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twins89's avatar
twins89
Explorer
May 16, 2018

New Batteries - any suggestions?

We are going to be purchasing two new batteries for our fifth wheel as we will be doing some dry camping this year and our batteries are the original ones. I feel the newer ones would be able to hold a longer charge. Any suggestions on what brand or type that may be better than others. I am not looking to spend a fortune but want to have something good on board. Thank you in advance.

8 Replies

  • Battery hold down for 6 volts.
    https://www.ecartparts.com/battery-hold-down-plate-yamaha-g14-g22-electric-95-copy?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0PTXBRCGARIsAKNYfG1vRYNvrypOMWtSSChRTUZUyQX9mrCuyic2vxph-tAQxMkGvheWrewaAjkwEALw_wcB
  • Just went from the original NAPA "deep cycle" 12 volts on our Winnebago to 2 Sams Club 6 volts. HUGE improvement. Be aware your battery hold downs will not work with the 6 volts. Took me a while to find something that worked. I remember the old hold downs that encircled the top of batteries and had two bolts to secure them.They apparently do not exist anymore. What I finally found was from a Yamaha golf cart dealer, BAT-2005. This is a plastic bar that goes along the long side top edge of the battery and has a hold down bolt on each end that runs at a 45 degree angle to the battery tray. You need to add pieces of angle at the rear and sides of the battery on the tray to prevent sideways or rearward movement of the batteries once you install the bar. Makes for a very secure battery mount. Much better than the flat bar that came with the original 12 volts. The problem with 6 volt batteries is they don't have much of a clear shot across the top for a hold down bracket because of the filler caps and the raised terminal area. If you go the 6 volt route, you should get the water filler devices that replace the caps and let you use a squeeze bulb pump to keep the cells full.
    https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Rite-RV2000-Pro-Fill-Battery-Kit/dp/B001FCAXT0/ref=pd_bxgy_263_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001FCAXT0&pd_rd_r=9PVMEEQ5Q1Q06FKKD3F4&pd_rd_w=pw86g&pd_rd_wg=PBTcH&psc=1&refRID=9PVMEEQ5Q1Q06FKKD3F4
  • theoldwizard1 wrote:
    time2roll wrote:
    Best value is a pair of golf car batteries from Costco or Sam's club.

    Definitely the best bang for the buck !

    You need a GOOD multi-stage charger. Most converter-charger are NOT multi-stage.


    Buying a battery from Sears is very risky. Every Sears around here is closed.

    They certainly got lots of support from me over the years - very sad it came to this.

    Sorry incorrect quote shown - should be Sears/ Autozone one.
  • time2roll wrote:
    Best value is a pair of golf car batteries from Costco or Sam's club.

    Definitely the best bang for the buck !

    You need a GOOD multi-stage charger. Most converter-charger are NOT multi-stage.
  • I get about 4-5 years of service from Sears Diehard or Autozone Duralast 12v deep cycle batteries. I don't take good care of my batteries but have been satisfied with sets from either of the above. My first two sets were from Sears and third set was from Autozone and two years ago I bought a second set from Autozone. My 5th wheel is 23 years old.
  • Best value is a pair of golf car batteries from Costco or Sam's club.
    If you will be charging them with a generator it is a good time to review your charging system. Post the converter model for best information.
    If you park in the sun much, solar can be an especially good value.
  • Most would suggest a pair of 6 volt GC-2 batteries wired in series but some of us prefer a pair of 12 volt G31 batteries wired in parallel ... either will offer similar capacity. I recently replaced my aging G27 flooded battery with a G31 AGM because I wanted to mount it in my trailer's front pass through cargo compartment close to the inverter. Since having installed it though I now do really appreciate the fact an AGM requires no maintenance at all, other than proper recharging of course.