Vinman02
Calgary, Alberta
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Joined: 07/14/2007
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Hi there,
How do you guys and gals keep your TT batteries charged when you have it in storage?
When returning from a boondooking trip the trailer goes straight to the storge yard and there is no power available. I do not have the option of taking the trailer home to charge for more than an hour or two.
I have 6 volt batteries and they are quite a pain to remove/install because of their location on the tongue behind the propane tanks (the body of the trailer is sloped forward almost covering the battery box).
I usually run the generator for a couple of hours during the last morning of camping and then the truck provides a charge (very little I'm sure) during the 2 hour drive home.
Any other options other than removing the batteries? Maybe a small solar panel while in storage?
Any opinions are welcome.
Vince
2008 Toyota Tundra
2009 Komfort Trailblazer T254S
Yamaha EF2400iS
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old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
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Joined: 03/15/2006
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they might be a pain to remove and take home to charge, so what, you will have to remove them to replace once they go dead and not recover. so do it now and save yourself some money.
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SCVJeff
Santa Clarita, CA.
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Joined: 07/28/2006
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I was gonna suggest the "Duh" answer (Solar) until I saw your location... 
Probably better to pull em' and keep them warm for the winter.
Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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Just charge them before storing and remove the negative lead from the batteries. they should maintain their charge for at least three or four months with no charge once they're isolated from any draw on them. when I winter in Texas my daily driver vehicles both sit in my dirveway with nothing charging the batteries and I've NEVER had a battery problem when I return in the spring.
2004 F-250 SCREW Long Bed (new)
OR 2004 F-150 HD (85,000 towing miles)
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
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Vinman02
Calgary, Alberta
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Joined: 07/14/2007
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The batteries are currently sitting in my heated garage fully charged and will be until next camping season.
I have no problems with removing and installing them at the end and beginning of the seasons but every other weekend will be a big pain.
My question was refering to when I'm using the trailer during the camping season. The trailer typically sits for about 2-3 weeks at a time in the storage yard. I did install a battery disconnect switch and use it when the trailer sits in storage.
And I know it ain't SoCa but we do get bit of sun during our 2 week Summers...
I was thinking of the small cheapo solar panels that clip directly to the battery of plug into a cigarette lighter plug.
Vince
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leomosley
Vancouver, BC
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Joined: 05/28/2006
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I use a 15 Watt solar panel and charge controller that I got at Canadian Tire to keep the coach batteries on My Class A charged while in storage. This size panel works pretty well as a trickle charger. The charge controller connects the solar panel to the batteries at 13 VDC and disconnects at 14.2 VDC. A charge controller is recommended for a 15 Watt (or above solar panel). From what I understand a fully charged battery (not under load or being charged) will sit at about 12.7 VDC. I have found that the charge controller LED's cycle between charging and charged and the battery voltage is usually around 13.5 VDC.
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smkettner
Southern California
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Joined: 03/21/2005
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Small solar panel is not going to hack it to actually recharge. You need to think 100+ watts and a controller for solar. My 15w panel barely holds 13.4 volts on the battery after fully charging at home or with the generator. If I take mine back with a low battery I go back within a week and run the gen unattended until it runs out of fuel.
2001 F150 SuperCrew
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi Vinman02,
The recommended minimum for solar charging is 60 watts per 100 amp-hours of storage. For charging purposes, there is not much point in going above about 130 watts per 100 amp-hours.
For my thoughts on "Sizing a solar system" surf here:
Technology
My old RV which lived in Regina for seven years survived with just 30 watts of solar for 250 amp-hours of storage. YMMV.
Vinman02 wrote:Hi there,
How do you guys and gals keep your TT batteries charged when you have it in storage?
When returning from a boondooking trip the trailer goes straight to the storge yard and there is no power available. I do not have the option of taking the trailer home to charge for more than an hour or two.
I have 6 volt batteries and they are quite a pain to remove/install because of their location on the tongue behind the propane tanks (the body of the trailer is sloped forward almost covering the battery box).
I usually run the generator for a couple of hours during the last morning of camping and then the truck provides a charge (very little I'm sure) during the 2 hour drive home.
Any other options other than removing the batteries? Maybe a small solar panel while in storage?
Any opinions are welcome.
Vince
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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DeweyClawson
Enon Valley, PA
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Joined: 09/22/2007
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I have 2 45 watt solar panels to keep 4 6v golf cart batts topped up. No controller. Permanent mount digital vm shows 13.3v when the sun is out. These are the size panels that just cover the air cond, where they are mounted.
If you do this, wire them directly to the batts, bypassing the shutoff sw.
The fool learns from his own mistakes.
It is the wise man who learns from the mistakes of others.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi DeweyClawson,
Because there is no charge controller the "effective" wattage is probably only about 60 watts instead of 90. That's about 15 watts per 100 amp hours and right on the "limit" of whether a charge controller should be used or not. All that is saving you is that there are only 5 peak hours per day.
If you added a good MPPT charge controller that would bump back up to nearly 90 watts. If you do decide to "go for it"--pick an MPPT unit that can handle 50 amps of input.
DeweyClawson wrote:I have 2 45 watt solar panels to keep 4 6v golf cart batts topped up. No controller. Permanent mount digital vm shows 13.3v when the sun is out. These are the size panels that just cover the air cond, where they are mounted.
If you do this, wire them directly to the batts, bypassing the shutoff sw.
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