Since it looks as if I'll be storing the coach for the next two months or so, should I place the frame safety blocks in place, or should I just let the coach rest on the airbags?
Leaving the coach on the air bags will be just fine.
Thanks for the reply, Amos. I should have mentioned that I'll also be removing the batteries from the coach, as it gets very cold here in Colorado. Does that affect your answer?
Thanks!
no need to physically remove the batteries, just disconnect the grounds if you cannot leave them on a charger.
I too am curious to hear if it is better to let the airbags deflate with or without the safety blocks in place.
I bought some battery disconnect switches from Camping World. They allow one to disconnect the batteries, but if you want to do it without reworking the cables, you will need one for each battery, which is what I did. This is because the batteries are in parallel. See the attached photo. Admittedly this is overkill, but one benefit is that it allows one to test each battery separately. Before I did this I thought I had a bad battery, but that turned out not to be the case.
George
Since these are gel and/or AGM batteries, freezing is not an issue. I just disconnect the ground terminal on the house & start batteries. I dump the air from the air suspension and bleed all the air out of the air supply tanks during storage.
Here is an different designed Wirthco battery disconnect that may take less space and work better.
Remove knob to disconnect power:
WirthCo BATTERY DISCONNECT SWITCHES - JCWhitney (http://www.jcwhitney.com/battery-disconnect-switches/p2006122.jcwx)
Barry,
Are you using any of these Wirth battery disconnects? It seems these are rated for 500 amp surge and 125 continuous. Is this adequate for the house batteries? What about using this type for the engine diconnects?
Peter,
We saw Dave & Nancy, fellow Foretravelers at Quartzsite who were using the Wirth disconnect on their Jeep when towing. We are not using it.
I never considered amp capacity limits and 125 is probably not good for engine start, but could work if each start battery had their own disconnect as a Foreforum member has done.
I did like the Wirth design over the lever design.
Examining the Wirth disconnect, I think it could be improved with a lock wash under the knob. Which would widen contact surface, maybe a tighter connection and maybe increase amp capacity.
One Optima 34 Red Top battery is rated at 800 CCA (cold cranking amps) at 0F. I would not use a switch rated at 500 amps surge capacity between a starter and a series 34 battery.
One Lifeline GPL-8DA is rated at 1350 CCA at 0F. A 500 amp switch would be too small if the battery were used in a starter circuit. In a "house battery" application, the switch would probably be OK. If the battery is used the augment starting in "boost mode," the wires and solenoid switches to the starting circuit would probably limit the amount of current drawn from the house battery to a level commensurate with the capacity of the switch.
For long term storage, I would be inclined to use a wrench and disconnect the cable altogether.
FWIW I have used the Wirth cut off switches on my Cimmins 230 hp for two years on both the starting and house batteries. No problems so far. They were purchased at Walmart for about $7.00 each.
I don't see where battery management would affect air system management.
Brett,
I believe Brian brought up the subject...
Brett,
I brought up the subject because when I read your first reply, instead of seeing "Leaving," for some reason, my brain told me "Leveling." :-[ So, as I thought you said leveling, the first thing that came to mind was the requirement for there to be power to maintain the coach in a level state. Sorry for any confusion.
As others have said letting is rest on the deflated air springs is fine but I would add one caveat: the space should be relatively flat (not necessarily level). Reason: when each rear wheel drops down to is rest position that sets the side to side position of the coach. If one of the front wheels is "out of plane" with the rear, the it will induce a twist along the length of the coach as one of the front bags touches down before the other. To tell how far off they are just measure the air bag height on each side of the front when the coach is travel mode. How much is too much? Hard to say, the old Grand Villa was more sensitive to this than the new bus style front ends. I like to keep mine within 1.5" (2x4 thickness) or better. With the engine off, I can also hear creaking sounds when the coach starts to see twisting.
As far as disconnect switches, i don't like to use them because they add yet another connection point that can develop resistance. I do however want to easily (without tools) disconnect my batteries in a hurry for safety reasons so I use Adjustable Handles to replace the bolt on the last connection to the coach or chassis system. I made a nut (so it wont spin) on the back, out of a scrap aluminum part and drilled and tapped a hole to match the Adjustable Handle thread. I purchased the Adjustable Handles from McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com)
John,
Quick question. I was under the impression to disconnect battery you only had to disconnect negative line? Just curious.
I'm not John, but I'll butt in anyway. Disconnect either terminal. As long as the circuit (loop from positive, through load, to negative) is broken, the battery will not be drained by external loads.
Of course, if you plan to move the battery away from the coach, it will be MUCH easier if you disconnect cables from both terminals. ;)
When removing a battery, it is best to remove the negative cable first and replace it last. The reason is that if your wrench contacts a grounded surface (chassis) while it is on the negative terminal nothing happens (no sparks). With the negative cable connected and wrench on the positive cable/terminal accidentally contacting the chassis, lots of sparks. No sparks with the negative cable removed first. Of course one still has to be careful not to get the wrench in contact with both battery terminals. Voltage is not high enough to give a shock, but there are enough amps to melt metal.
I only picked the positive because the way the cables were routed. The positive side had a clean unobstructed space for the Adjustable Handle to spin.
I agree. One nice thing about the adjustable handles is there is no wrench and the handle portion is plastic.
One of the things I discovered when I looked at my airbags is that they have an internal rubber bumper to keep the bag from getting damaged from the two ends from making contact if there is no air in the system. Not all air bags are like that, apparently, but I think that the ones on Foretravels have that bumper. I had to check my bags because the bolt from my front ride valve had come off and the coach was riding on the stops.