Getting ready for winterizing...

[csevel]

I received my Calmark cover last week from Oliver.. Ouch$.. and I'm starting to think about the dreaded Ohio winter sleep that ILOVHER will endure in my driveway.  I realize there are Oliver videos and numerous posts on winterization (& I have that experience from my Casita days and will fully do so) but I was wondering about leaving the trailer plugged in (30amp) and not removing my Duralast batteries. I have this crazy idea about wanting to still camp (if weather permits me to remove the cover)  I used to remove the battery and keep it on a tender in my basement.  I guess I'd like to know if there's any harm in doing so? 

[SeaDawg]

How cold does it get where you are in the winter?

Fla, sla, or lithium?

Our trailer typically winters over in Florida,  so we don't pull batteries.  I doubt that I would consider it, outside really frigid zones, if I could plug the trailer in and keep temps at 32 or better. My opinion. I'm sure you'll hear others.

 

[topgun2]

I live in the mountains of western North Carolina.  Winter temps can (rarely) get into the negative but as a general rule high teens and low twenties is about it and that is for (usually) very short periods of time.  Since my FLA batteries are both inside the Ollie's battery compartment keeping each other warm and (like yours) the Oliver is covered, and they are being charged via a 20 watt solar panel - much less than your 30 amp service - I have had no worries for the past 6 winters.

Bill

[Mainiac]

My batteries have stayed in year around here in Maine, since we brought her home in 2017. It has not been plugged in once since bringing her home either. We do not cover her. The sun keeps her charged up even with some snow and ice on the panels. If we get a couple of feet of snow I will go down and pull most of the snow off with a foam "roof rake". 

I have been known to go down to the field and plow a road to the Oliver near the waning days of winter. As I have hooked up and started to pull out, we had to switch to 4 wheel drive. The chocks were all frozen in and we had to pull over them (we were able to dislodge most of them from the frozen ground with a hammer once exposed). If there had been a cover caught in the ice and snow we probably would not have been able to move, unless we cut the $$$ out of it. Also we have seen other campers have their paint wiped out by flapping covers, in the winter wind.

[John E Davies]

I personally won’t tow in winter because of all the corrosive chemicals (mag chloride 😳) the DOT uses, but if your brightwork, frame and suspension are already corroded, go for it. Just try to wash the hull and frame after every trip if the roads are caustic. That can be very hard to do in sub freezing temps, when many self serve car washes are closed. I am not sure how those who use there Ollies as ski lodging manage it. If they even bother…. maybe they don’t care how they look.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Geronimo John]

On 9/29/2021 at 1:29 PM, csevel said:

... I was wondering about leaving the trailer plugged in (30amp) and not removing my Duralast batteries. 

My Ollie is a 2018 version with Duralast L.A. batteries.  We are 50% boondocking and 50% shore power.  We are on the road over 90 days a year. 

Our Duralast batteries have survived and performed well through 4 seasons.  Over winter, they are stored in the battery bay in a barn on top of an Oklahoma mountain.  Gets plenty cold there, but so far , the bad cold (Below 10 degrees for over a week) has not hurt them.

Point is just disconnecting them from Ollie and keeping them on a 2 or 3 watt battery tender seems to have worked very well.  If we were in a real cold area, I would consider a 10 watt light bulb set on a thermostat placed in the battery bay.  Also, would for sure insulate the door as many of our owners have.