Rubber Tires & Concrete

[kamadeca]

We are moving our Silver Condominium from its usual storage yard ($70.00 CDN a month) to my son's soaring club ($100.00 a year!) Now that we will be able to use it more regularly, I have a question about parking. I am thinking of parking the trailer on 4 concrete patio stones to ensure it is nice and level. I vaguely remember something about not parking rubber tires on concrete, but can't remember why not. Can someone enlighten me?

Second question, can I leave the trailer plugged in to shore power all the time, or should I unplug it once we have finished using it.

As always, this group is invaluable, and I thank all who take the time to reply to my questions.

[john hd]

i believe you will be ok on concrete.

as i recall there was a post by someone with experience with tires that advised against parking on fresh blacktop. because of the petroleum in the tar.

you can leave your trailer plugged in as long as you monitor the water level in your battery(s). once a month is more than enough.

john

[jcanavera]

Reason is the lime in the concrete will leach out the compounds from the tire. Note that a vehicle parked on concrete for a long period of time will leave "black marks" where the tire was. That's the leaching process. Just place some cardboard or something else under the tire.

Personally I would not leave my trailer plugged in all of the time. You will need to periodically plug it in to bring those batteries up to charge.

Jack

[Boondocker]

Not to take this thread off on a tangent, but, what is the best surface/material to park on?

[driftwood]

I have been using scrap Corian pieces to place under the tires. No chemicals & no water gets absorbed like when using wood. It will crack if set on an irregular surface.

In regards to the battery ... personally I won't leave the Airstream plugged in for extended periods. The battery could overcharge & cause further damage. Although when power is avaliable I like to use an adequate extension cord from the power supply & run a dehumidifier with the discharge plumbed into the sink basin.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

Not to take this thread off on a tangent, but, what is the best surface/material to park on?

Paving material of choice seems to be gravel or brick.

[nickcrowhurst]

[QUOTE=kamadeca] Second question, can I leave the trailer plugged in to shore power all the time, or should I unplug it once we have finished using it. QUOTE]
I think the answer depends on what converter/charger you have in the trailer. The original Univolt can sometimes overcharge the battery and use up the electrolytic fluid. It certainly did with mine. After I replaced it with an Intellipower 60 amp with a Charge Wizard, I no longer have this problem. I leave the trailer for 8 months each year, in Florida, plugged in. During this time the battery is not topped up. Eight months later I arrive back from the UK, and the battery is in good condition. These intelligent chargers have 4 modes, one of which is a storage mode, and the battery lapses into this mode automatically, and only charges when the battery requires it. How smart is that? Nick.

[Sav'h Steve]

I have the older Univolt - and it certainly boiled two neeeew batteries in about 4 months time.

My solution was to plug a HD timer in line with the Univolt. Now it runs less than a half hour a day with no problems. I simply cut a heavy appliance extension cord in half, hooked up a new male and female plug in the center and replugged it in. Certainly I can set it for longer periods of charging when the batteries are in use.

Now I leave the coach plugged in full time on its pad and run a dehumidifier for about 45 minutes a day on another timer.

Steve