Winter Camping: Keep Your Camper Plugged In?

There are several reasons why you may want to leave your RV plugged in during the winter. Keeping your RV plugged in can help prevent cold-related damage, such as frozen pipes, and it can also be useful if you want to use your RV as extra accommodation for guests during the winter months. However, leaving your RV plugged in can also be expensive, and it may damage the battery and other devices by causing them to overheat. It can also increase the wear and tear on your devices, as they will be in use all year round.

Heating or air conditioning can be used

If you live in a warm climate, you can leave the air conditioning on to keep the temperature cool. This is a good idea if you live in a warmer climate and want to take your camper van out during the off-season. Keeping the air conditioning on will ensure that the temperature inside your camper van remains comfortable.

Leaving the heating or air conditioning on in your camper van over the winter can help prevent damage from freezing temperatures. It can also be useful if you want to use your camper van as extra accommodation for family and friends during the winter. However, it is important to consider the additional wear and tear on your appliances and the potential cost of running the heating or air conditioning.

RV batteries stay topped up

Keeping your RV plugged in during the winter can be beneficial for keeping your RV batteries charged and ready to go. However, it is essential to consider the potential drawbacks, such as cost and wear and tear on appliances. One way to maintain your RV batteries is to ensure they don't drop below 80% charge during storage. This is because idle lead-acid batteries lose 10% of their capacity. Therefore, it is recommended to use your RV or charge your batteries every few weeks to maintain their health.

Another way to keep your RV batteries topped up during the winter is to invest in a good trickle charger and use it to maintain your batteries when they are not in use. You can either take the batteries out of your RV and store them in a warm place or leave them connected and use an extension cord to reach them. This method will help extend the life of your batteries and prevent freezing during cold months.

If you decide to keep your RV plugged into shore power during the winter, it is crucial to monitor your battery's charge level to prevent overcharging. Overcharging can damage the internal chemistry of the battery and reduce its capacity to hold a charge. Additionally, it is essential to perform regular maintenance on your batteries, such as checking fluid levels and cleaning the terminals.

Finally, if you have a newer RV model, it likely has a smart charger that detects when the batteries are nearly full and switches to a slow charge mode to avoid overcharging. In this case, you can probably leave your RV plugged in without causing damage to your batteries. However, it is still necessary to monitor fluid levels and ensure the temperature is safe for your batteries.

Higher running costs

Leaving your camper plugged in all winter will result in higher electricity costs. The extent of the increase in your electricity bill will depend on the cost of electricity in your area and what appliances you are running. If you are using a heater or air conditioner, you can expect to see a significant increase in your bill.

In addition to electricity costs, you will also need to consider the cost of refilling your propane tanks, which will be used up more quickly if you are keeping your camper plugged in all winter.

Solar panels can help to offset some of these costs, but only if you live in a sunny climate. If you are in a cold climate with limited sun exposure during the winter, solar panels will not be able to generate enough power to make a significant difference in your energy costs.

Overall, keeping your camper plugged in all winter will result in higher running costs, which may not be worth the convenience of having your camper ready to use at a moment's notice.

Other Considerations

In addition to the higher running costs, there are several other factors to consider when deciding whether or not to leave your camper plugged in all winter:

• Wear and Tear: Leaving your camper plugged in and running all winter will result in additional wear and tear on your appliances and devices. This includes your heating system, air conditioner, batteries, and plumbing.
• Battery Health: Batteries are not meant to be charged constantly and can be damaged by overcharging. If you leave your camper plugged in all winter, you may need to replace your batteries more frequently.
• Refrigerator Maintenance: If you leave your refrigerator on all winter, you will need to clean it out and defrost it in the spring.
• Fire Risk: There is always a risk of electrical fires when leaving any appliance plugged in for an extended period. This risk may be higher in older campers that do not have modern safety features.

Extra wear and tear on devices

Keeping your camper plugged in all winter will result in extra wear and tear on your devices. This is because, when plugged in, you are likely to be using your appliances more frequently, such as the heating or air conditioning, which will cause them to give out much sooner.

RV appliances are not designed to be used full-time, so keeping your camper plugged in all winter will mean that appliances such as your fridge and vent fans will be running for long periods of time. This will result in more maintenance and repairs being needed, and these appliances may need to be replaced sooner than if they were used more sparingly.

In addition, keeping your camper plugged in all winter will result in higher running costs. Even if you have solar panels, the amount of solar energy captured during winter is minimal unless you live in a very sunny climate.

Therefore, if you are considering keeping your camper plugged in all winter, it is important to be aware of the potential for extra wear and tear on your devices, as well as the increased costs associated with running your appliances more frequently.

Can damage battery health

Keeping your camper plugged in all winter can have a negative impact on the health of your batteries. Batteries are not meant to be charging every second of every day. They need time where they are not plugged into the charger to keep their health. If you have an older RV, leaving them plugged in for an extended period of time will do serious damage.

Batteries perform poorly when they are always plugged into a charger. It reduces the electrolyte levels in each battery, which badly affects performance. Undercharging can cause a sulfation build-up, which stops the electrical/chemical interaction required for batteries to function properly. A three-stage converter is usually best to avoid this possibility.

If you leave your camper plugged in, you will need to check the battery fluid levels while the camper is in storage and top them up as necessary. If you have an older camper, you likely do not have a converter that can detect when your batteries are nearly fully charged and automatically switch to a slow charge mode to avoid overcharging. In this case, it is recommended to unplug your camper while it’s in storage. If you must keep it plugged in, consider switching to a more modern converter that can help keep your batteries healthy.

Batteries are not meant for the cold, so if you live in a cold climate, it is strongly recommended that you remove your batteries and store them inside a garage or basement on a piece of wood, and keep them on a battery maintainer or charge them periodically.

If you are going to leave your camper plugged in, it is best to have a smart charger that will maintain an optimal charge for the battery. The smart charger will keep an eye on the battery's voltage and make sure you don't overcharge it.

Frequently asked questions