2022 View storage procedure

[Glenn B]

Hello.....new to RVing and despite reading a lot of 'stuff' I am still unsure quite how to store my View for extended periods (1-4 weeks). I have under cover storage (car port set up) and connect to shore power via a 30amp supply. Can I set the A/C to auto (albeit at a relatively high temp 80F) and leave the fridge on and expect them to run if I turn the house batteries off, or am I supposed to turn everything off and the only thing the 30amp connection does is to charge the house batteries (I have fitted a Amp-L-Start trickle charger for the Lithium-Ion house batteries)?

Maybe to expect the fridge and A/C to run I have to plug into the 30amp AND leave the batteries in the 'on' position?

Would appreciate any practical advice you can give!

Glenn

[DavidM]

Plug in and leave the batteries in the on position. The converter will keep the batteries charged, but it sounds like it may not be a Li specific charger. No real problem, but it will charge more slowly.

FWIW even with the battery switch off, if you are plugged in, the converter will supply DC power to the fridge, etc. But it is better to keep the battery switch on to keep it charged up.

Also FWIW, an Amp L Start uses the house batteries to keep the chassis batteries charged. Not necessary if it is a newish coach with a reliable Battery Isolation Manager like the Precision Circuits BIM 160 or maybe the upgraded Li capable Li-BIM 225.

The A/C set at a relatively high temp will keep the inside humidity down. The fridge, whether it is an absorption type or a DC compressor will run fine. Make sure if it is an absorption type that it is set on automatic which will select A/C mode if it is plugged in. That will conserve propane.

Not essential if you are not doing much dry camping, but if you do consider upgrading the charger part of your converter to a Li capable one. It will charge much faster on a generator. Progressive Dynamics makes a good one.

David

[creativepart]

Everything David said is true... BUT I'm of a different opinion on this kind of storage. In my personal experience if the RV is being stored away from home and you have no way to monitor the constancy of the shore power that you should not keep any appliances on. Nor should you keep the battery cutoffs on either.

If you are storing at home and would know if the power goes out then sure leave stuff on. But if you'll be away from a remote storage yard for weeks at a time just image the smelly fridge and dead batteries that will great your return to the RV if a storm knocks out power and it is not restored for a lengthy period of time.

Ask me how I know about this possibility and I'll try not to gag from remembering the mold and smell in the fridge when we returned 4-weeks after putting the RV in a Powered storage space.

[Glenn B]

Thanks David, our dealer finally responded and essentially said the same. Very much appreciated.

[Glenn B]

Ouch, I can get a real sense of that smell! Fortunately I am in a fully enclosed garage and I have a device that notifies me if there is a power outage…..it is only 30 mins from home so can always get to it if I perceive a problem. All the great advice seems to come from someone’s prior experience and I am learning as I go (there will be more mistakes yet to come along the way for sure!). Thanks again for the great advice everyone.

[rprochnow]

For our 2021 24D, we store it in an unconditioned metal shed (with locking doors on both ends of the shed). The shed has only 110 power. We have lithium batteries and an AMP-L-START.

When going into storage, we turn off the refrigerator and leave the door open inside the coach.

The doors and windows are sealed - so there's not going to be much air circulation in/out of the coach.

We leave the inverter running, since that's needed to keep the lithium batteries charged.

Inside the TV cabinet, I've installed an extension cord with an on/off switch - which turns off the power to our WeBoost, TV, sound bar, and Portal TV.

The propane gas is turned off at the tank, and the Truma hot water is turned off using the outside power switch.

We leave the water pump off (if there's a problem, we don't want to come back with the pump pushing water inside the coach).

If going into storage for more than a few days, we'll dump the gray/black tanks - and put in the tank protectant.

The fresh water tank will usually have some water in it. If in storage for more than a few days, when we pull it out of storage, we'll dump the fresh water and put new water in before the next trip.

Even though the shed isn't air conditioned, in the Houston heat, we haven't had any problems with the coach getting too hot while in storage - so we haven't worried about running the air conditioning while we're gone. Plus, there's always a risk of something failing when running any appliances unattended for an extended period...

We usually store our View for no more than 6 weeks - and the above strategy has been fine. If we ever end up storing it for longer, we'll probably disconnect the coach and chassis batteries (following the instructions in the Winnebago/Sprinter docs).

[Glenn B]

Thanks very much for your response, i have a similar set up for storage so will follow your lead there, I too have the same charger for the Lithium batteries so having a 30amp connection will definitely keep them topped off. Given that I have that power available I will leave the WeBoost etc on. I would not have thought about the propane tank or Truma but that makes total sense given its stored inside.



Thanks again!


Glenn

[dkoldman]

Congrats. I think all you have been told and what you plan to do is excellent. Roll with it and you will adjust to fit your situation better over time. Location of where you are is contributing factor.

I will add this because I think there is a relevant, but missed subtle point of putting a RV up for Storage, versus parking it and not using.

I never put my RV in Storage in the traditional sense, because I use it year around. However, I may winterize (myself) 2 or 3 times per year. Even then, for me I don't consider it in storage because it may be 1 week or 4 weeks before I use it again. It is simply parked, and I am not using.

So generally speaking I never get to use or have a need for Use/Store switch. However, once a year, I will shut the entire thing down with no shore power and switch in Store mode. I like to go 2 - 3 weeks to verify I have no drain on my batteries. If my coach could not make a week with everything shutdown, I would want to know what was running?

I don't run my fridge when it is parked and I am not using. I do prop the doors on the fridge & Freezer after a trip for it to complete air dry and circulate.

But 90% of the time I am plugged in, the switch in Use Mode and I turn everything off as if I was leaving the house. The only thing I worry about is a storm, and if I get warning, I will unplug BEFORE any electrical storm. I do have EMS protection, but I don't want to rely on that if I can avoid.

All of this is possible because of my Intelligent Wizard Progressive Dynamic Converter.