Color me old fashioned, I guess. Or maybe just prepared. In any event, I check most everything on our rig before we leave on a trip. That includes but is not limited to all the appliances to make sure they work with the genset and when plugged in and to make sure the heater, water heater and the refrig work on the propane. I check the water level in the batteries...every trip. Since we boondock most of the time, battery management is imperative. And I do a walk around visual every time we stop on a longer trip, which is about every 150 miles or so between rest stops. I check the tires visually at each of these travel breaks and use a digital laser thermometer to check all six tires. That can reveal internal as well as pressure differences and takes literally about a minute to check all six. I check the pressure if I have time, otherwise I drive a few more miles before doing so.
Distilled water is available at almost all grocery stores. It is cheap and I keep a gallon (less than $2 in our area) in the garage. I use a food baster to add the distilled water and that little $ 3 baster is for that purpose only. I monitor the batteries several times a day when boondocking. You can buy a keen digital meter for this purpose from Amazon like this for less than $8 and hook it up as a dedicated indicator using gator clips. The parasitic draw is nominal.
http://www.amazon.com/RioRand-Digital-Voltage-Voltmeter-7-5V-20V/dp/B005UWD2J4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436300546&sr=8-2&keywords=digital+voltmeter+display&pebp=1436300555319&perid=04PBE5VC5SFWDJJA4WG8These coach batteries are notorious for needing cleaning of the connections. I use a spoon and put baking soda directly on the affected places and rinse with a hose. The battery pullout on PCs is perfect to do this very thing. Then, if necessary, I also disconnect and clean the connections. Also, you can buy a small can of spray that will help prevent the white electrolytic growth you see on the connections. Just clean the connections, spray them with this "red stuff" and reconnect. Get it at any auto parts outfit or Walmart auto area back where they sell vehicle batteries.
Also ---- the old penny trick. Put a couple of pennies near the connection and take a look a few weeks later. It will attract the grunge and help keep the connections cleaner in my experience. In any event, they don't seem to slide off going down the road and they are a cheap treatment. Just through them away when they get white fuzzed or turn white and green and put down another four cents worth.
When you boondock for extended periods, you really become cognizant of the need to spend a little time with your power source. With 200 watts of solar I added myself (Renogy from Amazon and a small controller from the same outfit) we can spend as much time in one spot as we wish. I monitor my little digital gauge two or three times a day and first thing in the morning (particularly if we have been running the heater because it is a 12 volt hog) and if you don't let your voltage get down below 12.0 or maybe a little lower, your batteries last a very long time and you have plenty of juice for running your rig.
Hope some of these ideas are helpful to someone. I learned them over the years from others and from trial and error. I prefer 6 volt golf cart batteries but my PC had 12s and they work just fine. When they need replacement, I will go to Sams or Walmart and buy a couple of golf cart batteries and hook them together. Hopefully wiring them in series
Paul
