RV Q&A by Mark Polk~ Oct/Nov 2008

*NOTE: At Mark's discretion, material might be edited to suit a wide audience. Due to the large volume of material and correspondence we receive, individual replies might not be possible, nor can we acknowledge receipt of submitted material. Selected questions will be answered in future issues of our RV Education 101 newsletter and on our site. Thank-you for your understanding.

Q. Last year in Palm Springs, while hooked up to 50 amp service, the park had an electrical shutdown on several occasions. At one point it was long enough that I had to turn on my generator to recharge my batteries. I was still hooked up to park power source. The LED lights went yellow and finally red and appliance would not work in 110 volt receptacles. The power was finally restored and everything seemed to correct itself and we finished our stay in Palm Springs and return to Portland Oregon. This year while at a tailgate party in Seattle, I had to turn on my Generator to get power (we were dry camping in UW parking lot), and the same thing happened. My TV, Microwave and electrical receptacles would not work. I have an inverter on board, four house batteries, and fuses appear to be good. I am in need of professional advise as to what to look for.

Mark Says: Just a couple of quick thoughts. First and hopefully a quick solution to the problem would be to check the circuit breakers on the generator itself. Somewhere on the generator (usually within sight) are two circuit breakers. If one or both are tripped you won't get any power to the RV's 120 volt systems.

Another quick and easy fix might be the need to plug the RV power cord into a receptacle on the RV to transfer power from the generator to the RV. Many RV's come with what is referred to as an automatic changeover when switching from shore power to generator power. What this means is the RV knows what you are using for power and automatically switches over to the correct power source. Other motorhomes require the owner to plug the shore power cord into a receptacle (usually located close to where the power cord is) so the generator can send power throughout the RV. You need to make >sure you are aware of how your system works.

I know these two items sound quite basic but many times they are overlooked.

If this doesn't solve the problem there could be a problem with the automatic changeover (if so equipped) or a problem with the generator itself.

Follow-up Mark, I couldn't stand to wait until tomorrow, so I went out to where my coach is and removed the generator cover and right in front of my eves was two circuit breaker switches. One was tripped and as soon as I fired up the generator, after about twenty minutes the batteries started charging. I really feel stupid, because I looked at the generator once in Seattle, but couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Thank you so very much for your help. I really feel as though you saved me a lot of frustration on this one.

If it was plumbing, it wouldn't beat me, but electrical problems are another story.

Q. Mark we have our first class A motorhome (4 months now) and are not going to use it in the winter. What are some things I should do to winterize it and come Spring is there something I should do?

Mark Says: Congrats on the first motorhome, I know you will enjoy it. We offer a DVD on winterizing and storage, but if you can do without the visual part of it I also offer an article on winterizing at our sister site, www.rvuniversity.com and there is a spring preparation article there too.

Q. I have a 27 foot Class C motorhome and the auxiliary battery needs to be replaced. The old one says RV/Marine deep cycle, should I get the same type?

Mark Says: Motorized RV’s have different requirements for different types of batteries. They need a starting battery, similar to your automobile to start the engine and supply power to the 12-volt DC automotive system and a deep cycle battery(s) for the coach’s 12-volt DC electrical system.

The house or coach battery(s), as they are commonly referred, need to be true deep cycle batteries that are designed to provide a steady amount of current over a long period of time. Starting batteries and marine batteries should not be used in this application. True deep cycle batteries have much thicker plates and are designed to be deeply discharged and recharged over and over again.

Many towable and motorized RVs use a single deep cycle battery. Deep cycle batteries are rated in amp hours. How many amps the battery can deliver for how many hours before the battery is discharged. If you enjoy dry-camping, without utility hook-ups, you depend on your deep cycle battery(s) to take care of your 12-volt needs. You can purchase a deep cycle battery with a higher amp hour capacity that will last longer. The higher the amp hour capacity is the larger and heavier the battery is. If you have room for a larger battery and enjoy dry-camping you may want to upgrade your deep cycle battery to one with a higher amp hour rating. If your RV came equipped with a RV/Marine battery I suggest you upgrade to a true deep cycle battery.

Copyright 2008 by Mark J. Polk owner of RV Education 101

RV Expert Mark Polk, seen on TV, is the producer & host of America's most highly regarded series of DVD's, videos, books, and e-books. http://www.rveducation101.com/