Dead Battery
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7954
Printed Date: 13 Jul 2025 at 7:01pm
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Topic: Dead Battery
Posted By: IdahoBoy
Subject: Dead Battery
Date Posted: 16 May 2016 at 10:37pm
| I bought a brand new 172 last October and took it straight to winter storage. I had the battery at my condo on a trickle charger all winter. A couple of weeks ago I took the pod to the Tetons for a few days and on my last morning the battery was quite low. I assumed the 6 hour drive (into the teeth of a 60+mph headwind all the way to central Idaho) would charge the battery fully. It sat at my place with nothing turned on for four days then I towed it 1 1/2 hours to the Sawtooths. The battery went dead the first evening. I wasn't running the furnace or water pump, just a couple of lights and the stereo. I plugged into my truck and immediately had good power. So is my truck not charging the battery or do I have a bad battery? |
Replies:
Posted By: podrunner
Date Posted: 16 May 2016 at 11:31pm
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I would not count on driving your truck around to charge the battery. Best thing to do is plug your trailer in and let the on board converter /charger do its thing. I have a battery disconnect switch on my battery and do not even travel with the battery connected to the tow vehicle. All my charging is done at home with either the on board trailer charger or a stand alone 3 stage electronic charger. It sounds like something is not right between your tow vehicle and your trailer. The longer your battery was left in a discharged state, the more likely it has been permanently damaged. Since your first trip was a few days, and the "battery was quite low", that would be about right for a fully charged battery, especially if you ran the heater a fair bit. It sounds like the battery has not been charged since then. You should probably have pluged in while you were home for 4 days. ------------- 2010 R Pod 151 2017 4runner 2006 Honda Metropolitan |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 17 May 2016 at 9:04am
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If, when you plugged into the truck, you had "good power", your truck is charging the battery. However, how many amps is it sends, and what else might be using them matters also. "Nothing turned on" can't happen with a pod. It has several parasitic loads you can't turn off completely. In general, we recommend a battery cutoff switch to truly "turn everything off". Most every pod comes with a single group 24 battery from the dealer. This is fine, as long as you are not a boondocker, and most are not. If you got through a few days on that battery, that's about right. But a short tow isn't going to charge the battery much, especially if you are towing with the fridge on 12v as many do. If you can park the pod at home, plug it in, the pod has a fair decent charger built in, and an adapter can be used to plug into a standard outlet, just don't run the WH, a/c, and microwave all at once. If off grid camping is going to be your main thing, consider dual batteries. Going from a single group 24 to dual GC-2's will just about quadruple your available aH's... ------------- |
Posted By: john in idaho
Date Posted: 17 May 2016 at 9:57am
| Maybe consider a 1000 watt generator - won't run anything but will charge your battery. We get enuff sun in Idaho that a solar panel might be good. |
Posted By: IdahoBoy
Date Posted: 17 May 2016 at 9:03pm
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Thanks for the input. It confirms what a buddy who's smarter than I am about these things had concluded. The battery seems fine and is holding a good charge, now that I have fully charged it. I just ordered the Renogy 100 watt solar panels and will not count on my truck to charge it. And I'll drive with my fridge on propane. Again, thanks for the help. My learning curve is steep. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 17 May 2016 at 10:17pm
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The problem with charging from the TV is most factory wiring and wiring from aftermarket shops, is too small to charge and run the fridge on 12 volt mode. Good call using LP mode on the road - and don't worry about turning it off when you fuel up at gas stations. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: IdahoBoy
Date Posted: 17 May 2016 at 10:26pm
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I have wondered how dangerous it really is to gas up with the fridge on propane. Oh well. Life is all about learning. Thanks again. |
Posted By: Don Halas
Date Posted: 18 May 2016 at 12:40pm
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I'm guessing when camped if you drain the battery, hooking up the TV would supply enough power to work the slide.
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Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 18 May 2016 at 10:18pm
Gas fumes are heavier than air, while the fridge is 2 feet off of the ground. The gas fumes have a narrow flammability range and are diluted quickly. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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