Wow.
Everything's okay.
We've never left her unattended for this long before. When we moved to Nevada, we paid someone to check on the batteries each month.
The critical checks:
- Smell. Does the interior smell funny? The first whiff is the one we're most sensitive to.
1a. Diesel? We had that once when the tank was flooded and diesel ran into the bilge.
2a. Mold/Mildew? We haven't had much of that. We've always been careful about making sure the hanging lockers are open and the cushions are standing on edge.
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Battery. 12.8V. We'll get to how important that is in a moment.
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Bilge Pump Conter. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Zip point Doo Doo. The bottom of the deep bilge is damp-ish, but No. Standing. Water. Wow.
We're delighted to report no problems after leaving Red Ranger for three months.
That doesn't mean there are no problems. It means there are no problems from leaving her here in the Bay.
When I put in the main solar panels I omitted a circuit breaker or fuse. That's a serious problem. I have the parts to fix it. Bought them while we were traveling. They're in the truck waiting for tomorrow (or the next day.)
No breaker (or fuse) means I had no easy way to disconnect solar.
It wasn't impossible. It was just annoying. Get out a wrench, take off the wire from the central "charging" stud. Put the wrench away. Put a lockout/tagout tag on the starter to make sure I was aware the solar was off.
With a circuit breaker, I would be able to turn off the main charging system. This would keep the batteries from boiling away in the summer sun.
This is the main, 30A, charger.
There's a separate 6A charger with two tiny panels. The little trickle kept the batteries topped up for three months. Yay! (It needs it's own, separate fuse.)
As we're driving back from North Carolina, CA asked if we could leave her for five full months next summer. I think the answer is yes.