Charging Fifth Wheel Batteries While Away

crstrm · January 20, 2018

I have this question about keeping my fifth wheel batteries charged.

We will be away for 9 weeks this summer - May and June, and 1 week in July. I will be leaving my fifth wheel in the Tucson area. I am concerned about keeping the batteries charged while gone.

I was thinking about keeping the rig plugged into the pedestal (I have a surge guard). My other options would be to use a battery tender. Someone also mentioned using a battery trickle charger.

If we went the battery tender/battery trickle charge method, would we need two battery chargers – one for each battery?

Finally, is it even necessary to worry about keeping the batteries charged? We have a battery kill switch, just fyi.

FYI, we have two Group 29 wet-cell batteries.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Pros and Cons of each option?

* Right now, we are concentrating on the batteries and know there are more things to do when temporarily storing the fifth wheel. I’ll make a separate post to get that feedback.

Kirk W · January 20, 2018

If it were me, I would not leave it plugged in but rather make sure the batteries are fully charged and then lift the negative cable to leave them on an open circuit while you are gone. That should be just fine and the batteries will be charged and ready when you return.

bobsallyh · January 20, 2018

x 2 with what Kirk said and also make sure water level is correct. By leaving it plugged in, you run the chance that any of the detectors could "sound" off and be very annoying as I have seen this.

oldjohnt · January 21, 2018

If you're only gonna be gone 9 weeks I wouldn't mess with battery maintainers or trickle chargers etc and leaving any electrical devices plugged in. If just prior to leaving they are fully charged and topped off with electrolyte and totally disconnected, unless there are internal battery problems, they should be fine when you return. Now if it was gonna be 6 to 8 or more months, the answer might be different

John T

LindaH · January 21, 2018

I agree with the others -- make sure your batteries are fully charged, the electrolyte levels are good, then use your battery kill switch to turn everything off. If you have solar, there may be a fuse that you'll need to pull, too.

Yarome · January 21, 2018

Agree with the above.

If I might make a suggestion.... life can sometimes have a way of getting in the way of our play time. If there is a neighbor or other close by that you could show the procedure to reconnect your batteries and initiate a charge cycle... it might not be a bad idea in the event your return is, for whatever reason, delayed. Not much of a concern of the batteries going dead on you, but it wouldn't hurt to "stir" them at the 3 month mark to help keep them a little "fresher".

beemergary · February 3, 2018

I got some old cars and a couple trailers. Got batteries pushing 10 yrs. I'am in Mi. and bring them inside Oct. - April . Just check them mid winter. Never had one just go bad. I'd disconnect both pos. and negative to be safe. I always turn off disconnects in summer. Those carbon monoxide and smoke detectors draw alot.

packnrat · February 4, 2018

about what has been said.

on my pu truck it was not used for a good three monts. batts are dead. i did not disconnect them and all the factory parasite gismos draind them down below life.

so unhook them after servicing and top off charge.

Twotoes · February 4, 2018

Your RV should have a trickle charger installed that charges your batteries when plugged into shore power so no need to add one while you are gone if you leave it plugged in. If you do not leave it plugged in when gone make sure you use the kill switch to disconnect the batteries. I would also disconnect the battery by pulling the cords, both neg and pos, from the battery. Even with the kill switch there can be parasitic draw that over time will drain your batteries. Make sure they are fully charged before you leave and if they are not maintain enough free make sure you top them off too.

beemergary · February 5, 2018

18 hours ago, packnrat said:

about what has been said.

on my pu truck it was not used for a good three monts. batts are dead. i did not disconnect them and all the factory parasite gismos draind them down below life.

so unhook them after servicing and top off charge.

Anything with a computor or a radio with clock (memory) will drain a battery. Some aftermarket radio's are really bad.

masterdrago · February 17, 2018

Check to see what type converter/charger is in your Artic Fox. Most of the newer ones (ours) are built with a 3 stage charger and are safe to leave connected to keep the batteries maintained. Some older ones, I've been told, will dry out the batteries quickly.