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Old 09-30-2011, 05:37 PM   #1
Johnnyfry
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Batteries - What type do you use??

Hey all,

What type of battery are you all using? We have available: golf cart, gel cells, fancy European batteries, marine batteries from West Marine, batteries from CW. What is the most cost effective solution? I am looking to replace/augment the OEM battery originally supplied by Keystone.

Let's get a discussion going here.

Festus2, transfer the post to wherever it will attract the most input.

Thanks,
John

John:
Let's try Modifications and Upgrades since replacing your battery will be, we hope, a form of upgrade. I will move your post to this section and we can start a fresh topic there.
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Old 09-30-2011, 05:51 PM   #2
Festus2
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Because we do a fair amount of dry camping, we need a good pair of reliable batteries that have a decent amp hour rating. We chose to go with a pair of 6v Trojan (T105's) golf cart type batteries. Regardless of whether or not you do any boondocking, I think having at least 2 6 volts is the best route to go.
They are not cheap nor are they the most expensive but they are excellent batteries. Heavy? Yes. Costly? Somewhat. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, I think they will, over their life, give you excellent value.
But other members have differing power needs. Some never dry camp and their battery needs are different. For me, the 6v golf carts are the only way to go.
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Old 10-01-2011, 08:00 AM   #3
THedges
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We use 2 Interstate 6v golf cart batteries and when the trailer is not being used I always have a Battery Tender hooked up to them. I have had TT's since 1987 and this is the best battery setup I have found.
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Old 10-01-2011, 09:45 AM   #4
hankpage
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I'm on the other side of the coin here. I don't dry camp at all so the battery is only used for break-away brakes and for power during pit stops while traveling. I'm still on the original battery that came with the trailer in '07 and have had no problems. (Probably time to replace ) In the past my replacement batteries have been largest deep cycle 12v that Wally-World or West Marine had on sale at the time that would fit in battery box. Oh Boy, now that you made me think about it, the batteries in my TV are originals too $$$$. It all depends on what YOUR needs are and remember to check electrolyte levels regularly. I'm connected to shore power all the time even in storage. Hank
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Old 10-01-2011, 12:59 PM   #5
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We have two marine batteries........

For about 3 years now....

Jo
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Old 10-02-2011, 10:56 AM   #6
Bugsy432
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I had a pair of Interstate Deep Cycle 12V's installed on our 311BHS when I purchased it new in '08. We don't do any dry camping per say but we will spend a night from time to time. The batteries have yet to fail us, running lights, exhause fan and slides. We have also done this in the winter and using the heater for the night didn't run them down either. I have to store the unit remotely and the batteries have been left with the rig over the winter months. Each spring I'm pleasntly surprised to find when I hook up the positive line, I have plenty of power to run the power tongue jack.

Prior to getting this unit we had a smaller trailer and all we did was dry camping. I had the same setup on it and the batteries would last 2.5 - 3 days (not running the heater).
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Old 10-02-2011, 11:06 AM   #7
craiglud
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Lifeline GPL-4CT AGM Battery

I have just installed the lifeline agm batteries 2 batteries, 6 volts for 220 amp hours. I had them in my other trailer and just moved them over to our new 238ml. I just about only dry camp and with 4 kids, the lights, shower, and heat get used a lot. They have worked great so far. I have them on a kill switch to disconnect power when in storage, I need to add a solar charger to keep them topped off sometime soon. I use a generator to top off on extended camping trips.
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Old 10-02-2011, 12:05 PM   #8
bennydog
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Just last month we replaced the 12v with 2 Interstate 6v golf cart RC216 AH batteries and with the new battery box that holds them both the bill was $260.
Working my way toward being able to dry camp for 5 days (without use of the heater). All interior lights are now LED's and I have installed an on / off switch on the entertainment (radio) system so I can shut it completely off. I have a battery operated clock so the radio was just sucking battery. Next is to investigate solar to keep them charged when we have sun. Have not had the new batteries long enough to say one way or the other if it was a good or OK decision. I can't imagine it was a bad one.
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Old 10-02-2011, 03:21 PM   #9
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ok i am going to join here. being new to RV'ing (ending our first year here in two trips) i was kinda afraid to "boondock". but i have been to a couple of parks with only electric, and it kinda brought me back to our "single days", before we were so busy with kids and work, and i kinda miss it. i even sugested on getting to old tent back out and that went over like a lead ballon. so i got to thinking, it would be kinda nice to use my trailer to its FULL potentinal. just finding someplace and parking it, but i don't trust this battery at all. it didn't make it a day in storage with just the fridge on. i am not sure what it is. i do know it is a deep cycle, and it was "replaced" with a new one. i am not sure on this. i have been reading all the post's on here about phantom power, so i don't need a lecture on that. i was wanting to know a really reliable set up to replace what i am using. i prolly would'nt dry camp much in the dead of summer. prolly in late spring and early fall when its not to hot or cold. i do have the abilitly to charge with a genarator, but would like to limit that as much as possible. i do have a lot of time, but would like to figure something out before next spring. so i guess this would be an extreamly usefull thread for everyone to chime in here. i don't even know how i would go about hooking up two batteries. and why do some of you use two 6v batt's and not two 12 volt batts? or one 12 volt instead of two 6 volt's?
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Old 10-02-2011, 03:38 PM   #10
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Because we do a fair amount of dry camping, having a good set of batteries that will provide the greatest amount of amp hours is essential. In general two 6 volt batteries hooked up in series, will provide more amp hours than two 12 volt batteries wired in parallel. This is not always true but if you invest in a good set of 6volts, they are hard to beat.
Using just 1 12volt battery - even if it is the highest group available - will not perform as well as 2 6volts. By performance, I am talking about amp hours. We are not talking about cold cranking power - that needed to start an engine. We are talking about reserve power - the ability to provide power over a sustained period.
But having batteries with a lot of amp hours is not necessary for everyone. If you never or rarely dry camp, there isn't much need for batteries that will give you longer amp hours. A single, inexpensive, off-the-shelf one will probably suffice as long as you maintain in properly and keep it charged.
If you are thinking of spending more time dry camping, then I would definitely recommend 6v golf cart-type batteries. There are numerous brands out there, but my choice is Trojan. They have proven themselves in both the marine and RV industry. Other than a Surrette - one of the "Cadillacs of batteries" - this is a good choice. Pricier than many but a good investment.
When wiring 2 6v together, wire them in series - not parallel. Positive to negative - from battery to battery and you end up with 12 V. If they were in parallel, you would only get 6v --- not what you would want.
Having 2 12 volts (in parallel) is another option but, in general, they don't produce the same amp hours as 2 6's.
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Old 10-02-2011, 05:05 PM   #11
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We dry camped for many years in a smaller TT, most of the time on a single 12vdc deep cycle marine/rv battery. Before we had a generator, we used a lot of candles and propane lights. The intent then was to keep as much power available to keep the fridge going as possible. At times it was a struggle, but was easier when I added a second 12vdc battery.

We bought a Honda eu2000 a few years ago, and that made life easier. Where we predominately camped, they allowed generators during just a few fixed hours per day. Since most of our neighboring campers were running their generators, we never felt guilty about running ours during generator hours.

Since we bought the generator, we've dropped back to a single battery as the generator would keep it well charged on on just 2-3 hours per day.

Now that we have the Cougar, the situation is changing again. It is our first unit with slides and landing gear so we're re-learning power conservation and usage in different ways. There are so many lights in this thing compared to previous units and none of the two bulb fixtures have individual switches for each bulb. It's two on or nothing which means increased consumption. The fridge is larger and has that fan that runs quite a bit in the warmer weather.

My plan is to follow Festus' example and migrate to a pair of 6vdc batteries plus add at least one decent solar panel.

Our trailer has to be in storage all winter so I'll have plenty of time to research what to buy. And time to save some pennies, too!

For those that want to learn more about 12vdc systems, I highly recommend http://www.the12volt.com/ where there is tons of information about 12vdc electrical systems. The emphasis may seem to be on car stereos and electronics, but if you poke around a bit, you will find answers to almost any question that you might have.
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Old 10-02-2011, 05:24 PM   #12
Bob Landry
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While you do get a little more capacity from golf cart batteries, the problem I have with them is that if one of them does fail you're down to 6V, and you are dead in the water as everything in the trailer runs on 12V.

I've had the best longevity from Delco Voyager deep cycles both in a cruising sailboat I owned and also a camping van that I rigged out.
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Old 10-02-2011, 05:38 PM   #13
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For those that want to read further on RV electric systems, I also recommend:

http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

In fact, his whole website is great reading for anyone who owns an RV:

http://www.marxrv.com
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Old 10-03-2011, 01:46 PM   #14
cumminsdad08
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very well explained festus. i don't know much about batteries, other then my truck takes two very expensive one's. the RV might have to wait another year. my wife is already grumpy about 300 bucks for my truck, i wouldn't want to drop another bomb on her with the trailer.
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