Coach Battery Issue - went dead in storage

[RKDAVE]

I am a new owner of a 2011 Bighorn 3055RL. I purchased the rig from a dealer who installed a new Interstate Battery before I picked it up After a month of non-use, the battery barely had enough juice left in to extend my front jacks. I wouldn't think this is normal after 4 weeks. Should I keep a trickle charger on it? I turned the battery switch to the off position when I stored the rig and I checked the water level as well. Thanks!

 

[jimtoo]

Re: ATF: Bighorn - Battery Issue

Hi RKDAVE,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Don't know what switch you turned off. The units, as far as I know, do not come with a battery disconnect switch. The normal drain of the CO and propane detectors will drain a battery in a very short time. So it sounds like the detectors might be still connected. I think the only way is to remove the negative battery cable to make sure nothing is causing a drain or install a disconnect switch your self. Or if you have 120v service available leave the unit plugged in and the converter will keep battery charged.

Let us know what you find.

Jim M

 

[Bob&Patty]

Re: ATF: Bighorn - Battery Issue

Dave, just because a battery is new does not mean it had a full charge. The battery could have been a shelf for months. Cars and trucks have "keep alive memory" things in them and so do most trailers. They will drain a battery within a month. If you have a way to keep you trailer plugged into 120V then do it. If you do however, make sure you check the acid level every month. If you dont and the battery goes dry....your battery will be junk. If you cant keep it plugged in, remove the negative cable or remove the battery, take it home and keep it on a trickle charger. BTW, extreme cold or heat can kill a battery also.

 

[danemayer]

Re: ATF: Bighorn - Battery Issue

If "battery switch to off" is the battery cutoff switch, the battery should have held most of the charge it had when you put it in storage. But the break-away switch bypasses the cutoff and is powered all the time so the brakes will activate if the trailer separates from the tow vehicle, pulling the break-away ripcord. If you have a frayed wire on that line from the 12V mini-breaker to the break-away switch, you might be losing power there.

But it's more likely the battery wasn't fully charged by the dealer to start with. They may have changed the battery and left it sitting on the lot for a week or two with the cutoff switch ON.

 

[mikeandconnie]

Just connect your plug to your truck and charge it a little. My battery was dead last month when I started hooking up. I connected the truck and was able to close 3 slides and raise 6 jacks in less then 15 minutes and was on my way. My battery is 2 years old and used a lot.

I store my pluged in with at lest 115 20 amp just to keep the battery charged or I cutoff the battery and it normally stays charged.

 

[JohnDar]

The other potential drain is the radio in the rig. If it's one that requires 120V and plugs into an outlet, no problem. If it's a 12V, with an LCD display, it's always on and always drawing power. When we had a TT, between the LP detector and the radio, the battery would go dead within a week if I didn't disconnect it.

 

[RKDAVE]

Thanks to everyone for the great information! I'm a newbie and all your posts are extremely helpful to me. I do have access to 120v however I'm going to disconnect the negative terminal on the battery before storing it next time and see if that does the trick. I'm heading out for a weeks trip tomorrow so that should fully charge the battery. Thanks again for all of your responses. I'm going to pay heed to all of them!

 

[JohnDar]

Almost forgot! The other drain is the tv antenna amplifier. If you leave it on ( red LED lit), it's also drawing power.

 

[RKDAVE]

Almost forgot! The other drain is the tv antenna amplifier. If you leave it on ( red LED lit), it's also drawing power.

Thats another possibility I never would have thought of. Thanks so much for taking the time to add this!

 

[donr827]

I purchased a new trailer around 10 years ago. The dealer installed a new battery. I had the same type of problem as you. It turned out that the battery had a bad cell and would not hold a charge. You might want to have the battery itself checked out also.
Don

 

[recumbent615]

Almost forgot! The other drain is the tv antenna amplifier. If you leave it on ( red LED lit), it's also drawing power.

But if the Battery Disconnect switch was set to the off the only thing that is still connected is the Brakes via the Breakaway switch at the pinbox.

Kevin

 

[bsuds]

Re: ATF: Bighorn - Battery Issue

May not be the same problem but our 2011 Big Country had battery issues when we first got it. Turned out to be a bad ground connection so it was not getting charged properly.
No problems since that was fixed.

 

[RKDAVE]

Re: ATF: Bighorn - Battery Issue

Thanks for your post regarding my battery issue. That's another possibility that I never thought of checking...again, much thanks!

 

[wdk450]

Re: ATF: Bighorn - Battery Issue

RKDave:
Since you are in California (and get plenty of sun), you might want to look into a simple solar battery maintainer system. Once installed, it is a no brainer, set it and forget it system.