The Sunflower lit up at night. One of the best things about owning a trailer is having a battery and lights to cook and read by. When we were tent camping, it did get a little old having to depend solely on a headlamp in order to see.
Showing posts with label battery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label battery. Show all posts
What do you do with your teardrop in the winter?
Unfortunately, the teardrop trailer season is coming to an end here in my part of the country. It's getting down into the teens at night and the snow will soon start to fly. We are hoping to take at least one trip this winter to a hot springs area, but for now the Sunflower will be put to bed. So what do I do with the teardrop in the winter?
The first thing I do is clean both the inside and outside thoroughly. There is nothing worse than opening up your trailer in the spring to realize you had left some dirty, campfire smoke filled clothes in the closet. I also keep a checklist of things we will need for an impromptu trip in the winter or for our first spring trip. This usually includes new batteries for our flashlights, new bulbs for the lights, a new propane tank, updated clothing, some new books to read or a few new games to play. I also go through the toiletry kit and restock it with new Band-Aids, Advil, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
I then take out the marine battery and store it in the garage on a trickle charger. This keeps the battery from going dead in the cold temperatures. I will sometimes take the charger off and on over the course of the winter season.
The last thing I do is cover up the teardrop. The trailer is not parked in a garage or under a carport, so this protects the color, the laminate and the tires from sunshine, cold, wind and moisture. I use the All-Weather Cover from Little Guy. These are made to fit all their various teardrop shapes and sizes and as long as your teardrop fits within the size parameters, this type of cover should fit. The cover is waterproof, durable and stays on even during our nastiest blizzards.
Photo by Little Guy
The first thing I do is clean both the inside and outside thoroughly. There is nothing worse than opening up your trailer in the spring to realize you had left some dirty, campfire smoke filled clothes in the closet. I also keep a checklist of things we will need for an impromptu trip in the winter or for our first spring trip. This usually includes new batteries for our flashlights, new bulbs for the lights, a new propane tank, updated clothing, some new books to read or a few new games to play. I also go through the toiletry kit and restock it with new Band-Aids, Advil, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
I then take out the marine battery and store it in the garage on a trickle charger. This keeps the battery from going dead in the cold temperatures. I will sometimes take the charger off and on over the course of the winter season.
The last thing I do is cover up the teardrop. The trailer is not parked in a garage or under a carport, so this protects the color, the laminate and the tires from sunshine, cold, wind and moisture. I use the All-Weather Cover from Little Guy. These are made to fit all their various teardrop shapes and sizes and as long as your teardrop fits within the size parameters, this type of cover should fit. The cover is waterproof, durable and stays on even during our nastiest blizzards.
Photo by Little Guy
Winterizing the teardrop battery
Unfortunately, I live in an area where we really can't go camping all year long. So in the winter months I cover up the teardrop, take the battery out and put it on a trickle charger. If you leave the battery in a teardrop trailer all winter long without using it, the power will drain and it won't hold a charge...putting you about $250 into the hole for a new battery.
So I take out the battery and hook it up to an inexpensive trickle charger I bought at an RV store. The charger is called the Battery Tender and runs off a regular power strip. When connecting your battery to the charger, be sure to connect the positive and negative connections first and then plug the charger in. It will take a few days for the battery to charge up (depending on the size and how much of a charge it needs) and then you can unplug it. Plug it in a few more times over the course of the winter to maintain your battery's charge.
Photos by Christina Nellemann
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| The Sunflower's galley and battery cabinet (which it shares with my pots and pans) |
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| The battery on the charger |
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| A bad photo of the Battery Tender |
So I take out the battery and hook it up to an inexpensive trickle charger I bought at an RV store. The charger is called the Battery Tender and runs off a regular power strip. When connecting your battery to the charger, be sure to connect the positive and negative connections first and then plug the charger in. It will take a few days for the battery to charge up (depending on the size and how much of a charge it needs) and then you can unplug it. Plug it in a few more times over the course of the winter to maintain your battery's charge.
Photos by Christina Nellemann
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