We are off tomorrow, to Kent for a few days. I have just checked on our caravan, in storage and discovered that our battery is totally flat. We haven't been away for a few months due to a family bereavement. Normally at this time of year we tend to get away every 2 months at least and the battery is OK. My question is, would there be any chance that the 2.5 hour drive to Kent might be sufficient to charge the caravan battery enough so that I can use the mover at the other end. I can just about get the caravan off our storage pitch without the mover but I'm not sure what the site is like in Kent. My manouevering skills are limited and the OH is useless in giving any sort of helpful guidance?
If the battery is flat you have no chance with the mover if its being charged from the car.You may also find it may not take a charge at all if its been left for a few months.
If the battery has been left flat for months its probably had it. If it was ok it should charge up ok while you're towing. If its still dead by the time you get to site then go & buy a new battery. If you do a bit of research beforehand you should find a place nearby, caravan shop or Halfords that sells them.
Wonder if you've a battery charger at home. If you have, would be worth taking battery off and putting it on charge overnight and refitting before you leave. If it's been left flat for a while it's possible it's had it. If you need to invest in a new one you need a leisure battery which is different to a car battery.
Plenty of outlets in Kent if you have to get one whilst away, whereabouts are you going?.....Mick
Thanks for your replies. I'll check out some local dealers. The battery was neatly new. Probably about 6 months old. It's been left for almost exactly 10 weeks. That's not that long is it? I was surprised it was flat. Fingers crossed it can be revived
You never know if everything is isolated, so it's perfectly possible for a good battery to go flat.
I would suggest it's probably scrap now. To avoid this in the future, disconnect the battery when you leave it.
If you have a problem at the other end, just ask for help. I have parked a good number of vans belonging to total strangers. I am sure most people are willing to help, but may not want to put themselves forward.
Lastly, get some manoeuvring practice. It's not all that hard, and you will find it suddenly clicks, and becomes easy.
The mover is only an accessory. I bought my first caravan in the mid sixties, and I have never had a mover.
Just ask for help, it will be done in two minutes, and enjoy your holiday.
How odd we should be talking about this. My wife went to the storage yard to check the van out before the first trip to Wales in two weeks.
The battery was, of course, flat. New one being fitted today.
The caravan is only two years old, but we changed the battery from our previous caravan, so the battery was six and a half years old. I don't think that's too bad. If the new one does as well I shall be quite satisfied.
Always best to check these things, I wouldn't want to arrive in Wales with a dead battery.
When I checked today we had left the master switch on. I managed to tow it out of its storage spot and reverse it into the pitch at the site today. I'll check in a few days and if its still dead I will have to get a new one. I'll never be able to get it back into storage without the mover. There's only a couple of foot either side of our caravan. Fingers crossed the battery might be revived.
Thanks for your comments
Alison
DONT WISH TO PEE ON YOUR FIRE , but i have just put a 2 year old leisure battery out for the scrap collectors ,after numerous attempts to revive it ,once its dead its dead .the one i replaced it with to use last year has been in the garage off and on charge all winter and i noticed yesterday it had fallen a bit so its back on permanent charge till the weather warms up .
thats the trouble the bitter cold weather drains them quicker than you think
Yay!! 5 days on charge at the site and the battery was charged to between 12 and 13 on the dial (is that volts?). Made sure that this time the master switch was OFF!! Must admit, I managed without it so just goes to show that I can if I need to. Still not 100% sure that I would be able to manouevre it into our storage spot. Thanks again for your help
Alison
dont want to worry you but on EHU the needle will be at 12 to13.5 volts all the time.you need to get the battery checked off charge as it may not be taking any charge or not holding it.12.7 volts is a fully charged battery.telling you now because you be in the same boat next time.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Ok will check it again soon but that reading was off the EHU. It had enough charge to use the mover back at the storage. We are going away again in about 7 weeks. I will be checking it out again long before then
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Topic: How long to charge a flat battery
