8
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I put a disconnect switch on the negative side of my batteries so that during long periods of idleness they are off-line. Can be found on amazon or most any boating store.
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Old 05-06-2019, 04:53 AM   #9
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Do something like this:

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums...6&postcount=89

It took me just a couple of hours and about $50 hardware. If you're not boondocking, your current single battery will at least stay charged when the switch is off.
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Old 05-06-2019, 05:16 AM   #10
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I’m curious to anyone who’s trailer sits for long periods of time with the battery disconnected. Does the battery stay charged when it is completely disconnected or do you have to connect it to some type of power source to maintain the charge?

My trailer is always plugged in when I’m not using it so I don’t have to deal with the battery being disconnected. I guess I was under the impression it wasn’t good for the battery to sit for long periods of time without a maintenance charge because the battery will discharge over time even if there is no load on it.
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Old 05-06-2019, 09:11 AM   #11
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Dead

Quote:
Originally Posted by Logan X View Post
I’m curious to anyone who’s trailer sits for long periods of time with the battery disconnected. Does the battery stay charged when it is completely disconnected or do you have to connect it to some type of power source to maintain the charge?



My trailer is always plugged in when I’m not using it so I don’t have to deal with the battery being disconnected. I guess I was under the impression it wasn’t good for the battery to sit for long periods of time without a maintenance charge because the battery will discharge over time even if there is no load on it.

When I had a true battery disconnect the battery would hold charge for at least a month even in cold weather. I would go over once a month or so and plug into thectruck to add a little charge to it. Seemed to work well. The previous year I took the battery out and ran a battery maintainer on it. Just wanted to see how it would work the next year. On my 5er I’m plugged in except when it’s at service. I’ve had the batteries be dead when I went to pick it up. They put a jump on it to bring the jacks up so I could tow it home. 2 hours later at home the batteries were strong enough to run the hydraulics to level the rig and put out the slides. Unfortunately as has been mentioned they probably took a hit on their service life.
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Old 05-06-2019, 11:36 AM   #12
RVDad
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Originally Posted by busterbrown View Post
Do something like this:

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums...6&postcount=89

It took me just a couple of hours and about $50 hardware. If you're not boondocking, your current single battery will at least stay charged when the switch is off.
I may look into something like this. We have our trailer at a storage lot with no power, so I may just pull the battery each time it's going to sit for longer than a couple weeks.
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Old 05-06-2019, 12:05 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by German Shepherd Guy View Post
I put a disconnect switch on the negative side of my batteries so that during long periods of idleness they are off-line. Can be found on amazon or most any boating store.
Just sayin, every disconnect installed by the factory is on the positive side. There has been too many discussions to count on which way, I’m sure your ok.
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Old 05-06-2019, 12:32 PM   #14
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You either have a flow of electrons, or you don't - but as you say, there has been too many discussions on the topic
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Old 05-06-2019, 01:10 PM   #15
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I’m curious to anyone who’s trailer sits for long periods of time with the battery disconnected. Does the battery stay charged when it is completely disconnected or do you have to connect it to some type of power source to maintain the charge?
I bring my batteries in the garage, connect them in series with a battery cable between positive on one battery and negative on the other, then connect this Battery Tender to the other set of posts and leave it plugged in. Check the water level on occasion and the batteries are happy until the next outing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00068XCQU..._t2_B015KBIHDU
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Old 05-06-2019, 07:04 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Logan X View Post
You need to keep some sort or charger on the battery. The three options I know are:

Plugging in to shore power
Having a solar panel connected to the battery
Having a battery tender connected to the battery

If your current battery is done and will not come back to life, you may want to consider replacing a 12v battery with 2 6v golf cart batteries connected in series to produce 12 volts. This will just about triple your usable amp hours. That is what I did when I killed my 12v battery.

Good luck!
4th option: install a battery disconnect switch, this will keep the drain down to zero. carbon monoxide detector will kill the battery in about a week or so if left on
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Old 05-06-2019, 08:43 PM   #17
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That's nothing holiday world pulled my camper from the shop to the parking lot with dead battery and the slide partly out a few years back for warranty. I blew a@@ gasket.. It's a good thing you caught it .
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Old 05-06-2019, 11:49 PM   #18
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Bring it back to your storage location and remove the negative cable. It should be ready to go for the next adventure!
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Old 05-07-2019, 02:28 AM   #19
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Less than a month old .take it back to where you bought it. Have them charge it and test it under a load .if it has issues give them a few bucks and replace it with a new one.
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Old 05-07-2019, 04:28 AM   #20
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4th option: install a battery disconnect switch, this will keep the drain down to zero. carbon monoxide detector will kill the battery in about a week or so if left on
I think as mentioned in previous posts, you have to maintain the charge of the battery. It can’t sit for more than about a month without some sort of maintenance charge on it, even with a disconnect switch.
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