My Mom bought a really nice 28 foot Fleetwood Prowler travel trailer it is perfect for her. She's living in it in the local RV park. This winter she wants to go for 2+ months to AZ to hang with my youngest brother. Her trailer will remain here and either stay in place or be moved by the park management to a storage area.

In any case I am looking for winterizing Idea's I know about how to put antifreeze into the water lines etc. But what should I do about the 12V batteries ( a pair of very nice Deep Cycle RV batteries) I would have no -problem pulling them and storing them at my place for the duration of her being away.

I'm trying to talk her into keeping the heat one and suck where I go check on the trailer a couple times a week but she's well shall we say CHEAP and want to save every dime. I keep telling her the volume of her trailer is about equal to my living room so keeping it at 45+ degrees while she is away wouldn't cost her much. The weather would typically run to the low twenties at the time she is leaving but could also run mid to high 30's the whole time. Almost no snow LOTS of rain.

So any tips? For winter storage?

My Mom bought a really nice 28 foot Fleetwood Prowler travel trailer it is perfect for her. She's living in it in the local RV park. This winter she wants to go for 2+ months to AZ to hang with my youngest brother. Her trailer will remain here and either stay in place or be moved by the park management to a storage area.

In any case I am looking for winterizing Idea's I know about how to put antifreeze into the water lines etc. But what should I do about the 12V batteries ( a pair of very nice Deep Cycle RV batteries) I would have no -problem pulling them and storing them at my place for the duration of her being away.

I'm trying to talk her into keeping the heat one and suck where I go check on the trailer a couple times a week but she's well shall we say CHEAP and want to save every dime. I keep telling her the volume of her trailer is about equal to my living room so keeping it at 45+ degrees while she is away wouldn't cost her much. The weather would typically run to the low twenties at the time she is leaving but could also run mid to high 30's the whole time. Almost no snow LOTS of rain.

So any tips? For winter storage?

If you will have access to 110/AC and the converter/charger in the trailer is a multi stage unit, just keeping it plugged in and the converter/charger on will keep the batteries in good condition for short term (4-5 months). If AC current will not be available or might be "flaky" (i.e. have to trust someone to not unplug it) then removing the batteries and keeping them in a heated area and using a trickle charger every 5-10 days for a few hours should maintain them in long term storage.

Make sure that the holding tanks are emptied and put RV antifreeze in them also.

Most people who winter in AZ take their coaches/trailers with them.

Most people who winter in AZ take their coaches/trailers with them.

in this case my mom has no tow vehicle nor would she alone have the driving skill or experiance to move it to my brothers which is in the far SE corner of the state about 24 hours drive time from Silverton OR. And as the case would be she has a fifth wheel trailer down there already so all she needs is to fly back and forth!

If the trailer remains in it's current slot then AC is available. if it's moved to the storage area (depends on if the park needs her space while she is gone unlikely but it must be planned for) then there will be no hook ups.

I'm leaning heavily towards bringing the batteries here when she leaves I can hook them up to my charger and give them a 2 amp trickle every once and a while to keep them hot.

Is it stored outside? If so, look into a solar trickle charger, that's what my dad did with his.

Is it stored outside? If so, look into a solar trickle charger, that's what my dad did with his.

Ah you missed the part about it being in Oregon (Western Oregon) in the winter. I doubt a solar panel that would fit on top of the trailer could generate enough power to keep the batteries from going dead. We don't get a lot of sunny days during our winter.

You're right about western OR - way to many cloudy days :( Looks like they have to come home with you. But even in storage you'll need to check on it to make sure no water has gotten past the panels or the seam compound. One little leak and the freeze will jack the siding open. The the interior gets trashed really fast :(

yea I have already had to deal with some leaks at the storage compartment doors I added some foam rubber and then sealed the door to the fram with Tyvek tape. Not real pretty but that tape will hold anything. Mom is being real anal about hunting for leaks so hopefully we find anything ahead of time. It has one of those single piece rubberised roof's so hopefully no leaks there.

Big learning curve on this this.