Battery Winterization

Zman2610

Member
Hey all, first time owning a travel trailer, just got the M185. My question is what to do with the battery as the trailer sits over the winter? Can I leave it plugged in over the winter?
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi Zman2610,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

Our batteries have been ok in extreme sub-zero weather while plugged into shore power. And at home in Colorado, in storage, the rig is plugged in and the batteries are kept charged by the Power Converter.

You do have to check the battery water level periodically. If it gets too low, you'll be buying a new battery. Once a month is probably often enough.
 

sengli

Well-known member
I always remove the battery and store it in my heated garage, attached to a battery tender. And yes, you will still have to check the water level.
 

Chrisandsama

Well-known member
Going on 2 winters in southern Illinois plugged into shore power and as Dan said keep an eye on your water level (distilled only) and you will be fine.
 

Lynn1130

Well-known member
I went from flooded to AGM batteries a couple of years ago and never looked back. I got tired of messing with water caps and worrying about whether they had water or not.
 

RVFun4Us

Well-known member
On a similar note, we store our Bighorn about 160 miles away from our home (allows winter travel since we live in a snow belt). Our RV does not have AC available in the storage lot. We have two Interstate batteries in the bay. We will have about a 3 month period with no traveling this year. Will the batteries hold up for those three months leaving them in the RV with the battery disconnect on? Really don't want to haul the two batteries home and keep on a battery trickle if I don't have to.
 

GregP

Well-known member
I remove the battery from the trailer for winter storage because we do not have access to A/C power where it is stored. Our tow vehicle is unused for 3-4 months over the winter and I used to keep a float charger hooked up to maintain the batteries. Now, I just make sure the batteries are fully charged and then disconnect them and leave them (without charging) for the time we are gone. Our winters can be pretty severe, and I find the batteries hold the charge well over the period of outdoor storage. I would expect that you could disconnect your RV batteries and leave them for 3 months without issue, providing the batteries were in good shape when stored.
 

RVFun4Us

Well-known member
Yes, brand new Interstate batteries last October. We will see how they do come the end of March.
 

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
As an FYI, we made the move to Lithium (Battle Born brand) and to winterize them, all I had to do was fully charge them (or you can do 75% or greater) and then disconnect POS and NEG cable. I did this in October, went back in middle of April to hook them back up. They were at 97.5%...so I lost 2.5% over the winter and didn't have to take them out or even have them on a charger.
 

CoveredWagon

Well-known member
As an FYI, we made the move to Lithium (Battle Born brand) and to winterize them, all I had to do was fully charge them (or you can do 75% or greater) and then disconnect POS and NEG cable. I did this in October, went back in middle of April to hook them back up. They were at 97.5%...so I lost 2.5% over the winter and didn't have to take them out or even have them on a charger.

And how much did those batteries cost may I ask ?
 

CDN

B and B
I have a pair of Trojan 6 volt batteries. MPPT controller and 200 watts of solar. Left in trailer last winter. we had -20 C here and they were just fine, a charged battery will not freeze. Checked electrolyte in the fall, midwinter and when we de-winterized. Added a little Distilled water in spring.

I used to pull 12 volt group 24 batteries. The Trojans are just too heavy to move now.


Brian
 
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