Battery Care

RV Battery Care & Winter Storage Tips

Regular maintenance is crucial for long battery life, be sure to charge your batteries whenever they are not in use to prevent sulfation and freezing.  Sulfation occurs during periods of extended storage and will reduce the batteries capacity and shortens their lifespan immensely and voids warranty.

The best way to prevent damage and to keep deep cycle battery’s in top shape for many years is an automatic battery maintainer, such as a Noco Genius or Battery Tender (brand Names) that will automatically monitor your batteries condition and safely comes on and off as needed, keeping these on between camping trips allows the battery to fully charge which is something that a drive back home from camping can never do. A common mistake people make is they think that driving is enough to charge them back up which unless you’re driving for several days nonstop will not happen. Whatever size maintainer you choose to buy make sure its size is relevant to the type of battery you have especially for six-volt batteries. Personally, I would go for the minimum of the Noco G3500 or the Battery Tender 3 Amp. If charging 6 volts I recommend leaving them hooked up in series as they would be on your RV.

Clean any corrosion off the terminals of your battery with a wire brush regularly and check your batteries fluid levels regularly as well.  Fill to about a ½” above the lead plates that you can see when looking in through the holes but never to the top of the casing. Distilled water is best, bottled water will do as well. 

Always remove your batteries from your RV and store them inside your garage or basement during the winter. If they are left in your RV without a constant full charge they will freeze. Once this happens they will have to be replaced and there is no warranty on frozen batteries.

Keeping up a regular maintenance schedule will insure you have your batteries for many years. I have seen many people including myself who do the little effort it takes to properly maintain their batteries get at least 6 to 8+ years use of their batteries.