:hthis is for the TT group. i have been looking to add an extra battery bank to the tub. when we purchased it. it had already been converted from a single 12 to dual 6. yea i know we haven't even gone camping in it yet. i dont like hook ups and usually do this a week at a time. i usually carry extra batteries in the truck for our pop up. i was hoping i could get some ideas of where to relocate the bank. and learn why you chose that location. plus, i love this place. you guys are very creative and make it worth coming back night after night.yea im also hoping to see some pics of this as well.i am hoping to save enough thru the winter and next year to convert to 300 + solar system. the longer we are out the better it is for our sanity.

Adding them to the tongue is out for obvious reasons. Is there a storage box in the front? Good place to locate batteries as long as you can vent them outside.

I would take the money you might spend on extra batteries and invest it in an appropriately sized solar system for your dual 6 V system. Two good 6 V (I'm assuming golf cart, or similar) and an adequate solar system should be enough to carry you for several weeks at a time, unless you have extremely high power needs.There are not a lot of places IN a trailer to put batteries. If you go to sealed AGMs then you have more options. But you still have to consider the weight. Somewhere like under a bed or dinette, possibly with reinforcements to the floor or frame, is a reasonable inside location. If you don't use sealed batteries, you could weld a support system to the frame to keep them outside.

If, and that is a big if, you have the weight capacity on the tongue, just weld a carrier to hold two batteries over the two now on the tongue. Batteries outside a living space are always better. Even AGM manufacturers specify the batteries must be vented to the outside.

I had one of my exterior compartments beefed up for load carrying capacity and added extra batteries there.I do have switches so I can use one bank while charging the other.

coolmom42 wrote:I would take the money you might spend on extra batteries and invest it in an appropriately sized solar system for your dual 6 V system. And even before that, I think he should invest in a good generator.(He didn't mention if he has one or not.)While extra batteries supply power longer, they take a correspondingly longer time to recharge too. And there are a few other disadvantages to extra batteries too....as is already being discussed.

battery banks | Good Sam Community

Sam_Spade
Explorer
Sep 27, 2016
pianotuna wrote:

No, they don't take a lot longer to charge.

It depends......mostly upon exactly HOW they are being recharged.

I am guessing here a bit but how many small travel trailers that come only with a single battery do you know of that come with a 50 amp charger/converter ? My semi-educated guess is somewhere near to none.

Anyway, I didn't say "a lot" longer. But it could be a lot depending on circumstances.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Sep 27, 2016
Hi,

No, they don't take a lot longer to charge. Charging rate at 85% state of charge is about 12.5 amps per 100 amp-hours of storage. So long as there is a 50 amp converter, charging 400 amp-hours to 100% from 85% will take exactly the same amount of time as charging a 100 amp-hour jar.

In the Op's shoes I'd add both battery capacity and solar.

Sam Spade wrote:

While extra batteries supply power longer, they take a correspondingly longer time to recharge too. And there are a few other disadvantages to extra batteries too....as is already being discussed.
Sam_Spade
Explorer
Sep 27, 2016
coolmom42 wrote:
I would take the money you might spend on extra batteries and invest it in an appropriately sized solar system for your dual 6 V system.

And even before that, I think he should invest in a good generator.
(He didn't mention if he has one or not.)

While extra batteries supply power longer, they take a correspondingly longer time to recharge too. And there are a few other disadvantages to extra batteries too....as is already being discussed.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Sep 27, 2016
I had one of my exterior compartments beefed up for load carrying capacity and added extra batteries there.

I do have switches so I can use one bank while charging the other.
DownTheAvenue
Explorer
Sep 27, 2016
If, and that is a big if, you have the weight capacity on the tongue, just weld a carrier to hold two batteries over the two now on the tongue. Batteries outside a living space are always better. Even AGM manufacturers specify the batteries must be vented to the outside.
coolmom42
Explorer II
Sep 27, 2016
I would take the money you might spend on extra batteries and invest it in an appropriately sized solar system for your dual 6 V system. Two good 6 V (I'm assuming golf cart, or similar) and an adequate solar system should be enough to carry you for several weeks at a time, unless you have extremely high power needs.

There are not a lot of places IN a trailer to put batteries. If you go to sealed AGMs then you have more options. But you still have to consider the weight. Somewhere like under a bed or dinette, possibly with reinforcements to the floor or frame, is a reasonable inside location.

If you don't use sealed batteries, you could weld a support system to the frame to keep them outside.
donn0128
Explorer II
Sep 27, 2016
Adding them to the tongue is out for obvious reasons. Is there a storage box in the front? Good place to locate batteries as long as you can vent them outside.

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