84 winniebago trouble starting

[GotiTright]

HELLO,
Hi since I bought my Winniebago I have had no trouble starting it. Lately when I have parked it for a few weeks and go to start it for a weekend trip. It doesn't start so I keep back up charged battery's to jump the battery. Because it seems as thought the battery is dead from sitting. Any thoughts please advise.
Thank you for your time.

[Eagle5]

Hi Got It Right,
I would do two things:

1. Replace your coach battery with a new battery.
2. Use a maintenance charger to keep your battery in peak condition between trips.

Thanks, Eagle5

[BobC]

You might want to consider installing a battery disconnect switch. In order to use a maintenance charger, you need to be able to plug it in.

To me, the ideal situation would be to install a solar panel to keep both your house and starting batteries charged and ready to go. The panel/controller would be attached to your house batteries with something like a Trik-L-Start or Amp-L-Start between the house and starting batteries. The Trik-L-Start/Amp-L-Start will also keep your starting battery charged while you're connected to shore power and is a good idea even if you don't go the solar route.

For simple maintenance charging a relatively small panel, 20w - 50w is adequate and inexpensive, as are smaller capacity controllers (kits with both are available). Just don't expect something this small to do more than maintenance charging.

Here's an example of a kit:

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-12V-Po...9306988&sr=8-3