Adding Batteries???

[skydiverchuck]

Obviously our raptor came with one battery. There's a tray below where the current battery is installed which looks like it would hold another one. My question is, what is the advantage to installing a second battery. I've noticed that if my unit is not plugged in the battery dies in, probably 24 hours when the unit is being stored. I am considering buying a 45 watt solar panel and leaving it hooked up to the battery when my unit is being stored so that the battery isn't dead every time I go to pick it up. Is that a good idea?

The other think I noticed, I don't have a 50 amp plug at the house Im renting so when I have the unit at the house I reduce down from the 50 amp to 120 volt house plug via adapter. When the unit is plugged into a 50 amp plug the battery charges fine but when I reduced it to the house outlet it didn't appear to charge the battery, is that normal? Thanks for the help!

[Face Down]

Adding a second battery is good if you boon-dock a little and need the extra reserve. I used to go to a lot of NASCAR races in the fall and needed two batteries to keep the blower for the heater running all night long. I used two 6V Golf Cart batteries and they work really well. If you are mostly going to be camping at places with electric hookups, there really is not a need for it.

If you are going to be storing the camper for more than a couple of days without keeping it plugged in, it is a good idea to turn the battery cutoff to the off position. Things like CO detectors or a forgotten light can drain the battery...24 hours does not seem right though, you have a drain some where in the unit.

Your battery should charge regardless if it is on 20A, 30A or 50A service.

[Festus2]

Your battery should not die in 24 hours when the unit is in storage and not plugged in. There are some parasitic drains on your battery such as any hard-wired detector, stereo light, etc., but those small drains are not enough to take your battery down in a 24 hour period. There must be some other drain on the battery that is causing it to go flat.

Maintaining a charge by using a solar panel is a good idea but if the battery is "dead" a 45W solar panel would have trouble bringing it up to a full charge in a short time. Otherwise, it's a good way to keep your battery up.

If you don't do any dry camping - or very little - it's hardly worth buying and installing a 2nd battery. One battery should get you through 2-3 days of dry camping with prudent use.

If you are using adapters to connect the 50A power cord to your 15/20A household current, your RV's converter should still be able to charge the battery.

[SteveC7010]

There are a number of items that draw current on the 12vdc side constantly. Chief among them are the AM/FM/CD/DVD/whatever entertainment center and the propane detector. If the fridge is on gas, it draws 12vdc as well. If your rig is still all incandescent lighting, even just one bulb left on will pull down the battery pretty quick when it's consumption is added to the entertainment center and the propane detector. LED lighting will slow down that consumption, but with the constant draw of the entertainment center and propane detector, the battery will still go down in just a few days or less.

If you don't have a battery switch, get one. Buy a good one like Blue Sea. If you even think that you "might" add a second battery, get the model that runs A or B or A+B or OFF. When you store the trailer, shut off the battery completely. That will stop the parasitic drain. (Nothing should be connected direct to the battery except the switch so that the switch truly shuts off the entire rig.)

Check the water level in your battery regularly. If the top of the plates is exposed, add distilled water. Low water levels will affect how well your battery holds a charge.

I agree that something is amiss in your setup if you can't charge on 110 but can on 240. Most common cause is the wrong dogbone dropping from 50 to 30 or 50 to 15. Anything jury rigged is suspect, too. I have a Marinco 50 to 30 dogbone and a standard 30 to 15 adapter. I've never had a problem running anything in the trailer including the convertor.

Up until now, we have used the Cougar only in state parks with no hookups. They allow 5 hours of generator run time a day. We have no problem recharging adequately for two weeks at a time. Colder weather can be a problem because of the furnace pulls a tremendous amount of current so even a dual battery setup can have its limits.

[skidooxman]

Obviously our raptor came with one battery. There's a tray below where the current battery is installed which looks like it would hold another one. My question is, what is the advantage to installing a second battery. I've noticed that if my unit is not plugged in the battery dies in, probably 24 hours when the unit is being stored. I am considering buying a 45 watt solar panel and leaving it hooked up to the battery when my unit is being stored so that the battery isn't dead every time I go to pick it up. Is that a good idea?

The other think I noticed, I don't have a 50 amp plug at the house Im renting so when I have the unit at the house I reduce down from the 50 amp to 120 volt house plug via adapter. When the unit is plugged into a 50 amp plug the battery charges fine but when I reduced it to the house outlet it didn't appear to charge the battery, is that normal? Thanks for the help!

My Fuzion drew the battery down in 4 days, then I realized that even with the battery disconnect off, the back up camera was still drawing. I plug mine into 15amp with a 50 amp adapter and it charges fine, with a meter it reads 12.578 to 13.3 while plugged in. Once your battery is disconnected via the switch, check all your 12v accessories, something might have bypassed the switch.