RV Battery Maintenance Tips: Checking Fluid Levels

As with all RV components, to ensure you get the most out of your batteries, you must complete routine maintenance. By checking regularly to see that everything is in proper working order, you extend the lifespan of your RV battery and save money in the long run.

One of the most important RV battery maintenance tips involves checking the fluid levels of each of the batteries on your unit. So in this lesson, we teach you the essential maintenance tips you need to inspect a 12-volt lead acid battery for fluid levels and fill it up if any terminals are running low.

Expert RV battery maintenance tips for optimal lifespan

To help you get the most out of your RV batteries, Dave Solberg walks you through a demonstration on checking RV battery fluid levels. He recommends using these RV battery maintenance tips each time you inspect the batteries on your unit, which should be at least once or twice per month. To begin, Dave shows you how to remove the exhaust covers on your batteries for better access to the terminals. He talks about some of the hazards you might encounter, and explains why you might want to wear safety glasses.

With the covers off, Dave teaches you the tips necessary to gauge the level of acid in each battery. You’ll learn how to use a mirror to check how much fluid is in every terminal, as well as the importance of adding only a certain kind of water. Dave introduces a couple different methods you can utilize to add water and demonstrates the process for both. Remember Dave’s simple RV battery maintenance tips when inspecting and maintaining your unit each month, and you should have no trouble checking and refilling the fluids in your RV batteries!

6 Responses to “RV Battery Maintenance Tips: Checking Fluid Levels”

1. Scott November 2nd, 2017

   Sorry- but you kinda missed it on this. Why would you need to check your batteries 2 or 3 times a month? If you are going through that much water then there is a problem with your charger and it needs to be updated to one of the newer smart chargers. You neglected to talk about the importance of keeping the battery charged (charging it every couple of months) in the winter to keep it from sulfating and loosing capacity. A charged battery will not freeze but a partially discharged battery will and it when it freezes it damages the internal plates causing you to have to replace the batteries that next year. You also forgot to talk about disconnecting the battery from the parasitic draws over the winter like the co and propane detectors or any other electronics that draws a little bit of current and will run your batteries down over a couple of months. Also please take off metal ring and watches when working around batteries.

   Reply

   • Customer Service November 7th, 2017

     Thanks for the comments and you are correct on keeping the batteries charged during storage which we have covered in other videos. This one was just about checking the level and using the proper devises to add distilled water if needed. 2 or three times a month might be a little overkill, but there are so many deep cycle batteries out there that are not being charged and conditioned properly that most battery companies recommend checking them more often to verify the charger is working correctly and there is not a problem with the converter.

     Again, thanks for the comments, we strive to provide the correct information and always welcome any comments that will help make the site a better asset for RV Owners.
     David-RVRC

     Reply

2. Tim December 26th, 2016

   hello, during the winter months I turn off the disconnect off to the battery on our 5th wheel and hook up a battery tender, is this a god idea or not? I have heard both ways.

   Reply

   • Customer Service January 20th, 2017

     Hi, Tim. Thank you for visiting the RV Repair Club site and the opportunity to assist with your battery storage question. The Battery Tender is simply a 2 amp trickle charge that will keep the batteries topped off and prevent them from freezing, however your batteries will still sulfate in this condition and weaken. It is best to install a Battery Minder which will condition the batteries as well as keep them charged and they will last much longer. You can get a Battery Minder at Northern Tool.

     Reply

3. Kathy November 17th, 2016

   Im so confused. I live in travel trailer full time. Plugged into 30amp #ull time. Is my battery suppose to b on or off? Onnthe few occasions i lost power my battery lasted about 10min with minimal lights ect. It was a bran new battery. Last year.

   Reply

   • Customer Service November 29th, 2016

     Hi Kathy. Thank you for visiting the RV Repair Club site and the opportunity to assist with your battery issue. Improper battery storage and charging is the leading culprit to lead acid batteries going bad and not being able to store a charge. If they are not subjected to a multistage charge every month, they will sulfate and loose capacity. This can only be accomplished by a multistage charger or large inverter. Leaving them plugged in with a typical RV converter does not work. Even though your batteries are only one year old, they are probably sulfated and that is why you are only getting about 10 minutes when the power goes off? My advice, buy a Battery Minder from Northern Tool which sends high impact waves into the battery and breaks up the sulfation without the gassing and will extend the life of your batteries by over 200 cycles.

     Reply