Battery and 7-stage Charger Connection/Charging Questions

[bfinley1]

Thank you for having and participating in this incredibly helpful forum.

I recently bought the following battery charger off of amazon:
12 Volt Battery 7 Stage Smart Charger: VMAXTANKS BC1215 12V 15A Fully Automatic Smart Charger for VMAX Solar Series Batteries

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Questions:
1. Can I install and 'permanently' attach this charger (in the rear battery compartment, above my batteries, with ring terminal connectors) to the twin 12v batteries and charge them while the camper is closed during storage? I saw a post where Bill did this with his smaller-amped 3-stage trickle charger, so I assume that this would be fine with the 7-stage charger, correct?

2. When in storage, should I just plug in the charger for a day or so per month, and/or when I see that the voltage is below 12.2v? Or, can I safely leave it plugged in 24/7/365? What do you recommend with this kind of 7-stage charger?

If helpful, here is some background to my issues: My wife and I are relatively new to the trailering world, and our TM 2720 has been more fun than we could have imagined. We take it out an average of one to two times a month, but have yet to dry camp. My wife is not as adventurous as me, so I don't think we will be dry camping more than once or twice a year. I have a dual fuel 3800v generator to run the A/C, charge the batteries, ... on those rare occasions when we do dry camp (such as next month during our solar eclipse trip for 3 days). When not in use, we store the TM in our garage. Our house is on solar, so I'm not worried about leaving the trailer plugged in, if advised. My twin 12v deep cycle marine batteries (only 80 amp/hr) are connected in parallel. I have a battery cutoff switch (between the battery and converter, only).

Thank you for your advice and support.

[Padgett]

I just have a little float charger connected to mine when not using. Is in the shady grotto and has a cover on it when not in use so solar is minimal.

Have it open to do some work (can anyone suggest a good cleaner/wax for the exterior ? Prefer something I can load in a pressure washer.) and even in the shade am getting about an amp at 14.6v.

[BrucePerens]

If you are an RV beginner, I wouldn't really suggest that you permanently wire that charger to your trailer. It sounds safe to hook it up when your trailer is stored.

The battery should charge properly using the converter, and a 2008 might not have the bad converters that were known to come with older Trailmanors. The charger you bought may put a current drain on the battery when it's unplugged, discharging the battery. The charger in the converter is made to be left unplugged and does not have such a drain.

Also, if you are a beginner it is probably best not to buy AGM batteries. They can't be rescued if you happen to overcharge them, while flooded batteries just get some water added.

7 stages is probably some degree of hyperbole. There are 4 practical ones. And pulse charging has not been shown to actually make any difference - batteries don't need to be "burped" to move gas bubbles off of the plates, which is what the proponents of pulse charging say it does. But the price wasn't bad for what it is.

Really good chargers have temperature sensors which connect to the battery, because the charging voltages are temperature-dependent, and they allow you to change parameters like the float voltage. Everything else is at most a good 4-stage charger.

[rickst29]

Originally Posted by Padgett

... Can anyone suggest a good cleaner/wax for the exterior ? Prefer something I can load in a pressure washer.) and even in the shade am getting about an amp at 14.6v.

"LA's Awesome Cleaner", available at most dollar stores, seems to do a great job on dirt and bug splats - without damage to TM paint or caulk, even at full strength. It doesn't come in cartridges - but a pressure washer with a tank could pump this for cleaning, switch over to straight water for rinsing. The only problem with that might be: In my city, street drains go straight to into a river with rare trout - washing soap into the "storm drains" is criminal. If your street drains go through sewage treatment, then you're "Awesome" to use that stuff.

[Padgett]

Street drains ? For that you need to be near a street & am on a sand dome. I live in the county.