battery charged life??

[racinjake]

I have a new sundance xlt with dual 12v batteries. if the rv is parked and not used, how long should the charge hold in my batteries. it only lasts 7 to 10 days now with nothing running. your experiences would be appreciated as we are newbies at rving.

 

[danemayer]

Hi racinjake,

You have some normal parasitic 12V loads that are draining the battery. Things like alarms, radio, and perhaps control boards for appliances that aren't turned off - like the refrigerator. Adding a battery cutoff switch near the battery will solve the problem so that a fully charged set of batteries will hold a charge for many weeks.

Here's a link to one on Amazon.com. Your local RV dealer probably carries them.

 

[Lynn1130]

I think the general figure is a loss of 3% per month. As Dane says you have parasitics eating up the batteries.

 

[JohnD]

Since we are able to keep our trailer parked next to the house, I keep it plugged in all the time.

Both batteries are always ready to go!

 

[racinjake]

thanks for the imput. i can't keep it plugged in so looks like a cutoff switch is the way to go.

 

[Bob&Patty]

A battery cut off switch is standard on some of HL coaches. Look to see if you have one already. If you cant keep it plugged in...take the batteries out and home. Keep them on a trickle charger and maintain the water level. Extreme cold and heat will drain a battery.

 

[Jim.Allison]

When I first bought mine I was unaware of the batt cutoff switch. I left the rig at its new RV parking spot. The next weekend I went out to love on it some, But my batt was dead. I was shocked. I called my dealer and asked what was up. He told me about parasites that would steal the power. but he could not name them. There should be no unknown sources of battery drain. So I got into the subject that resulted in a total solar install with inverter. But while I was looking into the subject I was totally shocked to learn the amount of power that the LP alarm and the smoke alarms can take out of a system. ESPECIALLY if your batt is a single OEM Marine/RV batt.

I good suggestion is solar if you are going to do any boon docking at all. But at least a solar panel and solar controller/charger large enough to keep your batteries maintained while you are away. And for heavens sake turn that batt switch off or pull the ground wire off.

 

[Crumgater]

Definitely add a cutoff switch.
The Fire Alarm/CO monitor and other items are hard-wired and we saw the same battery drain problem.
When we use the cut-off switch, our battery stays "good" through ~5 months of winter storage.

 

[Lynn1130]

If you don't have a cutoff switch yet just disconnecting the negative cable will keep it from discharging as fast. Basically the same thing as a cutoff.