Do I Really Need To Keep My RV's House Batteries Charged?

by Anonymous


Do I really need to keep the house batteries charged? I RV a lot and I usually plug-in or dry camp and use the generator.

As far as I know, the house batteries are dead but everything works fine.

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ANSWER: Hi thanks one of the facts you mentioned in your question actually answered one part of your question. Since your generator starts then we know that your House Batteries are charged because in most RVs the house batteries are what start the generator not the RV's chassis battery. So if you don't keep your house batteries charged your generator will not start.

To answer your main question, Yes you should keep your RV's House Batteries charged as they are an integral part of your RV's electrical system. In fact every time you plug in your RV or run it's generator the house batteries automatically receive a charge from your RV's Converter.

It is also important to keep your house batteries properly maintained. Battery maintenance should take about 10 minutes per month. The monthly maintenance is very simple:


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1. Check the electrolyte level of the batteries and top off with Distilled Water as needed.

2. Check the batteries to make sure that all connections are tight and clean.

If you are going to store your RV for over a month or so a good rule of thumb is to disconnect the house batteries. Quite a few RV's have a built-in Battery Disconnect Switch you can use to disconnect the House Batteries.

If your RV does not have a battery disconnect switch there are after-market Battery Disconnect Switches that you can easily install.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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by: Anonymous

I left the batteries [house and coach] in the on position while I had the MH plugged into shore power for a month. Result-I boiled the deep cycle battery [which was less than 6 months old]. You could see the bulge. I was told that this was a serious risk of explosion. I have two switches in MH - one for house battery and one for chassis.

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