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Country Coach Restoration, Repair & Parts Forums => Country Coach Archive => Topic started by: Countryjrc on November 01, 2004, 12:11:13 am

Title: Storage-Any Helpful Hints?
Post by: Countryjrc on November 01, 2004, 12:11:13 am
Yahoo Message Number: 12542 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12542)
We brought our Coach out of Star Valley and are going to store it near our Tempe home for a few months. We have defrosted the frig & freezer, turned off the gas, and will turn off the circuit breakers inside the coach when parked. Should other things be turned off so the batteries will not be drained. We intend to start it up atleast once a month and drive it to our home. We will plug it into our house current overnight before returning it to storage. Are there any additional things needed to be done? Your help would be appreciated. John
2002 Allure
#30702
Title: Re: Storage-Any Helpful Hints?
Post by: Joe Pehoushek on November 02, 2004, 09:03:09 am
Yahoo Message Number: 12569 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12569)
In my 2004 Allure #31031, with EVERYTHING turned off, AND with the so-called "battery disconnect" switch thrown, I still draw 1 to 2 amps from the house batteries. With two 8-D batteries, when fully charged, having about 400 Amp hours capacity, that means I will drain the batteries to 50% within 5 to 10 days. In turn, that means that if I leave my coach this way for a month, I have dead batteries.

The only way to avoid this is to, either:
1) Set your genset to start automatically every "X" days, or whatever other auto-start trigger you care to use, or,
2) plug in to shore power every week or so, or,
3) disconnect the batteries physically at the batteries, or,
4) disconnect a particular wire, it's purple, inside the battery
compartment (can't remember what wire #,and my coach is 100 miles away at the moment). This wire disconnects the remaining loads and reduces the battery drain to near zero.

There may be other solutions, but these are the ones of which I am aware.
Joe

Punta Gorda, FL

Quote from: countryjrc
We brought our Coach out of Star Valley and are going to store it > near our Tempe home for a few months. We have defrosted the frig

&

Quote
freezer, turned off the gas, and will turn off the circuit

breakers

Quote
inside the coach when parked. Should other things be turned off

so
Title: Re: Storage-Any Helpful Hints?
Post by: George Sanders on November 02, 2004, 01:31:52 pm
Yahoo Message Number: 12573 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12573)
Joe, I have Allure 31038. I don't think what you are seeing is too unusual....though a 2 amp draw is pretty high. I am seeing about 1 amp from mine. The purple wire may be the echo-charge device that keeps your chassis battery up from your house batteries as the source. So your phantom draw may be from the chassis.

What I have done is set my RC7GS to start the gen at 60% and charge to 90%. The result is about a 2 or 3 hour run per week.

I park out in the open and have decided to add a couple of solar panels to the mix. I know from past experience that they will keep the batteries in the best shape possible and provide for the longest battery life.

Good luck.

George Sanders in Birmingham, AL
Allure 31038

Quote from: Joe Pehoushek
>

In my 2004 Allure #31031, with EVERYTHING turned off, AND with the > so-called "battery disconnect" switch thrown, I still draw 1 to 2 > amps from the house batteries. With two 8-D batteries, when fully > charged, having about 400 Amp hours capacity, that means I will > drain the batteries to 50% within 5 to 10 days. In turn, that

means

Quote
that if I leave my coach this way for a month, I have dead

batteries.
Title: Re: Storage-Any Helpful Hints?
Post by: Ron & Molly Bodee on November 04, 2004, 05:33:30 pm
Yahoo Message Number: 12625 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12625)