Should We Remove The Battery From Our RV When Long-Term Camping?

by Wob
(Ontario , Canada)

We have a 2003 wildwood 39d - It is parked at a park and never moves from there. We are plugged into the park electrical system. My question is - do we really still need a battery or will everything work fine without a battery?

Some fellow park people say you still need a battery because it helps the converter somehow and you will use less electricity with a battery And others say no battery will make no difference

Hopefully you can answer this 6 year trailer park conversational question.

Thanks

ANSWER: Greetings Wob thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.

First let me thank you for sucking me into the Battery or No Battery Controversy that has been going on for 6 years. Now no matter how I answer this question I am going to end up being labeled a loser by the "Park People" that do not agree with the answer I give. :-)

I am not even going to address the question "Will everything work fine without a battery?" Instead I am going to give you my opinion. My Opinion is: ........... (Drum Roll Please) ................ KEEP THE BATTERY!!!!! OK now that I hear half the "Park People" booing or hissing me let me explain my answer. My reasons for saying keep the battery are below.

1. The house batteries in your Trailer are an integral part of your trailer's electrical system. When the engineers designed your trailer's electrical system it was designed to always have house batteries installed.

By removing the batteries you are modifying an important part of your trailer's electrical design. It is possible that if you remove the batteries that your 12 volt electrical system will not function properly (I do not have your trailer's wiring diagrams in front of me to give you a definitive answer).

2. You say you do not need the batteries because you are always plugged into the parks’ electrical service. According to your submission you are from the Canadian Province of Ontario and if I remember correctly it gets pretty darn cold there during the winter months. So, let’s just say that one nice cold winter night the power in the park goes out or your trailer's converter malfunctions, how are you going to stay warm?

Don't just say that my RV's furnace works off of propane, I do not need electric. Remember the furnace needs 12 Volt power to operate. So, if this happens and you still have your batteries you can still operate the furnace and stay "toasty" until the electric comes back on or the converter is fixed.

OK I know if the power goes out you could always go to the Park's Club House and sit in front of the Fire Place with the other "Park People", but you are missing my point.

Keeping batteries in your trailer is not that expensive and they will last for a good while if you maintain them properly. I would not suggest that you do these kinds of modifications to any RV's electrical systems; it is not worth the problems it could potentially cause. Of course it is totally up to you to make the final decision on whether to keep the battery in the trailer or not.

I sure hope there was no illegal betting going on about how I was going to answer this question, if there was, I want in on the action.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al