1. The battery charges when hooked to mains. (You know that though.) It MAY also charge while going down the road if you're using a 7 pin connector and have the charge wire hooked up and your vehicle can send enough power. Probably, all of that is true and it gets charged while towing, but the amount of current supplied is low, so generally speaking it takes a good part of a full day's towing to get a full charge this way. (This can vary by setup.)
2. If you don't disconnect the battery, it'll go 2-3 weeks, maybe a month, before going dead due to parasitic loads from the refrigerator control system (even if it's off), safety sensors, and anything else like that. Disconnect the battery while in storage to keep it from going dead. The simplest way to do this is with a disconnect switch. You can get a battery disconnect switch from Amazon, car part stores, WalMart, etc.... Even with the battery disconnected, it will still self-discharge over time so a solar trickle charger is good regardless.
3. There are many solar trickle chargers available on Amazon. Generally speaking, any with reasonably good reviews should work if you get enough sunlight. The primary variable is panel watts. More is better. How much do you NEED? We don't know. That depends on what the battery is powering. If the battery is disconnected, the small 10W models should do it. (2W probably isn't enough. 5W might be.) If it's connected, you'll need more.
4. If you use a solar trickle charger, please consider your storage facility, trailer, and how likely the trickle charger is to walk away. You might be better off with one that can be placed in a less visible location. (e.g. Mounted to the roof, with the wires run inside. It's generally very easy to take solar wires into the trailer by running them under the refrigerator vent.)
__________________
2014 Innsbruck Lite 198BH
|