winter - wheels and battery

[Mobile Memories]

This will be our first winter with a caravan, could I have some advice from the good folk here on CT about what to do about the caravan wheels whilst stored over winter please?  Looking around the storage yard, most do nothing but I didn't just want to rely on that observation as the best way forward.

 

Our van is stored 25 mins away and as such a visit every few weeks is not an issue to us.

 

Equally, can I keep the battery in there and just hook it up to a running car every few weeks for half hour or so, or is it best to unplug altogether?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[Stevan]

Some insurers insist on wheel locks being fitted, these cannot normally, of course, be fitted to winter wheels! The wording of the policy being more important than any logic.

Your battery can stay where it is, but will benefit from an occasional top up, how you do that is up to you, I prefer a solar panel.

 

[CommanderDave]

As said you can have insurance issues with winter wheels as a thief just brings his own wheels and unbolts the stands and replaces with wheels a drives the caravan away and again with the battery if the insurance calls for the alarm to be on and then there is no battery fitted might be difficult to explain  ?

 

I used to leave my caravan 6 months with battery connected and everything off with no issues and if asked the alarm was set .

 

 

Dave

Edited November 12, 2018 by CommanderDave

[Paul1957]

I told our insurance company our caravan alarm was not always working such as when the battery was removed for charging. They just removed it from the policy and it did not cost any more.

 

I do not know if half an hour charging the battery from a car would be enough, this is not enough to charge up our car battery when it needs doing. When I visit our caravan I will remove the battery, charge it at home and then take it back at the next visit in a month or so and repeat this when the caravan is not in regular use.

Edited November 12, 2018 by Paul1957

[mecamero]

Hi,

I would recommend removing the battery and keeping it at home, and charging it periodically or on a trickle/maintenance charger.    I once forgot to switch something off when I left the van, I think it was the tv signal booster which wasn't switched via the master switch. When I arrived to collect it ahead of our next trip, the battery was flat, and I couldn't use the motor mover to hitch it or park it when I got home (not far enough to recharge it). This was very inconvenient, and I decided it was less inconvenient to remove the battery and ensure it stayed charged at home. Maybe you don't have or need a motor mover, but when I bring my van home it is nearly impossible to park the caravan on my drive without using it, due to neighbours cars etc.

[AndersG]

I would get a small solar panel like the ones they sell in Halfords.

On the boat I use the suction cups to position it inside a window. On a caravan I would do the same or put it outside or use the suction cups on the outside of the caravan.

 

[Paul_B]

If the storage yard or the insurance don't want you to fit winter wheels, move the caravan a bit every 6 weeks or so to give the bottom part of the tyre time to relax and another part take the weight.  When I had mine in storage I used to take the battery home and keep it topped up.

[GB1309]

If you are feeling energetic enough you could put blocks or stands under the axle to take the weight off the tyres. Or you could get shaped tyre saver units to roll onto. These plastic units, as well as helping maintain tyre shape are alleged to prevent water entering the tyre by osmosis.

It really depend on how far you want to go and how much you wanted to spend. I'm fortunate to have an E&P jacking system and a Truma solar power system which keeps the battery in fully charged state. This would all be a but expensive as a retrofit though.

If it were me I'd support the axles to minimise deformation, shield the tyres from uv and take the battery home and stick it on a trickle charger.

GB.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, GB1309 said:

If it were me I'd support the axles to minimise deformation, shield the tyres from uv and take the battery home and stick it on a trickle charger.

Supporting the axle makes sense if the wheel is not to be rotated for months however I have never experienced any issue by not doing so on our trailers and caravans.

 

Shielding the tyres from UV also makes sense if parking for long periods in bright sunlight but again I feel this is generally unnecessary in Britain - consider how may other vehicles you see with wheel covers in place - would you do the same for your car tyres?

 

Finally keeping the battery topped up is advisable but trickle charging is not the best option. Far better to exercise the battery by placing a reasonable load on it to discharge (I use a car headlamp), then immediately recharging and leaving to stand without a charger connected until repeating the process a few weeks later. 

[GB1309]

That's me told then!?

I don't disagree with your comments Gordon but they are just another point of view.

Tyres are safety critical and anything I can do to to promote their good health I will. Our van is 2000kg on 4 wheels and the deformation at rest is noticeable.

As to trickle or charge/discharge management; I have done both equally effectively, the latter requiring remembering to do it. We can consider my inbuilt solar panel to be a trickle charging system, particularly in Winter, so that's the default carbon neutral  solution the industry is moving towards.

?

[CommanderDave]

The tyres should be rolled a couple of feet every couple of months this will allow for the tyres not to form flat spots or dry out at the top .

 

Dave

[Bobby Brocklebank]

On 12 November 2018 at 14:04, Mobile Memories said:

This will be our first winter with a caravan, could I have some advice from the good folk here on CT about what to do about the caravan wheels whilst stored over winter please?  Looking around the storage yard, most do nothing but I didn't just want to rely on that observation as the best way forward.

 

Our van is stored 25 mins away and as such a visit every few weeks is not an issue to us.

 

Equally, can I keep the battery in there and just hook it up to a running car every few weeks for half hour or so, or is it best to unplug altogether?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Best thing to do is use the van over the winter season. .. Cold frosty mornings, panoramic snow covered,peaks, winter sunshine frosty sunny walks to return to a cosy wee van. Sites tend to be less busy and slightly cheaper prices but have noticed a steady increase in popularity over the years plus your putting heat into your van when away. ...

 

GAS. .. 

[joanie]

we bring the battery home every 6 to 8 weeks to charge overnight on the leisure battery charger. We have an alarm so we need the battery in the 'van for most of the time. We also move the 'van a quarter to half a wheel turn to give the tyres a rest.  

[SamD]

If you have a Sargent alarm, it has its own battery and it will last a number of weeks without the main battery giving plenty of time to charge.   I go to storage every couple of weeks; check main battery and bring home to top up maybe twice during the period Dec to Feb.

[TenStar]

Hooking up to car and running engine for 30-60 minutes to charge caravan battery is unlikely to be particularly effective.

[o2fly]

One option is of course to use the caravan over winter. I can’t think of a time in the last 8 years where my Caravan has stood still for more than a few months.

[ReggiePerrin]

Never done any of that moving tyres or battery charging stuff outside of normal use.  My tyres were recently changed as age expired and my leisure  battery, changed this year, lasted for seven years of pure neglect.  Perhaps with more tlc it may have lasted longer but I am not unhappy with seven years of motor mover duties - the battery does little else as it never goes off grid.

 

 

[shipbroker]

42 minutes ago, happynomad said:

Never done any of that moving tyres or battery charging stuff outside of normal use.  My tyres were recently changed as age expired and my leisure  battery, changed this year, lasted for seven years of pure neglect.  Perhaps with more tlc it may have lasted longer but I am not unhappy with seven years of motor mover duties - the battery does little else as it never goes off grid.

 

 

 

Would agree with most of this, my battery, one of two 110 ah, lives in the 'van and from time to time,like when I need it for other purposes, has mains electric on. ...the other battery is taken out fully charged and goes back in  'sometime' during season. Tyres, new this past year hopefully will see me out.

 

geoff