Newbie storage question
 

Is it better to keep the coach plugged into 120v shore power or use a battery maintainer/charger for the batteries during storage? Appreciate any advice.

I keep mine plugged in to 120v all the time. I keep our coach parked at the end of our drive and close to the garage. I use a 12g extension cord, dog bones to go from 50a to 20a, and push the plugs up under the coach to protect from rain. I occasionally go out and tinker in the coach with something, this way I can turn on tv or whatever else with no problems. I never put battery switch in store position.

I have a 50 amp plug on the side of the house and my coach is always plugged in and powered on when we are home. I originally had 30 amp installed but had an electrician upgrade that to 50 amp when we bought the Challenger. For me it was well worth the investment.

Thanks for the info guys. For my application (30 amp system) I guess I would plug into an outlet in my garage and dog bone from 30 to 20 ?

Just remember you will only get max of 20amps with the dog bone. I have to go from 50 to 20 using two dog bones. Some day if we decide to stay where we are I'll probably get 50 amp installed so I can plug directly in, that would be nice!

Most converters today have a smart function just like the fancy battery maintainers. Do like the rest of them an keep shore power on even if it's just a dog bone hitting a normal household circuit. You might not be able to run your A/C on this.


Only other thing is to check your water in the batteries monthly and do not use tap water or purified, get distilled - no minerals.

For long term storage I start by getting the house battery charged with the converter then switch over to a Battery Minder for the long term. I am plugged into a standard 15A circuit so I am carefull not to use any high current items or tools.

I use a trickle charger on the chassis battery.