Jumper Cables to Charge Lead Acid RV Batteries

1094 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by ppine, 2 mo ago

beveridgeflyer

Discussion Starter · 7 mo ago

Keeping "Flooded Lead Acid" batteries for an RV both charged, and a "normal" long life is a challenge, when you are boondocking WITHOUT solar panels or a generator. I have started using heavy duty jumper cables between my 2006 Cummins Diesel truck, and my Travel Trailer with 2 Costco Deep Cycle Marine / RV batteries. After a 4x4 excursions, when I return to camp, I keep my truck running at idle and attack a set of jumper cables from the truck to the RV for 15 minutes or so. Fortunately, my Cummins alternator puts out 14.6v at idle and about 100amps. It seems to work, and is not a big deal at all, and ensures my batteries are topped off pretty much every day. Does anyone see a downside with this? If my RV batteries are low, at the end of the 15 minutes, the jumper cables are noticeably warm to hot, but when I do it on consecutive days, they are not even warm to the touch.

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Happy Joe

· #2 · 7 mo ago (Edited)

14.6 volts seems a bit high,
be sure to keep the electrolyte level in the batteries at the proper level 2.433 volts per cell may lead to some outgassing (check the water level regularly) and/or corrosion.
BU-403: Charging Lead Acid
I don't for see a big or immediate problem; just a need to increase the preventative battery maintenance/checks. If the batteries are sealed it becomes a bit of a roll of the dice.

Enjoy!

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USRoofer

· #3 · 6 mo ago

beveridgeflyer said:
Keeping "Flooded Lead Acid" batteries for an RV both charged, and a "normal" long life is a challenge, when you are boondocking WITHOUT solar panels or a generator. I have started using heavy duty jumper cables between my 2006 Cummins Diesel truck, and my Travel Trailer with 2 Costco Deep Cycle Marine / RV batteries. After a 4x4 excursions, when I return to camp, I keep my truck running at idle and attack a set of jumper cables from the truck to the RV for 15 minutes or so. Fortunately, my Cummins alternator puts out 14.6v at idle and about 100amps. It seems to work, and is not a big deal at all, and ensures my batteries are topped off pretty much every day. Does anyone see a downside with this? If my RV batteries are low, at the end of the 15 minutes, the jumper cables are noticeably warm to hot, but when I do it on consecutive days, they are not even warm to the touch.
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Thank you for providing me with advice.

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ppine

· #4 · 2 mo ago

Even lead acid batteries benefit from 4 stage charging. Using jumper cables is going to shorten the life of your batteries by a lot. They will never get fully charged. Consider it an emergency measure and not a solution for long term use.

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