The battery is the single most important component of your RV. It supplies power to everything from the lights and TV to the air conditioner and fridge. Your RV battery won’t stay charged all the time. Sometimes batteries lose charge because they sit idle for extended periods, but it happens when your RV is not in use most of the time. That’s why it’s important to know how to recharge your battery.
In this article, we discuss some of the reasons why your RV battery won’t stay charged and how to recharge them.
1. Your battery is a Lipo battery
A lot of people think that their RV battery is a traditional lead-acid battery until they try to start their RV in the morning. A Lipo battery is the same size as a typical lead-acid battery, but it doesn’t have a traditional lead-acid terminal. Instead, it has four individual cells that are connected in series to form the battery which to why it’s important to keep charging them frequently.
2. Your charging system is failing
If your battery won’t stay charged, you should check your charging system. There are built-in charge monitors on many RV batteries so that you can keep watch on whether or not the battery is being charged. Of course, this is only a good indication if your charger is working. You’ll need to run a diagnostic check to see exactly what’s wrong with the system when it’s not.
3. You don’t have a charging system
If you don’t have a built-in charging system, you could be facing a serious problem. Many RV batteries are designed to charge while driving down the road, but it’s a good idea to pull over occasionally and give them a boost. Of course, not all RV batteries are built for this. If yours isn’t, you can use an external battery charger or just slow down and take an occasional break when you’re traveling in your RV.
How to recharge RV batteries
If your RV battery won’t stay charged, you can simply recharge it. You can charge your batteries with a standard 12-volt auto battery charger. Set the charger for six or eight amps, and let it do its work overnight. This will recharge your batteries, but it won’t keep the charge forever. You’ll need to top off your battery before you go out for the day with a surge charger.
Contact us to learn more about our RV batteries and possible diagnostic charging solutions.