my 2000 31w Tioga SL RV has two house batteries underneath the steps as you enter thru the coach door. they are two "Everlast trolling motor and RV battery".24DC, 85AH, 125 RC (reserve capacity)this weekends trip to Lassen N.P where generator hours are only 8-10am, 12-2pm and 5-7pm. I ran the generator for those hours. It was kind of cold up there so we used the heater that runs on the house batteries. the heater stopped working at about 2am with it set at 66 degrees. we used only one to two lights after 8pm and used the pump as needed for restroom use. the fridge was set to auto so i assume it also uses DC from the batteries.are my batteries bad? shouldn't they hold a longer discharge?with the two batteries in parallel does it mean i get a total of 250 minutes of reserve capacity (125x2= 250)? are these the wrong type batteries to use? which are the best to use? would using the generator for longer time to recharge the batteries done the trick?please help.

Your furnace blower is the biggest drain on your batteries,if you ran it constantly at 66 degrees, i'm sure it's dead, your fridge, running on propane uses next to nothing. Your 24 series batteries are the worst, 27's would be better, sticking with 12V batteries, 31 series would be the best, IF the will fit in your battery tray without major modification. If they are dead, running the generator for a minimum of 4 hours or more would be required to bring them back to full charge, this assumes that your converter is working properly & the size of the converter. Also, it would help a little to convert your lights to LED and get rid of the incandescent, LED's use far less power.I also assume your water heater is running on propane, if not, i'm surprised your batteries lasted that long.

thanks for the info bukhrni got the convertor changed last year. i think i will upgrade to LED lights and 27 o4 31 series batteries. any recommendation on brand? are Die-hards ok? Interstate?

Hi,How old are they? Are they wired in a balanced manner?How long did you charge them before the trip?What do you do for normal battery maintenanceÉclassctioga73 wrote:my 2000 31w Tioga SL RV has two house batteries underneath the steps as you enter thru the coach door. they are two "Everlast trolling motor and RV battery".24DC, 85AH, 125 RC (reserve capacity)

JMHO you need approx 230 AHs to run a 31 ft RV all night using some lights in the evening and furnace. If you plan on using 230 amps and only 50% of your battery for longer life 460 AHs will do the job. Some RVers use some space heat instead of their furnace. Doing that you risk your tanks freezing. I prefer just adding more battery power. #31 batteries help out like previous post mentioned.

I have the same coach. Start over. Two 6v golf cart batts under the stairs and two in a vented plastic boxbehind the chair. Works great! Two large cables to connectthem. I can service them easy. I added solar and a inverterbut you can do that in time! There are lots of upgradesyou can add they all give you something to look at to give you battery status.

confused about my RV house batteries | Good Sam Community

cgmartine
Explorer
May 31, 2016
Trojan T-105 6 volt batteries. And that is all I have to say about that...
classctioga73
Explorer
May 31, 2016
Chopperbob:
where exactly is the back of the chair? do you mean inside the storage compartment next to the coach door? i thought about adding more batteries but don't know where or how to install them
classctioga73
Explorer
May 31, 2016
pianotuna:
How old are they? 2 years old

Are they wired in a balanced manner? dont know what that means

How long did you charge them before the trip? i had them on 30amp shore power for 3 days prior.

What do you do for normal battery maintenanceÉ: what can i do for maintenance?
Bobbo
Explorer II
May 31, 2016
Yep, 66 degrees will do that every time. Set the heat to 50 and snuggle under a comforter. In the morning, jump up, set the heat up, and crawl back under the comforter for another 15 minutes.
Chopperbob
Explorer
May 31, 2016
I have the same coach. Start over. Two 6v golf cart
batts under the stairs and two in a vented plastic box
behind the chair. Works great! Two large cables to connect
them. I can service them easy. I added solar and a inverter
but you can do that in time! There are lots of upgrades
you can add they all give you something to look at to
give you battery status.
Chopperbob
Explorer
May 31, 2016
I have the same coach. Start over. Two 6v golf cart
batts under the stairs and two in a vented plastic box
behind the chair. Works great! Two large cables to connect
them. I can service them easy. I added solar and a inverter
but you can do that in time! There are lots of upgrades
you can add they all give you something to look at to
give you battery status.
WyoTraveler
Explorer
May 31, 2016
JMHO you need approx 230 AHs to run a 31 ft RV all night using some lights in the evening and furnace. If you plan on using 230 amps and only 50% of your battery for longer life 460 AHs will do the job. Some RVers use some space heat instead of their furnace. Doing that you risk your tanks freezing. I prefer just adding more battery power. #31 batteries help out like previous post mentioned.
pianotuna
Nomad III
May 31, 2016
Hi,

How old are they?

Are they wired in a balanced manner?

How long did you charge them before the trip?

What do you do for normal battery maintenanceÉ

classctioga73 wrote:
my 2000 31w Tioga SL RV has two house batteries underneath the steps as you enter thru the coach door. they are two "Everlast trolling motor and RV battery".
24DC, 85AH, 125 RC (reserve capacity)
classctioga73
Explorer
May 31, 2016
thanks for the info bukhrn
i got the convertor changed last year. i think i will upgrade to LED lights and 27 o4 31 series batteries. any recommendation on brand? are Die-hards ok? Interstate?
bukhrn
Explorer III
May 31, 2016
Your furnace blower is the biggest drain on your batteries,if you ran it constantly at 66 degrees, i'm sure it's dead, your fridge, running on propane uses next to nothing.
Your 24 series batteries are the worst, 27's would be better, sticking with 12V batteries, 31 series would be the best, IF the will fit in your battery tray without major modification.
If they are dead, running the generator for a minimum of 4 hours or more would be required to bring them back to full charge, this assumes that your converter is working properly & the size of the converter. Also, it would help a little to convert your lights to LED and get rid of the incandescent, LED's use far less power.
I also assume your water heater is running on propane, if not, i'm surprised your batteries lasted that long.

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