Batteries - What do you use

[RoamingGnomes]

Have a 32' 5th wheel - the dealier looked at me as though I was crazy when I made him add batteries when I bought it, configured for (1)12v upgraded to (4)12v in all. He did it with 4 Exide dual purpose batteries. They're Ok for now.

Looking down the road at adding solar and extended boondocking, full timing in about 2-3 years.

Looking to change them out the batteries.

thinking about options...

just buy run of the mill deep cycle batteries and swap them out when necessary, or...

Look for a true deep cycle batteries as high a capacity that will fit my current batteries boxes.

Thinking about US or Trojan for the replacements

What do you use?

[Veebyes]

Single Lifeline 4D AGM. Only 2 connections, + & -. No maintenance. Expecting at least 8 years out of it. 3 stage 2kw inverter/charger.

Can't say that we dry camp often but we a equipped to do so. Drycamping for us is stuff like bluegrass festivals, Alaskan SPs & Yukon PPs plus the occasional Wally camping.

[trbill2003]

We have two Trojan T-105s and two 85 watt solar panels and a MPPT charge controller from Blue Sky. With a 1000 watt inverter we have lived in our trailer comfortably for up to 4 months totally off grid. Yes we have a satellite TV with a PVR and we watch football, tennis and movies. We Lived in our unit from May to Sept in Northern Sask. In May the night temps would drop to freezing so we needed to run the furnace a lot. We had great sun so our solar panels were generating up to 8 amps for over 8 hours per day.

We lived in Waskesiu National Park and were operating a small marina in the park. The marina was totally off grid and it too was powered by a large solar array. We could not plug into their array.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I'd go with the 8d if it is possible.

Veebyes wrote:
I thought that we dry camped in relative comfort but we have nothing on travelnutz. Sometimes I consider upping the single 4D AGM to two of them or perhaps going to a single 8D AGM.

[Paul_Clancy]

Us battery 6volt 2200xc2. X2.

[Coach-man]

OK, first you know what your specific needs will be so get enough amp hours to comfortably handle those needs! Second, if any battery you buy has cold cranking amps listed (CCA's), they are not deep cycle and stay away from them! Last, in whatever set up you end up with, whether 1 battery or 12 batteries, if one goes bad you must replace all of them as the weak one will take out the new one, so keep that in mind when you budget for the batteries! Good luck, there are a lot of things you can do to be able to live comfortably in a dry camp situation!

[Allworth]

I guess any idea can be carried to excess!

[Veebyes]

I thought that we dry camped in relative comfort but we have nothing on travelnutz. Sometimes I consider upping the single 4D AGM to two of them or perhaps going to a single 8D AGM.

[laknox]

travelnutz wrote:
I'm serious about having plenty of 12V DC high amperage long time draw battery capability. In our Carrilite 5th wheel I had a battery compartment put on each side of the RV that would hold a Group 31 Deep Cycle battery with 225 minute reserve at a 23 amp draw. Then in the front storage area by the front jacks, I have a sealable plastic box with a cover that's vented with a 3/4"ID flexible plactic tube thru the floor (bottom) and there's 3 more of the same batteries in there.

All 5 are hooked together with #2 fine strand copper welder cable. 2 more pigtales (one + and one -) from the box goes up to a marine 500 amp barrel disconect waterproof switch that's mounted at the top of the front storage outside bulkhead next to the compartment access doors where it can hardley be seen. 2 additional 32 cables go from the barrel switch back thru the front bulkhead and under the bed and drop thru at the pin hitch and have an additional about 8' of free length. Wnen no used, just wrap them around the hitch as the barrel switch cuts power to them.

These 2 leads go to the 2 additional same size batteries in the truck's bed on the driver side ahead of the rear wheelwell. They clear the TC when with put it on and are used for out TC also. Plenty of room for this in a GM long bed truck with a TC on. I made a cover for the batteries that has a chain passing thru it with a padlock to the backplated "U" bolt thru the wheel well so someone doesn't "borrow" our batteries with setup for the 5th wheel.

That's 2 + 3 + 2 or 7 batteries with 225 minutes reserve each or 1575 minutes total with a 23 amp draw.

On the diesel truck I have dual 130 amp alternators with #2 cable going thru an an 80 amp starter solenoid powered by the truck's ignition to isolate the circuit. Then thru and 80 amp slide switch so I can manually disconnect power if wanted and an 80 amp marine slow blow fuse under the hood and down under the truck attached to the frame in plastic protective shielding that comes up into the bed to another 80 amp marine slow blow fuse. Then to the 2 batteries with expose studs to connect the 2 leads from the 5th wheel or the TC internal battery leads. 2 Stainless steel wingnuts on 3/8" brass studs in a bolted on 1" thick di-electric plastic terminal block I made attaches everything together. Never rusts! Still room for 2 more batteries in the bed on the other side of the bed but never needed them. 7 seems to be plenty!

Why all this?

We have a 2500 watt inverter in the 5th wheel in the front compartment where the extra 3 batteries are and it's remote controlled from inside the RV. I ran 2 additional 110 AC 14-3 romex 15 amp circuits thru the RV basement with one going to additional outlets I installed in the bedroom, bathroom area. The other goes to the living room and 2 outlets in the kitchen and one has a green neon indicator on the outlet to show whether the inverter is turned on or off. The TC has a 1500 watt inverter but it's mounted inside under the fridge area on the front lower wall of the water tank enclosure.

BTW, there's also a Honda EU2000 generator mounted on the back of the 5th wheel and has a pigtale #12 AC wire with a male plug on it and it's controlled by the generator sending current to a DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) 25 amp relay so you can get a shock from a live circuit when unplugged. The microwave also has a duplex outlet in the upper cupboard that has one outlet powered by shore power and the other by the inverter. Same in the TC for the microwave as you simply move the plug in the cupboard from one outlet to the other depending on where the AC is coming from. Also, the TC has a built in 3400 watt propane generator.

3 different AC power options for each RV. Shore power, silent inverter power with lots of amps, or if desired or boondocking and want to run the 13500 A/C or you name it, start the generator. Also have propane for energy in the RV of course. We are truely "Self Contained" anywhere, anytime, and for many days if desired and live just like we were home! Yup, we're 2 pampered old farts but that's the way we like it!

Good...God! 🙂

Lyle

[travelnutz]

It helps being an engineer for doing many mods to RV's/vehicles etc. You can do wonders with batteries, inverters, relays, switches, fuses, dedicated wiring circiuts, etc, a little knowledge and a lot of commonsense and you won't even need need a lot of money to accompolish most any goals. However, there are lots of places that will do it for you but bring a boatload of money and often plenty of time for them to do it and very specific written list of your wanted mods and get quotes. Time and material is like handing an open signed checkbook or wallet to many of these places. There are some very honest ones too but it's just spinning the barrel and seeing if anything comes out the end! Yoo late if it does!

[travelnutz]

I'm serious about having plenty of 12V DC high amperage long time draw battery capability. In our Carrilite 5th wheel I had a battery compartment put on each side of the RV that would hold a Group 31 Deep Cycle battery with 225 minute reserve at a 23 amp draw. Then in the front storage area by the front jacks, I have a sealable plastic box with a cover that's vented and a 3/4"ID flexible plactic tube going thru the floor (bottom) and there's 3 more of the same batteries in there.

All 5 are hooked together with #2 fine strand copper welder cable. 2 more pigtales (one + and one -) from the box goes up to a marine 500 amp barrel disconnect waterproof switch that's mounted at the top of the front storage outside bulkhead next to the compartment access doors where it can hardley be seen. 2 additional #2 cables go from the barrel switch back thru the front bulkhead and under the bed and drop thru at the pin hitch and have an additional about 8' of free length. Wnen not used, just wrap them around the hitch as the barrel switch cuts power to them.

These 2 leads go to the 2 additional same size batteries in the truck's bed on the driver side ahead of the rear wheelwell. They clear the TC when we put it on and they are used for out TC also. Plenty of room for this in a GM long bed truck with a TC on. I made a cover for the batteries that has a chain passing thru it with a padlock to the backplated "U" bolt thru the wheel well so someone doesn't "borrow" our batteries when setup for the 5th wheel.

That's 2 + 3 + 2 or 7 batteries with 225 minutes reserve each or 1575 minutes total with a 23 amp draw.

In the diesel truck, I have dual 130 amp alternators with #2 cable going thru an 80 amp starter solenoid powered by the truck's ignition to isolate the circuit. Then thru the 80 amp slide switch so I can manually disconnect power if wanted and an 80 amp marine slow blow fuse under the hood and down under the truck attached to the frame in plastic protective shielding that comes up into the bed to another 80 amp marine slow blow fuse. Then goes to the 2 batteries with exposed studs to connect the 2 leads from the 5th wheel to or the TC internal battery leads. 2 Stainless steel wingnuts on 3/8" brass studs in a bolted on 1" thick di-electric plastic terminal block I made attaches everything together. Never rusts! Still room for 2 more batteries in the bed on the other side of the bed but never needed them. 7 seems to be plenty!

Why all this?

We have a 2500 watt inverter in the 5th wheel in the front compartment where the extra 3 batteries are and it's remote controlled from inside the RV. I ran 2 additional 110 AC 14-3 romex 15 amp circuits thru the RV basement with one going to additional outlets I installed in the bedroom and bathroom area. The other goes to the living room and 2 outlets in the kitchen and one has a green neon indicator on the outlet to show whether the inverter is turned on or off. The TC has a 1500 watt inverter but it's mounted inside under the fridge area on the front lower wall of the water tank enclosure.

BTW, there's also a Honda EU2000 generator mounted on the back of the 5th wheel and has a pigtale #12 AC wire coming out of the 5th wheel basement with a male plug on it. It's controlled by the generator sending current to a DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) 25 amp relay so you can't get a shock from a live circuit when unplugged. The microwave also has a duplex outlet in the upper cupboard that has one outlet powered by shore power and the other by the inverter. Same in the TC for the microwave as you simply move the plug in the cupboard from one outlet to the other depending on where the AC is coming from. Also, the TC has a built in 3400 watt propane generator.

3 different AC power options for each RV. Shore power, silent inverter power with lots of amps, or if desired or boondocking and want to run the 13500 A/C or you name it, start the generator. Also have propane for energy in the RV of course. We are truely "Self Contained" anywhere, anytime, and for many days if desired and live just like we were home! Yup, we're 2 pampered old farts but that's the way we like it!

Originally wrote this in the wee hours (2:30am) so I had to edit and correct several typo's. We stop for the night etc where we want to and when we want to. Don't need any hookups at all when traveling or just taking a ~8 hour break to get some shuteye. Nope, not Wally worlds as they are too noisey for our liking. Use your imagination! electric hookup is fine when in a CG or staying a week or two etc but not required. Dump stations and water are everywhere so that's no problem. Yes, we sometimes go to CG's with full hookups but sure don't require them. My mods aren't really for saving money as that's not a problem. We just enjoy being very versatile and self sufficient anywhere. It open a whole new world to explore everywhere in real comfort, unattached, and always have our Jet Pack and 3 laptops with us rather than two tin cans with a long stirng between. We are "travelnutz" in both our RV's and our boats.

[Smitty77]

A few thoughts:
-if you have enough head room, thing T125 or T145. Big brother of the T105. Same footprint
-If you have the $ go AGM

But, suggest you take the time to learn how to do an energy audit. Then size your system of batteries, and future solar panels, to cover this. I'd suggest a minimum of 25% over capacity on battery bank size. More if you have the $.

OK - Answer your question now. We have four L16's Lifeline AGM's, for 800ah.

Best to all,
Smitty

[2oldman]

Willcamp4 wrote:
I have four Trojan T-105 6 volt batteries. This is the second set I have used. The first set lasted 12 years and I used them on two different trailers. They are great, but I service them about four times a year.... I keep them charged with a 144 watt solar panel.

This indicates to me very light-duty usage. No pun intended.

[Willcamp4]

I have four Trojan T-105 6 volt batteries. This is the second set I have used. The first set lasted 12 years and I used them on two different trailers. They are great, but I service them about four times a year. Usually all it takes is to make sure the fluid level is full. I have room for two more, but I don't think I'll ever need them. I keep them charged with a 144 watt solar panel. Works great, but you can depend on the solar not being very effective in winter as they are flat on the roof and the sun angle is low. A portable solar unit would be more effective then.

[Veebyes]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

That's a dead easy answer.

If salt water enters a flooded battery Chlorine gas is created. It is rather poisonous. Therefore sealed batteries are not a bad idea.

Veebyes wrote:
Why do cruising boaters favour AGMs?

A good reason but also batterys tend to be forgotten & AGM & gel cells are zero maintenance other than a terminal check & clean once a year. They also have a much longer service life than than wet cells. They don't vent gas therefore can be put anywhere. A nice feature if you want to increase the RV battery bank size. In boats batterys are often put underneath beds, anywhere there is room for them.