Written By Marina Dawson 

As their owners can attest, RVs are a fabulous way to tour around the country with your family and can provide an incredibly relaxing and fun vacation.  However, RVs are certainly not maintenance free and neither are their batteries.  You may not automatically think of the batteries that power your RV, but consider how your appliances run when the RV engine isn’t running and you aren’t hooked up to a power station.  It’s your batteries that are powering all the electronic appliances and toys that fill up your RV.  Unless you want to be stranded without your fridge or furnace, it’s best to carefully consider what types of batteries you are using to keep everything running smoothly.

RVs require two separate types of battery.  The starting battery is what helps to start the engine.  Made with thin lead plates capable of withstanding short bursts of high amperage, these batteries are used within the first thirty seconds that it takes to start the engine and then are recharged by the alternator.  They are only used in the startup phase, and are not discharged while the engine is running.  The second battery required by RVs is a deep-cycle battery.  These are heavier, sturdier batteries and are made to power lower amperages but over a far longer period of time.  It is your deep-cycle battery that will power all those onboard appliances, including your furnace.  However, deep-cycle batteries will not have the capacity to start your engine.

When you purchase your RV, it will have come with its own batteries.  Often these are not true deep-cycle batteries, but instead are a combination of a starting and deep-cycle battery.  Once these batteries wear out it will be worth investing in a true starting battery and true deep-cycle batteries.  They will provide you with more power and will last longer.  Some RV owners are switching to deep-cycle batteries made for golf carts.  These can be an excellent option, however beware that these batteries are too tall for some RVs.

If you want to keep your RV batteries from dying on you too quickly, it is important to remember a few important things.  First, if you have an on-board converter that continues to run power to the battery when plugged in, the batteries will receive a high amperage charge at a constant level.  This will cause gassing which leads to corrosion and water loss.  You’ll need to regularly check these batteries for signs of wear, clean them when necessary and also keep the water level topped off.  If you are using your rig without having a power hook up, you’ll want to be aware of the items in your RV that will drain the power from your battery even when they are not in use.  When plugged in a microwave still needs power to show the time, your tv may be consuming a small amount of power in order to be instantly switched on, and even your propane refrigerator will be consuming your battery’s power.  Carefully consider all of your electronics and decide what is necessary to have plugged in and what isn’t.  This will help conserve your power for when you might need it the most.

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