Batteries and charging

[Whity]

I recently bought a 2006 Keystone Hornet 27 RLS. I would like to know about the battery system. It has one Ultrapower Heavy Duty Deep Cycle lead acid battery. It has a label that reads MCA @ 32F 625. Also another label reads Shipped Aug. 2014. Questions, what is a good choice of battery type and what type will my onboard charger maintain properly? Should I put on a second battery and should there be a switch to use them individually?
Thanks Whity in S. E. Ma.

[Lee]

Hi,

It depends on the type of camping you do.

I dry camp exclusively... so 2 deep cycle 6v in series are a must.

If you mainly camp in campgrounds where you are plugged into shore power you will be fine on 1 battery.

[JRTJH]

If you do decide to go to a two battery setup, don't "just add another" battery to the existing one. Batteries should be replaced at the same time. If not, since they "charge/discharge" as a pair, if the old one has any plate resistance or charging problems, it will "drag" the new battery down to its level, possibly destroying the new battery. Always replace both at the same time with the same brand and same size battery.

[Canonman]

If you plan to do any camping without "shore power" i.e. hook-ups, then two batteries is the best idea. As John said, buy them as a pair. Make sure to get RV Deep Cycle rated and don't forget the cables to connect the two together. Costco, Sam's etc have good prices and folks that can help w/ questions. Batteries Plus is a good source as well.
No need for a separate switch. Just hook them up parallel (positive to positive and negative to negative). Your existing positive cable to one battery and the existing ground cable to the negative of the second battery. Your converter won't know the difference.
Camping without hook-ups (dry camping) opens a whole new experience.