Got our new MB May 21, 2006, 08:41:32 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66986We just returned from CA with our new 2006 MB. She drives like a dream--very comfortable. We had such a great time. While at a state park we noticed we had a flat tire. Called the Ford 24/7 line and within one hour service was there and the flat changed. We'll need to go buy a new Michelin this week and have it put on the unit. The only thing we remember is hitting a small curb once when turning--but it must have been just in the right place. We do have a question for the group. We are storing our rig in a very nice facility that is covered and provides electricity (it even has a dump station on site). Should we disconnect the battery or plug it in while she is in storage. We'll be taking her on three day trips starting in two weeks before a long three week trip this summer. Any advice is welcomed. We haven't named her yet--She is silver with the brown interior--looks very sharp! Gayle and Marcia San Antonio
Re: Got our new MB - to Gayle and Marcia Reply #1 – May 21, 2006, 10:04:56 pm Yahoo Message Number: 66989Quote ...We are storing our rig in a very nice facility that is covered and provides electricity (it even has a dump station on site). Should we disconnect the battery or plug it in while she is in storage."QuoteGayle and Marcia San Antonio Plug it in. You are paying for the electricity in your monthly fee. Once plugged in, your charge controller should read around 13.7 or 13.8 all the time (while parked in storage).Chris Horst Denver
Re: Got our new MB Reply #2 – May 22, 2006, 12:28:31 am Yahoo Message Number: 66996QuoteWe do have a question for the group. We are storing our rig in a very nice facility that is covered and provides electricity (it even has a dump station on site). Should we disconnect the battery or plug it in while she is in storage. We'll be taking her on three day trips starting in two weeks before a long three week trip this summer. In general in the summer it is better to not plug in your coach for long periods of time. At 75degF, the battery wants to "float" at about 13.3 volts and the LD's converter holdes it at 13.8 volts. The result is that the batteries will use lots of water. If you are not there to refill them, they will run dry ... in time. For a couple of weeks of storage, you can pretty much do either; leave the coach disconnected or plug it in. If you leave the battery connected w/o the converter operating, the LP detector will slowly (over a period of a couple months) drain the batteries. If you have a battery disconnect switch (or want to remove a battery lead) you can always completely disconnect the batteries. That works every time but will cause you to loose the radio presets and may require you have a password to wake the radio up.When the temperature is below 50degF, I leave the converter on full time. When it warms up, I turn the converter off and connect a semi-automatic battery charger to the house batteries through a timer that allows it to charge the batteries for an hour a day. This keeps them charged but does not overcharge them too much. You say your coach will be inside so any solar panels will not keep the battery up. That is sometimes an option if the coach is in the sun and has panels. For a more complete discussion, you might look at Phred's Poop sheets (for instance for RV storage see http://www.phrannie.org/storeRV.htm and see http://www.phrannie.org/battery.html for batteries. I posted a long item on tending the LD coach's batteries in message number 16483 which is stuff specific to the Trojan batteries used in the LD coach.Take care, have fun and be sure to ask if you have more questions.Linley
Re: Got our new MB Reply #3 – May 22, 2006, 11:30:46 am Yahoo Message Number: 67006"Should we disconnect the battery or plug it in while she is in storage."Our 2003 LD is always plugged while parked in the driveway. Checking monthly, I have found that the water needs to be topped off about twice a year. YMMVLarry
Re: Got our new MB Reply #4 – May 22, 2006, 02:43:30 pm Yahoo Message Number: 67018Gayle and Marcia, When we leave our LD stored for 6 months during the summer, we use an inexpensive timer to turn the plugged
Re: Got our new MB Reply #5 – May 23, 2006, 12:54:55 am Yahoo Message Number: 67050Quote We just returned from CA with our new 2006 MB. > We do have a question for theQuotegroup. ). Should we disconnect the battery or plug it in while she is in storage. We'll be taking her on three day trips starting in two weeks before aQuotelong three week trip this summer. Gayle and Marcia, I have a 2002 MB with a solar panel and battery disconnect. Through summer months my solar panel keeps the batteries charged, I just need to keep an eye on battery water level. During NY winter I can't depend on solar charging and need to worry about battery being drained and ruined during freezing weather. What I did this past winter was I picked up a heavy duty outdoor plug in timer from home depot, and plug my shore power line into that (with a 15 amp adapter) into my house outlet. At first I had the timer set to cycle on for five hours a day, and ended up reducing that to two hours a day and it worked fine. Running the converter less reduced battery water cook off but kept the system charged. Since I am going through a lower power circuit (15 vs 30 amp) I do not turn on any power demanding items in the motorhome while I am hooked up this way.Don Howe 2002 MB Gray Long Island