battery draining while stored, RT190 2008

[Jon_K]

The van battery went completely dead while the 2008 RT 190 was stored this winter. How can I avoid this short of keeping it plugged in -- not an option.

[Davydd]

Periodically drive the B once in a while to charge the battery.

Periodically charge with your generator.

Disconnect the battery from the coach. You have many 12V items draining the battery.

Remove battery, store inside, and periodically charge with a small battery charger.

You can plug in your B with 120V connection using a 30A to 15A adapter plug. That will keep the battery charged.

Periodically monitor you battery and do whatever necessary as suggested above.

Whatever, you cannot just let a battery sit over a winter. Also, if you leave a B connected to shore power all winter you will need an intelligent built-in charger or you will boil a wet cell battery out.

[Jon_K]

Originally Posted by Davydd

1 Periodically drive the B once in a while to charge the battery.

2 Periodically charge with your generator.

3 Disconnect the battery from the coach. You have many 12V items draining the battery.

4 Remove battery, store inside, and periodically charge with a small battery charger.

5 You can plug in your B with 120V connection using a 30A to 15A adapter plug. That will keep the battery charged.

6 Periodically monitor you battery and do whatever necessary as suggested above.

Whatever, you cannot just let a battery sit over a winter. Also, if you leave a B connected to shore power all winter you will need an intelligent built-in charger or you will boil a wet cell battery out.

Thanks. All good ideas. I did (3). I thought driving once/month (1) would be sufficient but it's not. Chevrolet advises disconnecting the battery and this is when it's just a van. I wonder if other people are doing that.

[Johnny R]

A friend of mine disconnects the negative battery cable in the fall and lets it sit. He connects it in the spring, does a battery tender charge, and away he goes.
I leave my battery connected all winter and hook up the battery tender every month or so until it's charged. That's all.
Not much opportunity to drive it around up here in Alberta in the winter, roads are too dirty and the units are winterized.

[Mike]

There's been a lot of discussion on Yahoo Roadtrek Groups about it.
If you're not a member, it's easy/free to join, like here.
Maybe you can browse the message archives for free too, I'm not sure.
Here's a link, not sure if it will work for non-members.
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/roa ... =20&cnt=10

[Davydd]

You have to be a member of the Roadfood Yahoo Group in order to read the messages.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by Jon_K

Thanks. All good ideas. I did (3). I thought driving once/month (1) would be sufficient but it's not. Chevrolet advises disconnecting the battery and this is when it's just a van. I wonder if other people are doing that.

Your battery is not holding a charge and if you are doing 1 and 3 above it could be your battery is shot and in need of replacing. One thing people fail to understand about batteries, and I have read many times, "It is a fairly new battery", is that a battery needs to be abused as little as once to permanently damage it. I confirmed that from experience the hard way with an auxiliary AGM battery lasting but one year because I was using the wrong Charge Wizard on it.

[Dieps]

Jon - Just like yours, the battery in my 2008 190P discharges in two to three weeks when not charged. The syptoms you describe are typical. I recently purchased a battery disconnect switch for about $20 at a local car parts store. There are a couple kinds...just google battery disconnect switch.