Winterizing -Battery

I could give you the short answer, No, No. However, those would require more explanation so here it is.

Well, 4 or 5 years is pretty long for some batteries, pretty short for others. Some have been able to get extended life from the 12V batteries. I do have a question. Was the RPod plugged in when the battery died? If so, were the lights and other things still working? If so, it is unlikely that the converter is bad. However, if everything died when the battery did, then the converter is possibly bad. Go on the WFCO site and download the troubleshooting guide if that is the case. Other than that, there isn't enough information to say one way or the other as to whether it is the battery that went bad or the converter.

Most likely you found the culprit.  We simply pull both our 12v batteries out for the winter here in northern Michigan.  Give each a 36 hour 2 amp trickle charge first week in November then disconnect and set directly on the concrete floor in our unheated garage.  It has now been almost 9 weeks since they were charged, checked and one battery read 12.39v while the other is at 12.45v.  Outside temperature is -14C so it is cool.  Will check batteries again at 12 weeks, if they get to the point of 12.2v or 60% S.O.C they will receive another trickle charge but in the past they have never gotten an additional charge until April when they are thereafter re-installed in our 177.  The oldest battery (12v Interstate group size 24 deep cycle) will turn 11 years old in April 2022.

4-5 years is normal. Time for new batteries. I wouldn't try to recover them at that age if they have been fully discharged once or twice. As others have suggested, a dual 6V flooded golf cart battery system is generally best for most folks if you boondock, single 12V flooded battery if you don't.

Li batteries are great but there is quite a lot of work and money involved in that conversion. You need a different charger, different battery location to keep them from being exposed to freezing temps, and a DC to DC converter to charge them from your tow vehicle via your 7 way connector while driving. Not worth it for most folks.


Be sure to eliminate that short before reconnecting.it's possible, although unlikely, that a resistive short remains even though the dead short that was tripping your breaker is gone. A resistive short is one that passes some current but not enough to trip the breaker. No only will that discharge your battery but much worse, it will produce heat and can start a fire.

Get a multimeter with a clamp on DC current probe (available quite inexpensively on Amazon and elsewhere). Clamp that on one of the main battery cables and see if there is any current flowing with everything shut off. Shouldn't be more than 0.1-0.2 amps or so. You can also use it to see how much current your various loads are using and your charger is producing. Be sure the meter specs call out DC and not just AC current.

Yes you can leave your batteries in place and the trailer connected to shore power. The WFCO on board charger will keep them charged. However, do both check the battery electrolyte level as others have suggested and also confirm the battery voltage is within the proper range. My WFCO failed and overcharged the battery (it was up around 15.5V-16V). The same thing can happen if you pull the batteries and charge them independently, so that doesn't eliminate the need to keep an eye on them. If you buy flooded batteries no harm done if you catch it before enough water is consumed to expose the battery plates. But that can happen in a week or two at those high charge voltage levels. So check water levels often and use your multimeter on the DC voltage scale to confirm the battery voltage is floating in the 13V range. Lower allows the electrolyte to stratify and higher consumes too much water, neither is good.