Keeping your RV Battery from Getting “Sick” this Winter

Don’t let the cold weather fool you, the snow banks may be 3 meters tall but believe it or not, RV season is soon upon us!  So, how can you stay one step ahead and ensure that as soon as the spring weather hits, you are ready to enjoy the spending beauty this great country of ours has to offer?

Follow these two simple steps, of course!

1. Staying Clean! 
Cleanliness is very important for your flooded RV battery. Terminal corrosion and fluid can cause voltage drops, reduced amperage and cause parasitic draws, shorting the life of your battery. 
Keeping the terminals clear and using an anti-corrosion spray or grease (even Vaseline will work) will keep the corrosion from forming on the terminal’s,  this will extend the life of your battery.
 
2. Staying Charged!
Storing your RV don’t forget about their charge. Batteries will self-discharge even if there is no draw or load applied. A battery will freeze if they are not kept well charged. If your battery freezes it will have to be replace as internal damage most likely occurred. 
Some RVs have converters already installed however it’s not the proper device to maintain your batteries. The best solution is a Smart Charger, which essentially has multiple stages of charging. It can compensate for varying temperatures, various AC input voltages, and protects against overcharging. Which can save a lot of RV related issues.
These will properly maintain your batteries in storage. If you RV has a converter it’s easy to change the converter to a Smart Charger. An excellent product to help with charging is the Xantrex TRUECharge2 battery charger. It has gotten a lot of rave reviews and can compensate for a variety of battery types, and has two or three stage charging, and is simple to use.

So as winter comes to a close, and we shovel ourselves out of the snowy blanket that has covered most of this great country of ours, remember to check on your RV batteries. Spring is just around the corner and those RV engines are revving to get out of hibernation.