Highway 4x4
La Verne, Ca
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I use my trailer several times a year and store it at home, covered. A long storage time would be 2-3 months but usually less. I have always plugged it into 120v at home but am wondering if it is good for the battery and inverter. I am on battery #3 only this time I got the big Interstate deep cycle one. I don't think letting it go dead durring storage is a good idea but the trailer inverter might be to much charging. Any thoughts?
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PrivatePilot
Courtice, Ontario, Canada
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I pull ours out and put it in the basement. In my situation, it only takes about 45 seconds to pull it out, so it's a no brainer from my perspective.
When I bring it down I top it up and then put it away. Once or twice through the winter I trickle charge it again to keep it topped up.
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Chuck&Gail
In the Colorado Mountains
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Why not be sure parasitic loads like propane detector are disconnected (I pull one fuse), then either add small solar maintainer (I've used them on vehicles for over 30 years), or just plug TT in for one day a month.
Unless you boondock a lot, battery should last at least 7 years in my experience.
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exboater
north carolina
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from many years of experience, i would suggest that you do the following.
1. put a battery switch in the positive line coming from the battery to other places (close to the battery) to turn it off when not in use. these are available at most marine stores. This will accomplish two things. it will keep the things in the trailer that use a small amount of current ,like the smoke alarm and propane alarm and some circuit boards in other appliances from draining the battery and it will also keep the inverter from overcharging the battery.these things will drain a battery in about a month in storage without a source of recharging.
2. the second thing that i do is but a small photo cell charger that puts out a maintenance current only. these are available from places like harbor freight tools for 10-15 dollars, and come with a cigarette light adaptor on one end. I cut this off and replaced it with a couple of small alligator clamps that i bought at radio shack. Now I place the photo cell in the light and connect it to both terminals of the battery with the alligator clips. this should keep the battery charged and warn.. be ready to go next spring. overcharging a battery is like a death sentence for it.
other option but more expensive is to be sure that your battery charger in the 120 volt line has an option to only maintain the charge when it is fully charged. ( this is not a trickle charge-too much) but a maintenance charge. These are more expensive and if you haven't had experience you will need help haven't it in.
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smkettner
Southern California
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Any inverter that charges should do a great job at battery maintenance. Are you sure it is an inverter and not a converter? If you post the make and model you will get better direct solutions.
If it is a WFCO or PD9200 converter it should be fine to leave plugged in 24/7. If your battery seems to use a lot of water you might be better to have a timer that powers the converter 30 to 60 minutes per day or get a Battery Minder Plus and connect to the battery direct.
Battery should last 3 to 7+ years if well cared for.
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Rubiranch
Salt Lake City, UT
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I make sure they are full of water and leave them hooked up, there's nothing in our trailer that will drain them.
Every one in a while (when I remember) I charge them with a battery charger. I hope they last a long time but if they don't I'll just buy new ones.
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Jerrybo66
AZ
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I keep our trailer plugged in all the time because I use the fridge for refreshments when I'm outside. I use the screw type battery disconnects to disconnect the batteries so they don't overcharge. About once a month I connect them for about a half hour to keep them topped off. I check them to make sure they're up to the full 12.6V charge. Keeping them at the right level of charge is critical for a long life span and more amp hours when they are used. Not my opinion but that of the Interstate distributor....
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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IF your battery is in good condition there is no reason it would NEED charging while in storage. When we travel my every day driver sits in the driveway for three months at a time and we've NEVER returned to a dead battery. In your situation there wouldn't be ANY drain on the battery like there is in my Mazda so several months shouldn't be any problem without charging.
As for being plugged in all the time, MOST converter/chargers will handle that kind of situation just fine. It would be best for you to check the water in the battery at least once a month until you KNOW how well it does. Add distilled watter when necessary.
Good luck / Skip
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Tvov
CT
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skipnchar wrote: When we travel my every day driver sits in the driveway for three months at a time and we've NEVER returned to a dead battery. In your situation there wouldn't be ANY drain on the battery like there is in my Mazda so several months shouldn't be any problem without charging.
My understanding is that in most newer cars / trucks the on board computer will work to prevent the battery from going dead, if possible. I don't know how this works, but I've seen cars that if you leave the door open without the engine running, the interior lights will still shut off after maybe 20 minutes. Same with the headlights, they will shut down after awhile if the engine is not running.
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bryanl
Reno, NV
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Joined: 12/25/2003
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Quote:IF your battery is in good condition there is no reason it would NEED charging while in storage
the self discharge rate and sulfation buildup are 2 good reasons why a battery should not sit neglected for more than a couple of weeks.
Sitting a month or two probably will not result in a severely discharged battery but the idle time in a not fully charged state will give time for the lead sulfate crystals to grow. The larger they get, the harder they are to break back down to lead plate and sulfuric acid. That means your batteries suffer premature aging.
You don't want just a converter for storage maintenance. Sometimes their voltage is too high and they will boil off the electrolyte. What you want is a battery maintainer that does equalization or desulfation cycling like the Charge Wizard or the Battery Minder Plus.
Quote:My understanding is that in most newer cars / trucks the on board computer will work to prevent the battery from going dead, if possible
you can also get a device to hook onto your battery to do this. It disconnects the battery when it detects a reduced battery voltage. When you want to use what's left to get the engine started, you have to throw a bypass switch on it.
I'd suspect that the smart cars these days could also shut down non critical loads when they detected a low battery voltage.
Bryan
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