Leaving the Monty Plugged in

[dmaxmountaineer]

Are there any benifits in leaving the monty plugged in? Electricity is not an issue at all. I know it will keep the battery charged, but will it over charge it? Its stored indoors and i plan on running a dehumidifier once a month for about a day. Any other things that i should look out for or do while in storage? Winterizing has been allready done. Thanks !

[bushmill]

Having your RV stored inside out of weather is a huge plus, I would remove the battery and store in a warm place, that way you do not need to worry about over charging and checking the water level occasionally.

[dmaxmountaineer]

Yea, the roof in the shop that i'm renting leaks a little, but its better then having it outside. It took me 2 hours to wash it and now its inside with a tarp over the part where the roof leaks so theres no water streaks on it.

I plan on replacing the battery in the spring with a maintenance free marine grade where i dont have to check the water level. Do you think i'll be ok through the winter with it? I havn't checked the water level yet in the battery.

[HamRad]

I leave mine plugged in all the time. It is parked at our home and is outside. I wish we had an indoor storage place but we don't so outside it sits. I've had two maintenance free batteries in it for about 4 years. I suspect I'll need to replace them either this year or the next.

Just make sure your battery has proper amount of fluid in it and it should be OK over the winter.

HamRad

[NCFischers]

Mine is parked in a barn an plugged in all the time. We haven't had any problems so far. As far as the dehumidifier is concerned, running it one day a month is a waste of time. The rig will be sitting gathering humidity for 29 days. If you are going to run a dehumidifier, run it all the time but then you have the problem of dumping the water. We keep an electric heater turned to low plugged in all the time in the winter and it keeps the humidity down.

[TLightning]

Over charging depends on your converter/charger. A "smart" charger will not over charge it. Find out what kind of charger you have and, if not a smart charger, put on a IQ4 Smart Charge Contoller. Smart Charger

[5rvers]

I have left mine plugged in the last couple of years with no problems. Its parked outside next to the house.

Lou

[mcgiver2]

I also leave mine plugged in all the time. It is parked at our home and is outside but under a cover

[dmaxmountaineer]

I guess my main question is what are the benefits of keeping it plugged in? I don't want to keep a small heater plugged in just for the fact of a risk of fire.

[Delaine and Lindy]

Our 5th wheel is always hooked to a 50 amp service, and when at home base its under a 40'x50' cover. But our 5th wheel is used when the kid and grandkids show. Delaine and I move to the 5th wheel . As a matter of fact I have never winterized a 5th wheel we go South. GBY.....

[hookman]

I leave mine plugged in year round. I have a 30 amp plug in the garage and run a small ceramic heater in the winter. If it gets real cold I put in an extra heater in the basement.

[richfaa]

When we were at home during the winter it stayed plugged in all winter. Being under cover is good. I would still keep it plugged in. we ran a string of 40 watt lights..(3 of them) throughout the camper to keep down humidity. (3400) a old trick a old time camper told me... It semed to work. When it got real cold 0 degrees or below we would run a space heater on low just to keep things from becoming brittle and breaking.

[dmaxmountaineer]

That sounds like it should work. I also just realized that i can set the dehumidifier to a certain humidity percentage lets say 50%? and just empty out the water once a week when i'm there.

[kdeiss]

Pull the battery unplug you will have problem.Our units have spent winters in Erie Pa never an issue.
They sit in dealers lot all the time not plug in no heat etc

[The Weekenders]

Mine is parked by the house, plugged in with an oil filled radiator going. Waiting for a weekend that the temp gets into the 20s above so I can fire up the furnace, watch Sat TV (patched into the dish in the yard) and toss back a few cold ones and dream of spring.

[Bill-N-Donna]

Ours stays plugged in all winter. I check on things occasionally but I would rather leave it plugged in. I don’t want to get in the camper for something and then find that we don’t have any lights working. I’ve only checked the water level about 2 times so far.

To the original poster, what did you do about plugging it in?

[steves]

When I put the rig away in October until I bring it back to life in January....I disconnect the battery and unplug the electric. Once a month I'll plug back in the electric, re-activate the battery disconnect for about 1 - 2 days just to keep a charge in the battery. I never run heat in my unit while it's not being used and have never had a moisture or dampness problem. I do keep my roof vents open a little to keep air circulating. I also keep it as I described whenever it's not being used during the year. It seems based on the posts, you can put it away however you want and what makes you comfortable that you are taking care your rig correctly. I also leave my refrig doors open and of course winterized in the cold months. As someone posted above - these rigs sit in a dealer lot with no heat and many time with the battery in them. Some dealers removed the battery until they want to open and show the rig.

[clutch]

Ours is always pluged in.