Wheathaven
PICTON, Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 10/07/2009
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We have a 2002 Jayco Eagle 28ft. All winterized but.....what do
we do with batteries this year? Usually we put them downstairs
in the basement and trickle charge in the spring. This year we
are leaving for Destin Florida right after Christmas and don't
want to take them out and put them back in. We have the battery
disconnect switch on....but will we need to charge them during
the below zero weather to keep the charge? Will they freeze?
We can plug in where it is parked.
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heavyputer
Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 09/13/2004
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Welcome to the forum,
A fully charged battery will not freeze at the temps found in your area. The battery in your car doesn't freeze no matter how cold it gets unless it is flat discharged. I keep a "battery tender" on mine to protect the batteries and keep the charge up without overcharging. Works for me...........
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you!!!
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2008 F150 4X4, 5.4l, 24 valve
2008 Dutch Star, 400 Cummins, 6 Sp Allison
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old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
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Joined: 03/15/2006
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good suggestion, buy a battery minder and use it, they will keep you batteries in top shape and they won't freeze on you. battery minders are cheaper than a new set of batteries.
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Klueck
Georgia
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Joined: 11/15/2008
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Welcome to the forum. Hope you have a nice visit to Florida.
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dicknellen
Northern Nevada, USA
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Joined: 09/28/2004
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Everything that I read keeps saying to charge your stored batteries at least every 30 days. I found a neat little battery maintainer that works well. I have two one for my single 12v auto battery and one for my two 12V RV batteries and it seems to work very well. Besides keeping the batteries charged it keeps them from freezing, my RV garage is not insulated and temps at night are can get in the low teens.
It is: Schumacher Battery Companion, fully automatic battery charger maintainer with float-mode monitoring. Ideal for maintaining stored batteries, model WM 1562, 6v or 12v. Less than $20 at Wal-Mart.
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You can't take the Fisherman out of this Camper
Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 04/09/2004
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I keep mine plugged in through a timer so it comes on for an hour each day. All the 12 Volt stuff is turned off.. even the propane detector. I use a digital timer and leave only the battery charger and a 120 volt night light on so I can see when it is charging (it is parked beside the house). The digital timer has an internal battery so that the timer stays on schedule... even when the power is off for any length of time. Mine has been parked for 2 months now and I will be leaving it untended for over 3 months when snowbirding this winter. Before we leave for warmer climates I will make sure the batteries are topped up so they don't dry up. I intend to do the same with my Florida trailer (for 9 months!) next year... but I will just put the battery on a small trickle charger, after disconnecting it from the trailer charger, and I will put the timer on for only a couple of hours once per week. By the way... the weather here is very similar to what you will have in Picton.
1960's: Tents.. 1970's: Soft top & Hard top P/U.. 1980's: 17' RV.. 1990's: 24' RV.. 2000's: 2002 Cougar 276EFS & 2005 Laredo 29GS; 2002 GMC 2500HD Ext Cab 4x4; (Nfld/Labrador-Yukon/NWT/Alaska-Gaspe', Que./Florida!!)
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marknpat
Colorado
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I disconnect the cables in the house battery compartment and connect a Battery Tender junior to the terminals. The Battery Tender comes with 1 set ring terminal w/ quick connect and 1 set spring clamp w/ quick connnect. The ring terminal set is permanently installed so I can plug it in and forget it. This is a battery maintainer so it shuts itself off when full charge is reached and turns on again when voltage drops to a certain level. Works for me.
Mark and Pat
09 Itasca Cambria 28B
08 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited (TOAD)
06 Jeep GC Overland 4x4 5.7 Hemi
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi Wheathaven,
Since you have power at the storage site I'd recommend a weekly timer that will allow the RV converter to run 12 hours out of 7 days.
Another strategy would be to consider adding a solar charging system.
Wheathaven wrote:We have a 2002 Jayco Eagle 28ft. All winterized but.....what do
we do with batteries this year? Usually we put them downstairs
in the basement and trickle charge in the spring. This year we
are leaving for Destin Florida right after Christmas and don't
want to take them out and put them back in. We have the battery
disconnect switch on....but will we need to charge them during
the below zero weather to keep the charge? Will they freeze?
We can plug in where it is parked.
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts solar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries 2500 watt inverter.
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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Joined: 11/01/2002
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Another vote for battery maintainers. No fuss no muss. They are inexpensive and work. As soon as I plug the RV in at home, the battery switch is set to disconnect and a maintainer (BatteryMinder) is plugged. All batteries are in tip top condition when I set off next time. A batteryMinder is something like $40. My RV is set up to connect all batteries when charging so the truck battery is being charged/maintained too.
95 Chinook Premier
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Wheathaven
PICTON, Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 10/07/2009
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Pianotuna
Your suggestion will work for us...one more question though...do we leave
the battery disconnect on...because it would have to be on in order to charge
right? Do we switch it off after the seven hours of being plugged in? Or just
leave it on to charge....and seven days later charge again on and on.....
Wheathaven says "Thanks" 
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