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Old 06-28-2015, 11:24 PM   #1
GrumpyG
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Central TN
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How much is enough battery?

I just picked up my new 23RB Passport. It came with one Group 24 battery. I know exactly nothing about these batteries. Or any batteries.

I don't dry camp, other than the occasional stopover at Wally World, or maybe a rest stop. I usually have electric available. But, I might like to be able to dry camp if I decided to.

Should I look into a 6v setup? If I go to 6v batteries, will it impact my current 12v setup inside? Will I need a different converter? Will I need to hook up anything extra?

I think I know that if I go with a second 12v battery, it will hook up in parallel with my current battery and if I go with 2 6v batteries, the need to be hooked up in series. Other than that, I'm clueless.

Also, whatever setup I decide on, I would like a monitor on the system. On my class C, I had a Tri-Metric monitor that monitored the house batteries as well as the chassis battery. Do I need something that sophisticated or will a simple voltage monitor work?

Sorry... lots of questions, no answers.
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Old 06-29-2015, 12:30 AM   #2
rjsurfer
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If your present battery is in great condition your best bet might just be to buy another 12 volt and run it in parallel. It's the easiest path to take. Just buy one with the same specs as your old one. Sure one battery might effect the charging of the other, because they will never match perfectly but not by much.

No need to change converter.

A simple volt meter is all you need to monitor them, if you want get a temp compensating specific gravity tester to more accurately see their charge.

That setup will get you through most three to four night stays.

Ron W.
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Old 06-29-2015, 04:33 AM   #3
bsmith0404
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As already mentioned 2-12v batteries will run you a couple days pretty easy. If you typically don't dry camp there really isn't a reason to go through the dual 6v process. If you ever dry camp, it doesn't hurt to run the truck for 10-15 mins once or twice each day, maybe morning and evening, just to recharge the batteries.
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Old 06-29-2015, 08:02 AM   #4
Rick
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Get ahead of this before doing any dry camping, or you might not have the greatest time.

Rick
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Old 07-05-2015, 06:58 AM   #5
Tbos
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Switch all your lights to LEDs. That will help your battery last longer too.
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