As we start to see signs of the colder Autumn months, many of us will start thinking about putting our motorhomes into storage for the Winter. Motorhome expert Andy Harris explains why it’s so important to look after your motorhome batteries during this time.
“For many people, this time of year is well….the end of the road. You return back to where your motorhome season began, at the motorhome storage facility. And it’s this time of year that is most critical to ensuring that your batteries do the job next year.
If you leave your motorhome batteries over winter without actually looking after them at all, you could come back next Spring to find them at best in a poor state of charge, and not very happy, and at worst you could have a dead motorhome battery or batteries.
And if you’ve got one, don’t rely on your on-board charger. If your motorhome is not attached to electrical hook-up it will use power from the starter battery to maintain the leisure batteries, so there is a big risk of not being able to start your motorhome come the warmer weather. If you are parked next to electrical hook-up and have an on-board charger, just remember that this type of charger generally fitted in your motorhome is not really a motorhome battery charger. It is really a power supply, designed to run the 12V equipment on board. It will charge your batteries but it won’t condition them.
And it’s worth remembering that charging and maintaining your starter and your leisure batteries on a regular basis, can extend the life of your batteries by up to three times. So this Winter you should look after your batteries if you want to guarantee performance next season and beyond. You’ve got to keep them warm, dry and give them a lovely Winter break!
The best way to do that is to use an intelligent battery charger like the CTEK MXS 10 – the perfect motorhome battery charger. I recommend you remove both the starter battery and the leisure battery, bring them home and attach each one to a CTEK MXS 10. You can actually connect the chargers to the batteries say in October and leave them attached until you are ready to put them back into you motorhome. There is no risk of overcharging or undercharging, indeed the MXS 10 will keep your motorhome batteries in the peak of physical condition by changing the voltage that goes into the battery, depending on what the battery needs.
So remember, if you look after and charge motorhome batteries on a regular basis, they will look after you.”
Andy has worked with CTEK to produce a series of information films looking at how to maintain your batteries through the motorhome season. Why not take a look?