Deep cycle battery maintenance

I’m back.

Went many months without checking and both batteries dried out some. Of course it was right before a trip, Friday night, didn’t want to get stranded boondocking so I went looking for 2 deep cycle marine type batteries, of course everywhere sold out.

So I went back to my batteries with some distilled water, filled them to the bottom of the plastic as best I could but not more, and hoped for the best.

Batteries drained between 1/3-2/3 (according to my TT meter)) which is pretty standard for our summer usage x 4 days (didn’t use the heater, for example).

Now the water is still covering the plates but of course I understand some damage may have been done when they dried out. Plus they are just about five years old. So should I just buy two new batteries? I really, really wouldn’t want to get stranded because most of our camping is off grid. Worst case scenario, I guess I can hook up the trailer to the truck and at least get enough juice to operate the tongue jack and the slide, of course those are my biggest worries because if I can’t get those to operate, I can’t drive home.

I will be more diligent about checking water level and I will buy one of those fillers to be precise.

Thank you

rvshrinker,

In your shoes I'd consider an AGM coupled with a modest solar panel system to maintain the batteries at peak levels between trips.

If you wish to know exactly what battery type I'd suggest--feel free to send me a private message.

wa8yxm wrote:

If you dig enough you will find that on the better battery sites.
I grew up when flooded wet cells were all there were.

Can you provide a link to one of these sites (not your opinion but actual site link)?

Every one I can find says to fill to the bottom of the fill tube but keep the slots on the side of the tube clear.

Of course, the big issue is keeping the plates under water but it's hard to tell how deep they are if you just eyeball it. If you just barely cover them, as you are bouncing down the road, the top of the plates will get exposed and degrade. Using the tubes gives you a built in gauge to determine when to stop.

Honestly, if the rig is in storage and not in use, disconnect the battery once fully charged. You might check on it every 2-3 months but if fully disconnected it should hold a charge. If you use an existing battery switch, make sure it really disconnects everything.