Charging The House Batteries

After dry camping if you notice that your house batteries are low, you must charge them by running the generator. Don't think that just because you are driving the coach that the alternator will charge the house batteries.....It won't. The alternator located at the engine has been redesigned to include more windings in order to increase the amperage output, however this results in less cooling of the alternator.

The alternator is not designed for the long term charging that is required to charge all of the house batteries - it is only intended for the short term charging that is required to charge the starting batteries of the motorhome. If the alternator is burdened with charging your house batteries it will ultimately overheat, eventually burn up and needing to be replaced. Therefore, always use the auxiliary generator to charge your house batteries.

If your coach is equipped with an automatic generator starting system, I would suggest that you set it for starting and charging the batteries every two hours or so, just so you don't forget to do it manually.

Caution: Always consult with a professional RV mechanic, your owner's manual, and/or your authorized RV dealer BEFORE performing any maintenance procedures or safety inspections. The maintenance recommendations on this page are meant as general guidelines only. See 'Legal Disclaimer' below.

Leaving Campsite

When you leave the campsite and if your batteries are low, you should start the generator and let it run while you are driving down the road for at least a couple of hours or until it has completely charged the house batteries.

Legal Disclaimer & Caution: Before using any advice, and/or performing any maintenance procedures recommended on this website you should consult with your RV dealer, and/or a professional Motorhome or RV mechanic. The recommendations and advice given on this website are intended as general guidelines ONLY, and may not pertain to your particular make and/or model of RV or Motorhome. Use these suggestions, repair tips, and/or maintenance advice AT YOUR OWN RISK. Under no circumstances will this website, or any of its officers or employees be liable for any consequential, incidental, special or exemplary damages even if appraised of the likelihood of such damages occurring. The owners of this website do not warrant the information against errors, omissions or deficiencies of any kind.

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