Battery Concern

[Oldbanker]

My wife & I own a 2007 Itasca Sunrise Model 35L that we purchased new in February, 2007. Our first trip was to Florida for a month in March and we very much enjoyed everything on our initial trip. We did discover a few "bugs" that need to be fixed and our dealer took care of everything for us upon our return. After a two week trip in early August, our "second" home sat in our driveway for 60+ days without being plugged into shore power. Upon attempting to start it in mid-October I discovered that all 3 batteries were dead. After charging for a couple of hours I was able to start the engine and let it run for an hour to charge with the alternator. My concern now is how do I determine the amount of damage to the batteries by my neglect? There are only 5100 miles on it so we consider it still new and it remains under warranty until the first year is up Feb, 2008.

Since this occurred, I start the engine once a week and let it idle to charge as well as now leaving the unit plugged into shore power. I also expect to move it to a storage facility soon until mid-January, 2008 when we will prepare to go to Florida for a couple of months. Any help will be appreciated.

[Oldbanker]

My wife & I own a 2007 Itasca Sunrise Model 35L that we purchased new in February, 2007. Our first trip was to Florida for a month in March and we very much enjoyed everything on our initial trip. We did discover a few "bugs" that need to be fixed and our dealer took care of everything for us upon our return. After a two week trip in early August, our "second" home sat in our driveway for 60+ days without being plugged into shore power. Upon attempting to start it in mid-October I discovered that all 3 batteries were dead. After charging for a couple of hours I was able to start the engine and let it run for an hour to charge with the alternator. My concern now is how do I determine the amount of damage to the batteries by my neglect? There are only 5100 miles on it so we consider it still new and it remains under warranty until the first year is up Feb, 2008.

Since this occurred, I start the engine once a week and let it idle to charge as well as now leaving the unit plugged into shore power. I also expect to move it to a storage facility soon until mid-January, 2008 when we will prepare to go to Florida for a couple of months. Any help will be appreciated.

[CHIPPYSGT]

Somebody with far more knowledge than I will chime in with in-depth advice, but for sure you need to check the water level in the batteries and fill only with distilled water.

Charging the batteries will work better by taking the rig for a drive for an hour or so each month.

You can also disconnect the batteries to prevent parasite drain by little things like clocks, o2 detectors, etc. Over a 2 month period those little "gadgets" will drain the batteries quite a bit.

You can take the batteries to any parts store or big service station and have them load test the batteries.

[FleetMan]

If you were parked for 60 days and did not have the switches for the chassis batteries and the coach batteries in the battery off or battery disconnect position, parasitic loads would have run them down completely. If they are dead and will not hold a charge have them replaced under warranty.

Check your manuals for the chassis battery disconnect switch and the switch which disables the house batteries.

[AFChap]

Oldbanker

Good advice so far. One deep discharge should not have overly damaged the batteries as long as they did not freeze while discharged. Make sure you get them fully recharged.

We ALWAYS use the battery disconnect switch when parking our coach unoccupied for any period of time. However, ours disconnects the house batteries only ...not the chassis batteries.

We ALWAYS take the rig out for a "love ride" of 30 min or so every month. Not only do the batteries need the charge, but the drive train, wheel bearings, and tires need the exercise too. On the Love Ride, the first thing we do after getting into the RV is start the generator. Then while driving, we run the heat pumps or ac along with other appliances. Your generator needs 30 to 60 minutes exercise every month at 1/2 load or greater. After we park at the end of the ride, the last thing we shut down is the generator, then the battery disconnect switch.

If your rig does not charge the engine batteries along with the house batteries when plugged into shore power, you can have a trik-l-start added (or do it yourself). But even with provisions for keeping the coach plugged in, you need to "exercise" both the coach and the generator on a regular basis.

Enjoy the motorhome!!

[John_Canfield]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AFChap:
Oldbanker

Good advice so far. One deep discharge should not have overly damaged the batteries as long as they did not freeze while discharged. Make sure you get them fully recharged.--snip-- </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I agree with Paul. Discharging any type of battery (gel, flooded-cell, AGM) below 50% is never a good idea. Some batteries will tolerate a very deep discharge much better than others. Your chassis batteries are designed to start the engine and then be recharged and they will particularly suffer from a deep discharge. I suspect one or two deep discharges won't make much of a difference.

Paul brought up an excellent and timely tip - discharged batteries will freeze and possibly crack the case. Don't let this happen to you!

[skigramp]

Oldbanker ...

You did not say where you live ... but if you are in a cold climate make sure that you winterize your unit soon

[Oldbanker]

Thank you very much to all who responded to my question. The answers and suggestions are most helpful and I have already implemented several.
To skigramp, we live in New York State and the unit has been winterized since mid-October but thanks again for the reminder.

Oldbanker