Battery keeps losing its charge - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

Mike M · 08-10-2014, 12:49 PM

I am on the road enjoying my summer vacation. I was staying at Ashville, NC and all was fine. When I arrived at Mt. Pleasant, SC the battery was dead. I checked the charging fuse in my truck and it had blown. I bought a new battery because I did not know how old the one in it was when I bought the unit. It was fine. I added an electric tongue jack before I left home. I had a duh moment when I figured out the interior lights were running on battery power because the breaker tripped in the breaker panel. I unhooked the battery when we went to the Outer Banks or NC and let it charge. When I arrived at my sons house in Waldorf, MD and opened the unit to get a few things out for the night my lights were very dim inside and of course the refrigerator was set to DC. So the batter was dead too. I plugged it into a/c for the night and the battery was back to full charge the next morning. I did not have this problem before I added the tongue jack so I am wondering if it could be bleeding the charge off the battery while it is sitting still. My truck is charging the battery while we are moving so nothing is wrong there. Any suggestions? I know this is a novel message but the history is important in this problem.

Thank you,

Mike

RichR · 08-10-2014, 01:58 PM

The tongue jack should not be bleeding anything if it is working properly, it's either running or it isn't. Does it have a light on it that may be turned on, but that wouldn't drain the battery. Does it hook to the battery with an inline fuse?

The fridge probably draws about 15 amps and can drain the battery in a hurry, especially if the TV charge line is not supplying power to the battery. The battery charge line may not be keeping up with the fridge draw and is drawing from the battery as well. Charge lines are many times under sized.

Mike M · 08-10-2014, 03:00 PM

The light is off on the jack. Seems strange this just happened after I put the jack in. I have not had this unit on a long trip until this year. So from at what I understand is that the fridge is not designed to sit for a few hours without any kind of charge going to the battery and will drain the battery in a matter of hours. It is designed to be on battery setting while traveling and then plugged into electricity when you reach your destination. I am still learning about Hi-Lo. Once I get how it works then I can devise a routine when I travel and add it to my checklist so I do not miss anything. Thanks so much for the information on how the fridge draws power from the battery.

:-)

JackandJanet · 08-10-2014, 03:17 PM

Rat, I think your fridge is a 3-way. If so, the BEST way to run it is off propane. It is most efficient that way. AC power is next best and DC is just for traveling.

But, if you're parked where you can plug into shore power, AC is the cheapest way to run it.

- Jack

RichR · 08-10-2014, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratmouser

The light is off on the jack. Seems strange this just happened after I put the jack in. I have not had this unit on a long trip until this year. So from at what I understand is that the fridge is not designed to sit for a few hours without any kind of charge going to the battery and will drain the battery in a matter of hours. It is designed to be on battery setting while traveling and then plugged into electricity when you reach your destination. I am still learning about Hi-Lo. Once I get how it works then I can devise a routine when I travel and add it to my checklist so I do not miss anything. Thanks so much for the information on how the fridge draws power from the battery.

:-)

Disconnect the power to the tongue jack and see what happens. Does it have a crank for backup?

We travel most times with the fridge turned off. If the fridge is pre-cooled overnight and all the food is put in cold it is good for 4 or 5 hours without problems. Gas works best but there are differences of opinion over using it while traveling. I have used the fridge in DC mode with no problems but I also have dual batteries that may take the load along with the charge line. The worst situation is running the battery down to the point that the top won't lift when you get to your destination. When the batteries get down that low there is permanent damage and the life may be shortened and they may not hold a full charge.

Mike M · 08-10-2014, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichR

Disconnect the power to the tongue jack and see what happens. Does it have a crank for backup?

We travel most times with the fridge turned off. If the fridge is pre-cooled overnight and all the food is put in cold it is good for 4 or 5 hours without problems. Gas works best but there are differences of opinion over using it while traveling. I have used the fridge in DC mode with no problems but I also have dual batteries that may take the load along with the charge line. The worst situation is running the battery down to the point that the top won't lift when you get to your destination. When the batteries get down that low there is permanent damage and the life may be shortened and they may not hold a full charge.

So you can travel with the propane on? I also prefer that method. I had the situation with not being able to raise the top because the battery went dead during travel when my truck blew the fuse for the charging wire to the hitch. So I will run with the propane to Mercer in the morning. My last RV had to travel with the propane going on the fridge.
Thank you.

Luckydog671 · 08-10-2014, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratmouser

So you can travel with the propane on? I also prefer that method. I had the situation with not being able to raise the top because the battery went dead during travel when my truck blew the fuse for the charging wire to the hitch. So I will run with the propane to Mercer in the morning. My last RV had to travel with the propane going on the fridge.
Thank you.

Hi ratmouser,

My owner's manual specifically states you should not run with the propane on. The fridge on a Hi-Lo will not properly vent due to the telescoping top.

Luckydog671 · 08-10-2014, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luckydog671

Hi ratmouser,

My owner's manual specifically states you should not run with the propane on. The fridge on a Hi-Lo will not properly vent due to the telescoping top.

More info is available in the Refrigerator section of the video manual:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnW0...eature=related

After looking again in my manual, I cannot confirm what I said earlier about the venting. I may have read it somewhere on the forum so perhaps others can chime in on that but it does state "Be sure the LP gas is turned off" in the "Preparing for Travel" section (section 12 in my manual).

JackandJanet · 08-10-2014, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luckydog671

More info is available in the Refrigerator section of the video manual:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnW0...eature=related

After looking again in my manual, I cannot confirm what I said earlier about the venting. I may have read it somewhere on the forum so perhaps others can chime in on that but it does state "Be sure the LP gas is turned off" in the "Preparing for Travel" section (section 12 in my manual).

If you are running the fridge on propane and are stopped, you should have the trailer raised. That will vent it properly. If you're in motion, the "breeze" will allow things to vent OK with the top down.

I've never driven with the fridge running on propane, but I HAVE had the charging fuse blow (twice) with it powered with DC. The fridge holds cold well enough that things survive the unpowered period without damage.

I've learned to carry extra 30 A charging fuses with me. And, I disconnect the trailer from the TV electrically before raising the top.

- Jack

Mike M · 08-10-2014, 08:07 PM

Thanks Jack,
That is kind of what I was thinking. There is still ventilation even though the top is down. I have several 30 amp fuses on hand just for that purpose. This is one of the things my wife is pretty persistent about. Keeping food cold on the road and when you surprised about the charging fuse blowing. I am learning a lot about hi-lo's since we traded our Road Runner for this one. Not pulling a bill board is the best part about this. The first RV was an impulse buy without checking out other options before we discovered Hi-Lo. This is the best RV that was ever designed.

Mike

Garry · 08-15-2014, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratmouser

Thanks Jack,
That is kind of what I was thinking. There is still ventilation even though the top is down. I have several 30 amp fuses on hand just for that purpose. This is one of the things my wife is pretty persistent about. Keeping food cold on the road and when you surprised about the charging fuse blowing. I am learning a lot about hi-lo's since we traded our Road Runner for this one. Not pulling a bill board is the best part about this. The first RV was an impulse buy without checking out other options before we discovered Hi-Lo. This is the best RV that was ever designed.

Mike

Just received my current issue of "Trailer Life" and the Letter of the Month was battery basics which included a comment that the LP sensor could completely drain your battery in three or four weeks. Don't know that his would apply to us with Hi Lo's/Tow Lites as we can position the master switch so the lift motor and refrigerator are the only things receiving D/C power. However, when dry camping, if you have a stereo C/D player that is direct wired to the battery, a combination of the two might present a problem. Food for thought.

JackandJanet · 08-15-2014, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garry

Just received my current issue of "Trailer Life" and the Letter of the Month was battery basics which included a comment that the LP sensor could completely drain your battery in three or four weeks. Don't know that his would apply to us with Hi Lo's/Tow Lites as we can position the master switch so the lift motor and refrigerator are the only things receiving D/C power. However, when dry camping, if you have a stereo C/D player that is direct wired to the battery, a combination of the two might present a problem. Food for thought.

Or, like my factory installed stereo CD/DVD, which was DIRECTLY wired to the battery, and not through the master switch! By itself, it would drain the battery, inside a month, even though it was turned off due to the "keep alive" power it used. I put an additional on-off switch in the power line to it to isolate it from the battery.

- Jack

Garry · 08-16-2014, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

Or, like my factory installed stereo CD/DVD, which was DIRECTLY wired to the battery, and not through the master switch! By itself, it would drain the battery, inside a month, even though it was turned off due to the "keep alive" power it used. I put an additional on-off switch in the power line to it to isolate it from the battery.

- Jack

Did the same to my stereo last week. I'm hoping it will increase battery life while dry camping, but do plan on using my generator more often.