to plug in or not to plug in when mhome is at home

[Brownleaf]

Hi,name is Doug, I own a 04 24 ft.Winnie C. I am not taking any trips how.ever I take my bus out once a week for 10 minutes. I have a relatively new battery under hood and 2 newish house batteries. I used to think it was good to always leave an RV plugged in. .Recently I have heard otherwise.What is most important and why. I am very low tech. Thanks Doug in Durham

[kellem]

The wife and I camp year around and in many cases, on a whim.

Camper plugged in 24/7 - fully stocked - slides extended - frig running - battery charging.

Been like this for years.

[memtb]

You’re already doing the “best” thing that you can do......drive it occasionally. That is especially good for a motorized unit! If you have a converter with the “float mode”.....leave it plugged in. If you do not have a “float mode” converter, and you must have extended periods without driving the unit....consider a “trickle charger” with the float mode, as to “not” overcharge the battery/ batteries! You could probably get by “without” the float mode type trickle charger if, you leave your battery shut-off switch closed ( power to unit), as your “ghost loads” will possibly draw enough energy to prevent battery overcharge! memtb

[wa8yxm]

It depends on the converter. With an '04 I will assume you have either a very good well regulated 1 stage (Parallex 7300) or more likely a good 3-stage (many to choose from) and with those you can leave it plugged in 24x7 save when driving.. I full time.. I do that.

[Acampingwewillg]

Just to take a different approach, I've had my mh for roughly 20 years, 17 of those years I always plugged into my 50 amp rv plug in the driveway and left the charger portion of the inverter/charger on. I changed it now to a dual battery tender...I prefer this set up.

[Brownleaf]

Thanks for all the replies and advice. First I need to check the battery water level. Doug

[cross21114]

I do not plug in when not using the rig. I did install a disconnect switch in the positive line from the batteries which I turn off.

When I do turn on the switch, after weeks of being off, the meter indicates 12.5V on 2 6 volt batteries.

[dedmiston]

Hi Doug - Unless there's something non-standard about that switch, it's a true "disconnect". With that switch set to the disconnect side, the batteries are functionally disconnected and aren't charging. They won't charge from your vehicle while you drive and they won't charge at your house while it's plugged in if the batteries are disconnected.

Thinking of your batteries as living organisms, your goal is more of a measured approach than an all or nothing fully charged or fully discharged.

The decision to leave your battery plugged in depends a lot on your converter/charger. If you have a good multi-stage charger that you're confident in, then leaving your rig plugged in is great. Your batteries stay good and charged all the time and you're ready when it's time for. your next trip. You just have to be careful and check the water level every month and make sure that the charger isn't boiling the batteries dry.

I added solar panels a year ago and now my batteries are charging every day. Mine love the full charge state and they've never been healthier. I check the water levels regularly and things are fine. I haven't flipped the disconnect switch in over a year.

[Brownleaf]

You would not , once plugged in, turn house battery switch on for any reason would you? In fact you would not flip that switch to on unless you were not plugged in but how about with the generator on? I always flip that switch to on when I decide to drive is that correct? They say just drivingn charges both batteries( I think) so would it be necessary or advisable to switch the house power to on when driving? Doug

[lhenry8113]

Our 24ft. F.R. Forester Class C is always plugged in to house current while sitting in driveway. We always turn off RV camper electricity, inside camper when plugging or unplugging house current.

[pianotuna]

I do not plug in my rv but I do have solar and a trik-l-start

[Gonzo42]

We leave ours plugged in. Firstly we use the reefer as extra cold storage, plus the batteries are kept charged. The system always charges the house batteries, but I have a trickle charger on the chassis battery. I monitor and top up the electrolytes about once a month.

[wildtoad]

Mine plugged in all the time, except of course while driving it. If your charging system is smart enough to stop charging when batteries are full, then go for it. Every couple of weeks, check the water level in them, add if required.