RV Batteries won’t hold a charge?

Lately we have been getting a lot of RV’s in with battery issues. One of the biggest issues is corrosion, this is typically from over charging. Inspecting you RV batteries frequently is very important, most RV batteries are wet cell batteries, and the water level in the cells is very important! Check your water level at least 4 times a year, if they are low add distilled water.

Visible bulging at the terminals and the case happen when batteries are not maintained properly. Have your RV technician charge and perform a hydrometer test and load test to check the integrity of your batteries, properly maintained batteries will last years.

If you have an onboard inverter/charger like the Heart Interface Freedom or Xantrex (just to throw out a couple of names). Have your RV technician check the charge rate to the batteries, we have found several inverter/chargers charge the batteries at a very high rate (14.5 volts or more). This can be destructive to your batteries, especially if you don’t use your batteries a lot.

If you leave your RV plugged in for long periods of time leave a light on inside, this serves two purposes, one it uses power from your batteries while they are receiving a consistent charge, and two it may scare away thieves, thinking there may be someone inside.