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dkoldman · 05-09-2020, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenMN

I bought a 2014 Thor Vegas this week. One of the technicians at the dealer told me I should turn off the engine battery whenever I'm stopped for any length of time, even if I have shore power. My brother-in-law, who was helping me through the purchase, was extremely skeptical. He has owned numerous brands of motor homes and never heard of such a thing. Since the process involves opening the hood every time, I wanted to check it out. Is this actually necessary? (I will mention that the technician knew very little about the Vegas.)

Congratulations on new RV. My take on little info I read.

#1 If everything is working properly you certainly DO NOT need to disconnect Engine Battery when connected to shore power. Have your Brother In Law verify that when on shore power & in use mode; check that the battery is reading 13 plus vDC. Think about it; when connected to Shore Power and in Use mode your engine battery is being charged up

#2 May have been misunderstanding where you heard "stopped for any length of time"? Is it possible dealer was saying if it was going to be parked (without shorepower) for any length of time?

I bought a brand new coach and the 1st thing I did was buy a Battery Disconnect Switch for Engine. It was only $14 off ebay. I was going to install it myself, but my Winnebago dealer saw it and installed for me for $50 bucks including parts wires fuse etc.

See picture to the upper right. I will ONLY use it to turn off when I plan to park the RV for an extended period of time (1 week or more with no shorepower), or at someplace where it may be unattended and I wish to ensure nothing is on just to make it harder for a would be thief. My battery is actually inside the coach under steps so they may just assume the battery is dead. It is also very easy for me to get to to turn on/off without have to pop that hood.

I put this switch as nice to have but not critical. With that said depending on how you may use.... you really may need one unless you are very active with the RV or have it on shorepowere 24/7?