Thread: Radio Antenna?
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Old 08-16-2021, 07:54 PM   #3
Bill
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
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Last time we packed up the camper it stayed on and I think it drained our battery.
Turning it off will help, but it won't solve the problem. Any RV, including a TM, contains a number of what are called "phantom loads" or "parasitic loads". These are small consumers of electricity which continue to draw current even when you think everything is off. The radio antenna is one, as you have found. The radio itself is another, since it uses a bit of current to keep the memory for the station buttons alive. The water heater has an electrical controller that I think consumes a bit of current. The refrigerator also has one. I have a TPMS set that has a signal booster, and you guessed it, the booster is always on.

Because the phantom loads are small, they may take several days to deplete your battery - but it will happen. It is not really practical to identify every phantom load, and add a switch to turn each one off. Instead, if you plan to store your camper for more than a few days, you should either disconnect the battery, or add a "battery maintainer" - basically a very small battery charger. Neither is very complicated. By using the Search function on this Forum, you can uncover a lot of information about both.

Bill
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