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Scottishman's avatar
Scottishman
Explorer
Aug 02, 2021

Which battery for small travel trailer

My wife and I have a FR Palonini 132FD. 16' LOA.

We use it for two three-week trips every fall and spring - and occasional camping in between.

We tow it with a Toyota Tacoma, and have a 100W solar panel on the roof, plus a spare 80W 'briefcase' solar panel

I always have problems keeping batteries charged and kill them. So this time I purchased a AmpereTime solid-state 200Ah Nickel/cadmium battery.
It's an awesome battery that is good for 2000cycles and will last many years - but the issue is that it needs 14.6V for charging and neither the tow vehicle, the camper converter on shore power (13.63V) or my solar panels will deliver that kind of oomph.

So I'm faced with spending a bundle on any of the solutions and that just seems like overkill. So I think I should return it and start over again - regrettably.

My question is - what's the best deep-cycle battery for this small camper, considering the type of use. We are VERY careful with power usage - just the fridge control panel; heater fan when in use; and occasional LED lights. Thank you

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  • NamMedevac_70's avatar
    NamMedevac_70
    Explorer II
    Aug 02, 2021
    FYI This info may be of benefit to others if not the OP

    I have for many years used regular 12 volt wet cell or AGM batteries plus deep cycle that I bought from Sams or Auto supply stores on my 28 foot TT. Just one and on road trips the truck kept the battery charged up quite well. I always used shore power when available and with no shore power I used only minimum appliances very sparingly and got along with propane stove and lanterns. Since I had room I carried a spare battery and later small inverter 2000W firman generator with an exide battery charger if needed to charge the bat including deep cycle. I use to use the red top (starting), yellow or blue deep cycle bats from Sam but I heard they changed manufactures with quality deterioration. For a while i had a Champion 3500W but it was much more than I needed and too heavy.

    My firman gets 8 to 9 hours on one gallon in econ quite mode and I have been told these 2000W gennys will power one roof top AC. Most RV parks and public campgrounds have quite hours when one cannot run the genny. I have no experience with solar but many others have. I now only boondock for short periods of time.

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