Matt_Colie
Southeast Michigan
Senior Member
Joined: 10/09/2011
View Profile
 Offline
|
The only real problem with disconnecting the battery while you are gone for months at a time is that you feel pretty silly when you get dropped off at the car and jump in, pull the key out of its hiding place and give it a twist and NOTHING HAPPENS......
So, you say a quite Oh-5h1t to yourself and pluck the 13mm wrench out of the console where you stowed it. Then you trip the hood release and go out and open the hood, stuff the negative cable back on the post and snug the clamp. Then, you slam the hood and start the car....
This never happened to me, but I heard about it several times....
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie
A sailor, his bride and their black dog (one is waiting for us at the bridge) going to see some dry places that have Geocaches in a coach made the year we married.
|
Veebyes
Bermuda & Maryland Eastern Shore
Senior Member
Joined: 11/24/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
The OP is only talking about 4 months. Not a long period of time for a battery in reasonable shape to be dormant.
Battery tenders are fine, if you are able to periodically keep an eye on them. They can fail & possibly damage the battery bank beyond recovery.
Seen it happen. Happened to be a boat but could just as easily be an RV. The boat had four 8D gel cell batteries worth something like $3000.00 new. The owner had left the boat, untended, for 6 months at a marina. The controller of the battery tender/charger went nuts & toasted the batteries.
When a battery bank is disconnected you know the status exactly.
I have a single 4D AGM battery, which is 4 years old. I have not seen the rig since last October. The battery is disconnected. I will see it again this Wednesday. I expect the battery to be a tad on the weak side but just fine.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter
2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel
Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995
|
fj12ryder
Platte City, MO
Senior Member
Joined: 08/19/2003
View Profile
|
I'm sure you'll come back here and let us know if it's flat when you get there. ![[emoticon]](https://forums.trailerlife.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
Howard and Peggy
"Don't Panic"
|
2oldman
NM
Senior Member
Joined: 04/15/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
fj12ryder wrote:I'm sure you'll come back here and let us know if it's flat when you get there. Right. Few posters ever come back.
|
profdant139
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 11/14/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
Well, that may be true of some folks -- but Veebyes is a very reliable and credible poster. I happen to disagree with his viewpoint on this issue -- speaking from painful experience, when I was a newbie, I did disconnect a fully charged battery, let it sit for almost four months, came back, it was flat, and it would no longer hold a charge. Sixteen years later, my BatteryMinder Plus is still going strong, and my flooded batteries tend to last about five years before they need replacement.
But just because I disagree with him on one point does not mean that his opinion is without value. He is very experienced and knowledgeable, judging by his many posts over a very long period of time.
2012 Fun Finder X-139 "Boondock Style" (axle-flipped and extra insulation)
2013 Toyota Tacoma Off-Road (semi-beefy tires and components)
Our trips -- pix and text
About our trailer
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single list."
|
|
|
2oldman
NM
Senior Member
Joined: 04/15/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
I thought he was talking about the OP
|
profdant139
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 11/14/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
Oh. I misunderstood. To quote the late lamented Emily Litella, "Never mind!" ![[emoticon]](https://forums.trailerlife.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/wink.gif "wink")
|
Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 05/06/2013
View Profile
Offline
|
OP, you really only leaving AZ for 4 months? And you have power at the storage?
Disconnect batts from camper, hook to tender, come back to fully charged batteries. No need to monitor water for a few months of no use and a smart charger/tender. Or a cheap solar charger.
Your biggest issue is the rest of the camper. I'll have to presume this is the first time you're storing something in AZ (new camper, newbie questions). If you do not have covered storage, your camper will be sun baked/oxidized/rotten tires/etc within a few short years. Make sure you have covered storage. Or, for 4 months only, you "might" get 2 seasons out of a soft cover before it's destroyed, but likely only 1.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29
|
fj12ryder
Platte City, MO
Senior Member
Joined: 08/19/2003
View Profile
|
Nope, I was talking about Veebyes, and referring to the fact that people rarely admit that their deeply held beliefs can occasionally be wrong. So even if his battery is flat, despite his beliefs, he is unlikely to pony up to that fact. Regardless of results, his battery will be fine.
I've been using the same Deltran Battery Tender for over 10 years and still works just like it's supposed to. I've helped too many people jump their cars over the years to not keep mine topped up.
|
C Schomer
Pueblo West, Co.
Senior Member
Joined: 12/26/2000
View Profile
Offline
|
I have several battery tenders for my vehicles that are connected all winter while I am in Arizona but those vehicles have sealed low maintenance batteries. And by the same token My RV with 2GC batteries are on a PD converter/charge wizard all winter and I have not needed to add any water during that time.
I think you would be fine but if you use a timer on a tender I think it would be better to charge a day or two a week so the battery tender can go through all the cycles while it is turned on. I think that would be perfectly safe.
The battery disconnect on my fifth wheel opens the positive cable that comes from the batteries so there can’t be any possible draw. Craig
|
|
|
