Inverter On or Off?

oneokie

I'm an uneducated newbie. I've never owned an rv. I bought a brand new, unused 2019 400 Boondock Lite from an individual (who had purchased it at a dealer 10 weeks ago) - never received any kind of walk through. I discovered after bringing our new trailer home that the previous owner had the refrigerator on. It has apparently drained the batteries. My questions: 1. will the batteries recharge while hooked up to shore power 2. does the inverter need to be 'on' or 'off' to charge the batteries? Thanks for any help you can lend!

Sharon_is_SAM

You have AGM batteries which are typically more resilient than many other batteries.  Normally the converter via shore power can charge your batteries, but, I think there are limits when a battery is deeply discharged.  It will be faster and more complete if you use a smart charger.  Just turn off the battery switch and use alligator clips on the terminals (if you can get to the top of the battery).  Someone suggested that you can charge through one of the 12 V outlets - if you try this leave the battery switch on.  It may be very slow via the outlet due to the wire size, in which case just hook up to shore power.  Not sure about the inverter.

N7SHG_Ham

The factory invertor is not also a charger, so leave that off to charge battery. Hopefully you can bring the batteries back to life, but I think it is iffy at best and at worst they will need replaced. You should have two 6v batteries inside that black plastic housing on door side under the bed. No easy access to hook a charger direct, so for starters try just plugging trailer in and see if the built in converter will charge, probably take at least 24 hours.

Sharon_is_SAM

Keep an eye on the 40 amp circuit breaker next to the battery.  Make sure it does not trip and interrupt your attempts to charge.

TNOutback

And turn the inverter off if you are not using it.  An onboard fan can draw down the battery.