Batteries

First determine your energy...amp hour...use dry camping. If you recharge daily fully, you’ll need at least batteries with double that amp hour storage amount.

You’ll love the freedom of boondocking. That’s about all I do.

You would be good to go with a pair of those Duracells.

Nothing wrong with those.

But if you're thinking of a short term or temporary solution there might be better choices. Golf cart batteries are good at charge cycling. They do far better than standard lead acid being deeply drained. They often come in high capacity too.

For a single trip, total amp hours is what you need. For my first long trip I got some cheap Walmart 'deep cycle'. Under $100 each! Granted I abused them and killed them in a season. I did that because like you I wasn't ready to spend big bucks on a long term kit. After that I was ready and just finished a lithium conversion. It's all in knowing your goals!

Two nights with minimal furnace should be easy with those.

Agree that for two nights you are fine -- IF you just use them for lights, a little furnace and perhaps charging some phones etc. Just pay attention to your usage. If you or the family screw up and use too much you can usually find a friendly neighbor with a generator to get you over the hump. Enjoy.

RickLight wrote:
Nothing wrong with those.

But if you're thinking of a short term or temporary solution there might be better choices. Golf cart batteries are good at charge cycling. They do far better than standard lead acid being deeply drained. They often come in high capacity too.

For a single trip, total amp hours is what you need. For my first long trip I got some cheap Walmart 'deep cycle'. Under $100 each! Granted I abused them and killed them in a season. I did that because like you I wasn't ready to spend big bucks on a long term kit. After that I was ready and just finished a lithium conversion. It's all in knowing your goals!

In this case, would I be better off getting two new Interstates and wire them to double the amp hours?

voodoo101 wrote:
Agree that for two nights you are fine -- IF you just use them for lights, a little furnace and perhaps charging some phones etc. Just pay attention to your usage. If you or the family screw up and use too much you can usually find a friendly neighbor with a generator to get you over the hump. Enjoy.

Actually the new Champion 3100 generator is on the way. Supposed to be delivered this Wednesday. I had planned on taking it with us but just to use for the time at Quartzite.

Duracell golf cart batteries are sold at almost all Sam's Clubs at a very good price.

Interstate golf cart batteries are sold at almost all Costcos also at a very good price.

No they are not Trojan T105, but they are decent batteries. A pair will hold more energy than the pair of Group 24s you have now (about 225 Ah vs 180 Ah) and will likely cost you less !

I would still take a generator and battery charger, "just in case". Don't count on charging your house batteries from you vehicle unless you have a DC-DC charger.

cliffy49 wrote:
In this case, would I be better off getting two new Interstates and wire them to double the amp hours?

Depending on your goals, yes. Cheaper batteries won't last as many years, but they will last as many hours as similarly rated ones. What will you do after this trip?

I wouldn't dream of going to Quartzite without a generator or lots of solar. Remember that lead acid batteries take hours to charge. Without a generator you would have to drive somewhere and spend time to get charged.

cliffy49 wrote:

RickLight wrote:
Nothing wrong with those.

But if you're thinking of a short term or temporary solution there might be better choices. Golf cart batteries are good at charge cycling. They do far better than standard lead acid being deeply drained. They often come in high capacity too.

For a single trip, total amp hours is what you need. For my first long trip I got some cheap Walmart 'deep cycle'. Under $100 each! Granted I abused them and killed them in a season. I did that because like you I wasn't ready to spend big bucks on a long term kit. After that I was ready and just finished a lithium conversion. It's all in knowing your goals!

In this case, would I be better off getting two new Interstates and wire them to double the amp hours?

No, you would not be better off. The two Duracell give you more amp hours and have a longer life span than the Interstate 24's.