Our fifth wheel came with a single Interstate group 27 battery, that we unfortunately neglected (left plugged in, in storage, for three months while we were too busy to get to it) and boiled all the electrolyte off. Even after topping it off with distilled water, the battery is gone. Won't make that mistake again, but it was a cheap battery we intended to replace all along with golf cart batteries when it failed, and didn't take the proper precautions to prolong its life.Now, we're looking at the Trojan T-105 and US Battery US2200XC2, but am finding them somewhat difficult to source. The main reason we're after these batteries are the high amounts of cycles they can live through, but I just ran across a Surlette/Rolls S12128AGM that claims a lifespan of 3000 cycles at 50 percent DOD. It's also AGM as a bonus, and runs about the same price as two of the Trojan T-105s. On the other hand, I'd like the extra run time facilitated by the 6v batteries but it isn't necessary since we do have a generator on board.Does anyone have any experience with the golf cart batteries, this Rolls battery, or any others? A lot of people recommend Costco brand GC2 batteries, but when I called they only carry Interstate. Sam's Club, another common recommendation I found in my searches, now only carries Duracell. I found a couple local golf cart companies that can source the batteries I'm asking for, for north of $300 a pair.Lets call the budget for this purchase around $350.Also, when we leave the RV in storage for a month or longer at a time, should we trigger the battery disconnect to keep it from overcharging? That seems like a better alternative to making special trips out there every couple weeks to check on it, since whatever batteries we get we will want to last a very long time.

I found a local marina near me had the best price I've seen on Trojans.

ScottG wrote:I found a local marina near me had the best price I've seen on Trojans.Are you running a pair of them? How do you like them over the stock Group 27 or whatever you had? Did you get the regular, +, or RE?

The duracells at sams club are Deka batteries. For 89 bucks a piece 4 6 volts will net you 440 AH,s. about $350 for the 4. But are they needed? Are you dry camping. If your always in full hook ups most of the time then it's a waste really. The other issue is you need a way to recharge them. You need a good charger that will bulk at 14.7 volts. Otherwise those battery's will also die a slow death from never being fully charged

lawrosa wrote:The duracells at sams club are Deccan batteries. For 89 bucks a piece 4 6 volts will net you 440 AH,s. about $350 for the 4. But are they needed? Are you dry camping. If your always in full hook ups most of the time then it's a waste really. The other issue is you need a way to recharge them. You need a good charger that will bulk at 14.7 volts. Otherwise those battery's will also die a slow death from never being fully chargedWe dry camp, but mostly on generator. If we could run it less, that would be a bonus.

I just bought 4x GC2 Costco Interstate for 83.99 with 210 amp/hours. My last set lasted 10 years with part time use. Probably should have replaced a couple years ago.You really need to review your charging system before committing to the battery. For charging GC2 on generator I recommend the PD9260-14.8 while AGM might be better with the regular PD9260 at 14.4 volts. I assume you have the dreaded WFCO that almost never does the boost charge. The PD converter drops voltage to 13.2 during storage and can be left plugged in indefinitely without excessive water loss.

Battery Upgrade Time | Good Sam Community

21 Replies

RambleOnNW
Explorer II
Mar 29, 2017
We've had Sears Diehard Platinum AGM marine batteries for a number of years for House batteries. They were made by Odyssey and are similar to the Odyssey AGM batteries. Both the platinum and Odyssey batteries are well regarded. The House batteries are doing great after 6 years.

The chassis regular flooded battery was getting up to 6.5 years so time to replace. Sears Platinum AGMs are no longer available. Ended up getting an X2power AGM from Batteries Plus which is similar to the Odyssey AGM. Apparently Odyssey engineers left and started a new company, Northstar. Northstar makes the X2power. More expensive than a Duracell which is also available at Batteries Plus but less than an Odyssey.

Wanted a chassis AGM for low self-discharge and long life. We plug phones to charge and sometimes an inverter into the cigarette lighter plug while dry camping.
n0arp
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
red31 wrote:
jshupe wrote:

You have the full picture.

shorted cell, 13.2v/5 =2.6+v cell, equal to ~16v for 6 cells!

That sounds likely. My Lippert Level-Up control panel has a voltage display on it, and when the battery was having issues I was using it to tell when the converter had kicked in once I started up the generator so I could operate the hydraulics (because the battery alone would trigger the low voltage warning, but, except for Monday, had enough power left to turn over the generator starter). Converter was at 13.1-13.2v, I think I saw it at 13.6 for a very short period of time.
red31
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
jshupe wrote:

You have the full picture.

shorted cell, 13.2v/5 =2.6+v cell, equal to ~16v for 6 cells!
BFL13
Explorer II
Mar 28, 2017
Ok so the WFCO might be putting out higher voltage than it is supposed to. Sometimes a converter will do that when a part inside it fails.

IMO before leaving any new battery on that converter, just run the rig with no battery so only the WFCO is making the 12v. Check the 12v system voltages with your meter. Should be 13.6v. If you see that, leave it for a day or two so you can trust it. ( iIt might take a little time to go funny voltage--I am no tech, but that is what I would do just to be sure)

If you get over 15v stop-unplug the WFCO and just use battery for 12v until you get a new converter--you can harm some 12v things in the rig with high 12v voltage. Eg. Lights can burn out sooner and the fridge is not supposed to see over 15.4v

Another thought. If the converter sees a low battery it is supposed to go to 14.4v until the battery charges up some and then drop to 13.6 again. Since the battery was charged up, is there anything else in the 12v system that could have been on that might fool the converter into thinking the battery was low? I don't know if the converter would, but if it did, 14.4v for very long would make the battery lose water for sure. In that case the converter would not be the culprit.
n0arp
Explorer
Mar 28, 2017
BFL13 wrote:
The WFCO would have stayed at 13.6 or else dropped to 13.2 like it is supposed to after a couple of idle days. 13.2 is correct for 80F while 13.6 is right for around 48F.

If the rig sat for three months at 13.6 at anywhere near 50F most of the time, there would be no water loss. You should have been ok leaving it plugged in unless it was really hot all that time.

Water loss can be from battery age, or from being worked hard doing a bunch of 50-80s, but this was not the case. Got to wonder how much water they had going into the storage period and why was that?

I suspect we don't have the full picture here?

You have the full picture. Last checked fluid levels around Christmas (Austin, Texas area) when we pulled it out of storage for a weeklong trip to Houston, and could see the water over the plates. Once we returned from the trip on Jan 2, the rig went into storage, plugged in, and we started renovations on our house. I was so busy that I didn't stop by the RV at any point until I went to pull it out of storage for a trip, last Thursday, March 23.
BFL13
Explorer II
Mar 28, 2017
The WFCO would have stayed at 13.6 or else dropped to 13.2 like it is supposed to after a couple of idle days. 13.2 is correct for 80F while 13.6 is right for around 48F.

If the rig sat for three months at 13.6 at anywhere near 50F most of the time, there would be no water loss. You should have been ok leaving it plugged in unless it was really hot all that time.

Water loss can be from battery age, or from being worked hard doing a bunch of 50-80s, but this was not the case. Got to wonder how much water they had going into the storage period and why was that?

I suspect we don't have the full picture here?
theoldwizard1
Explorer II
Mar 27, 2017
jshupe wrote:
Also, when we leave the RV in storage for a month or longer at a time, should we trigger the battery disconnect to keep it from overcharging?

I am not sure how things are wired or your capabilities to do some simple rewiring.

If the converter/charge has a plug (or you can install one) then install a simple MECHANICAL lamp timer between the plug and and outlet and set it to run for about 1-2 hours per day. Add unplugging the timer to your pre-trip check list and plug it back in on your storage check list.
lawrosa
Explorer
Mar 27, 2017
SoundGuy wrote:
lawrosa wrote:
The duracells at sams club are Deccan batteries.

Deka - manufactured by East Penn. ;)

Thanks... I am spelling challenged...
SoundGuy
Explorer
Mar 27, 2017
Snowman9000 wrote:
The WFCO are poor performers both in terms of charging time and boiling batteries.

I'd like to know how a WFCO converter that never exceeds 13.6 - 13.7 volts (i.e. mine) can boil any battery. :R I suspect the proof is in The Book of Old Wives' Tales. :W
n0arp
Explorer
Mar 27, 2017
I decided that, since I need an instant fix, to move forward with a cheap group 27 battery for $90. Got it from Advance Auto and was able to get my generator started and hydraulic jacks working again without using jumper cables to the truck.

I'm going to do some more research, but within the next year I'm thinking I'll move to something else. My current thought is:

1x PD9270 Converter
2x T105-AGM Batteries