Weak/Dead Battery problems

[Grand Master IceMan]

Hello,

I went dry camping for the first time and was hoping for a longer battery life than what I experienced.

Aside form the dimming lights, the most annoying was the refrigerator beeping.
But that can run on propane -- which I had plenty of -- so, Question 1: is it just the electronic control switch that was needing the battery power?

Question 2: If so, is there no way to avoid that with a weak/dead battery -- without having to connect to my tow vehicle to get power?

Question 3: What could I have done BEFOREHAND to plan on having a good battery? ...And how long should a good battery last?

Question 4: What is the best way NOW to charge back up the battery?

Thanks!

[Hoopy Frood]

There's a myriad of issues concerning the length of time your battery will last: what was the voltage when you started to use it, what was the load on the battery, how cold was it, which would determine how much draw on the battery. What kind of battery: 1 12V battery, or multiple 6V batteries.

You can run a generator to charge the battery, or use the generator to power the trailer.

Basically a single 12V battery will not run much, relative speaking, before it is out of juice.

The refrigerator will not run without 12V power to the control board, if you're trying to run on propane, you still need 12V.

[huntindog]

Hello,

I went dry camping for the first time and was hoping for a longer battery life than what I experienced.

Aside form the dimming lights, the most annoying was the refrigerator beeping.
But that can run on propane -- which I had plenty of -- so, Question 1: is it just the electronic control switch that was needing the battery power?

Question 2: If so, is there no way to avoid that with a weak/dead battery -- without having to connect to my tow vehicle to get power?

Question 3: What could I have done BEFOREHAND to plan on having a good battery? ...And how long should a good battery last?

Question 4: What is the best way NOW to charge back up the battery?

Thanks!

There are many ways to fix this, depending mainly on the size of your wallet.
I have done all of them over 30 years.It seems you are new,,, The most effective way to solve this is a small generator 800-1000 watts should do the trick. As you gain experience on just what you want to do, you can branch out towards other solutions.

[Grand Master IceMan]

Thanks, but is there anyone out there willing to go through my series of questions?
I appreciate the help so far, but I'm hoping to get some specifics to how I'm thinking through this.

Well, I'm new to "dry camping". I live at an RV Park, so I have full hookups all the time.
But I just took it on a short weekend trip with no hookups.
And yes, I have a generator, but that battery was dead also, which is another posting I have on here.

[Hoopy Frood]

Question 1: is it just the electronic control switch that was needing the battery power?

The fridge needs 12V, to operate on propane. Both for the control board, and for actual operation of the fridge itself

Question 2: If so, is there no way to avoid that with a weak/dead battery -- without having to connect to my tow vehicle to get power?

Simple answer: No, if you're not hooked up to shore power, everything running in your trailer is running off the battery.

Question 3: What could I have done BEFOREHAND to plan on having a good battery? ...And how long should a good battery last?

How long is a piece of string? No matter how well charged the battery is, it has a limited power output. The more things you have operating, the less time it will last. If you're trying to run the fridge, some lights, even LED's, and the furnace, you'll most likely run out of battery pretty quickly. This is why you see people who dry camp usually have multiple batteries, solar panels, and/or generators

Question 4: What is the best way NOW to charge back up the battery?

Put it on a good battery charger, but it's going to take a while to get it back to a decent charge. If it even will.

Thanks!

Hope this helps.

[livinthelife]

Question 4: What is the best way NOW to charge back up the battery?

Put it on a good battery charger, but it's going to take a while to get it back to a decent charge. If it even will.

Another question to OP - was the battery drained completely? If so, it may be damaged and will need to be replaced.

[Grand Master IceMan]

This is good -- thanks!

OK, follow up to Q3:
In the manual I read something about a Battery Disconnect Switch -- and I've seen where it is.
While I'm living at an RV Park with shore power, should I switch it to "OFF"?
And if I'm understanding correctly, should I also disconnect the the battery cables?


Follow up to Q4:
Will my expensive Diehard Jump Starter charge the RV Battery back up?
But f so, does that conflict at all with Q3 above?

[Grand Master IceMan]

Yes, I completely ran out of battery power.

[Hoopy Frood]

Follow up to Q3: The OEM battery disconnect switch may, or may not, totally disconnect all electrical drains from your battery. The only way to find out is to check with an amp meter. My 351M does, but many others do not. Don't depend on it if you're not sure, and disconnecting the negative battery cable is a good option if you're not sure.

You should leave the battery disconnect switch in the "ON" position anytime you're using the trailer. The converter will not charge your battery if you have the battery disconnect switch in the "OFF" position, so yes it should be "ON" when connected to shore power.

Follow up to Q4: No, hooking up your battery charger will not do any harm if you're not connected to shore power, or have the generator connected and powering the trailer. If you have 120 V connected to the trailer, either shore power or generator, the onboard converter will charge the RV battery. But don't forget that using the "expensive Diehard Jump Starter" could result in draining the battery in the jump starter too.

[Grand Master IceMan]

Thanks for all your responses, Hoopy Frood (aka Howard)
It all makes sense now -- I really appreciate it!