Do I really need a $200 Battery Monitor??

I'm in the business of selling 200.00+ dollar battery monitors and YOU most certainly NEED at least one!!!
;)

Just kidding but had to throw it out there.

Probably not needed, but the problem with just a voltmeter is that you need to measure things at rest to reflect the charts mentioned above. Once I got used to and confident in my SOC readings, that's now all I use

Missing something, yeah a whole lot
That plug in will give you volts on that circuit, not volts at the battery
And that's all

The meter I mentioned gives the amps load, or the amps charging (IF charging)
Among with a lot more

If all you ever do is go some place where you plug into shore power, then that volt meter will let you know that your converter is working
If you want to dry camp for more than one night, you will be better informed knowing what's going on with your batteries and how much power you use
And accurately guage your generator run recharge time

I'm in between: A Trimetric type device is too much and a simple voltmeter is too little.

What is needed is a simple voltmeter constantly monitoring the voltage on the RV battery bank's terminals to indicate approximate state of charge and a simple ammeter constantly monitoring the current into and out-of the battery bank to indicate equipment current usage rate, rate of charge when charging, and to tell when the batteries are fully charged.

That digital Bayite meter that the OP linked is so inexpensive that it might be worth giving it a try, as it provides everything I've mentioned above plus some more - it's "almost" equivalent to a Trimetric meter.

On the other hand, I wouldn't trust it to be high enough quality to last very long due to it's low cost.

Tiger4x4RV & - I may get this just because it's so cheap AND there are a lot of great reviews. Won't do everything, but at least get me started until I can/want to buy something better. Thanks for the suggestion.

RoyB & MrWizard - Thanks for the suggestion and the pics. I can't seem to find ANY reviews on this item, and it doesn't seem like it really even has a name/model #. Not sure it will do much more than the little plug in item that Tiger4x4RV suggested. Am I missing something?

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

My propane gas detector system has a low voltage alarm that is very loud. Woke me up twice in six years.

skipro3 wrote:
The TRUE way to measure a batteries condition is with a load tester. Know for sure then.

And even that doesn't tell the whole story sometimes.
Essentially you never know for sure.

Tiger4x4RV wrote:
I like this one:
Innova 3721 battery and charging system monitor

Highly recommended.
The first one I got was not backlit (different brand); big mistake.

They must be popular. The price keeps creeping up. About 6 months ago I got one for about $10.

skipro3 wrote:
I don't think anyone mentioned a hydrometer, but then so many these days use sealed batteries that can not be serviced anyways. No one mentioned a load tester either. The TRUE way to measure a batteries condition is with a load tester. Know for sure then.

A load tester is a very useful item to have. Using one beats removing the battery to take it someplace to be tested. It will quickly tell you if your battery is nearing the end of its useful days.

If a voltmeter is not already part of what is inside a simple one will do. Don't like those stupid light thingys.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say probably about 95 percent of RV'ers don't have one. Just the 4 lights on the panel works for me.