I just returned from a five day trip to Boston. When I returned to my bus, I unlocked the door and noticed that my entry handle (which is usually lit up giving me enough light to easily enter the coach) was giving off almost no light and the coach had a strong smell. I immediately knew that the power was out and that the fridge/freezer must have defrosted and the food got stinky in the hot Florida weather.

So, what happened? My shore cord break was turned on, but somehow my shore cord got loosened from the socket (it was almost falling out). I always push it in tight and the bus had not been moved for at least a week and ran fine off that shore power, so I'm somewhat suspect that someone might have un- and re-plugged my coach while I was gone. A simple push of the plug caused the bus to come back to life.

Since the power was out long enough to cause a very stinky bus and almost zero light coming from most controls, I'm assuming my batteries are hosed.

How do I go about testing the batteries to judge their health and does anyone have advice for replacements if they are needed?

Lesson learned: ALWAYS leave your generator auto-start feature turned on when you will be away from your bus for more than 24 hours, even when it's plugged in (and make sure you have enough fuel to let it run a while). I wouldn't have had a problem had I had the auto-start feature turned on. I always have it on when I'm on the road and don't remember turning it off, but must have.