Second battery
Our camper has only room for one group 24 battery. A few years ago I added wiring and a multipoint switch for an additional battery to go ahead of the rear wheel well but have not used it until now. ...
Forum Discussion
The "same age" deal is best practice for batteries that are "permanently" attached to one another, such as the starting batteries on a diesel truck.
You can, of course, do whatever you want, and your mileage may vary. It may well work just fine for you. It may well be that you are chasing one bad battery after another for the next several years.
The theory is the older battery will eventually go bad, and damage the newer battery. You will replace just the old battery, but the damage has been done to the new battery and it will go bad too, relatively quickly. Now your brand new battery gets damaged, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
When your batteries are not permanently connected together, such as the case will be with this TC, it's far less likely that this will happen. Keep them connected only when traveling, and disconnect them when you park at home.
This is exactly how I've been operating for the past 5 years. My TC has no provisions for an on-board battery, so I use the combined power of the truck's battery, and the battery bank in my enclosed trailer when camping. The batteries could not be more different in type or age. They are only connected when I am out camping. I keep the trailer batteries on a maintainer when it's parked, and the truck gets run enough to keep its battery charged.
The only battery issue I had was of my own stupidity. I unhooked the trailer in the front, then parked the truck in the barn, but forgot to disconnect the camper umbilical, and left it sit for a month. Truck battery was stone dead.
You can, of course, do whatever you want, and your mileage may vary. It may well work just fine for you. It may well be that you are chasing one bad battery after another for the next several years.
The theory is the older battery will eventually go bad, and damage the newer battery. You will replace just the old battery, but the damage has been done to the new battery and it will go bad too, relatively quickly. Now your brand new battery gets damaged, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
When your batteries are not permanently connected together, such as the case will be with this TC, it's far less likely that this will happen. Keep them connected only when traveling, and disconnect them when you park at home.
This is exactly how I've been operating for the past 5 years. My TC has no provisions for an on-board battery, so I use the combined power of the truck's battery, and the battery bank in my enclosed trailer when camping. The batteries could not be more different in type or age. They are only connected when I am out camping. I keep the trailer batteries on a maintainer when it's parked, and the truck gets run enough to keep its battery charged.
The only battery issue I had was of my own stupidity. I unhooked the trailer in the front, then parked the truck in the barn, but forgot to disconnect the camper umbilical, and left it sit for a month. Truck battery was stone dead.
