New battery setup

[Shaft0201]

After camping this last weekend and getting a couple dead batteries I’m now on the market for the following... two 12v batteries for doing a fair amount of boondocking. I know there is a lot of talk about 6v vs 12v but I’m just more comfortable with 12v for the room and to keep ALL batteries 12v on my trailers. Would like to limit running my generator (Onan 4K) to a couple hours a day for charging if that possible. I’m sure my 2008 extreme megalite 25ST has the stock converter and not even sure what it is putting out for charging. We have a baby and a toddler so running the furnace pretty steady when chilly and TV off and on a couple time throughout the day is a must when kids are present, but all interior lights are now LED and we make sure we don’t use them unless needed, but my 2yr old does like to have one on for a night light. Fridge will run nonstop and furnace often.

I got a nice sized battery box that I will vent and be mounted on the tongue between LP tanks and TH front.

Will also want to add a nice Voltminder with alarm so I don’t let the batteries get to low and ruin them.

Thanks all.

[Shaft0201]

Bedlam wrote:
I'm not going to go into a brand war, but Deka and Interstate have proven reliable for me in the past. You want deep cycle batteries, so look for the heaviest weight battery that will fit the physical dimension confines. This will get you the thickest charge plates and do better at deep cycle use.

Thanks. Actually personal experience like you described is better than a “brand war”. I hear COSTCO has some decent prices on good 12v batteries. Thank you for the input.

[Bedlam]

I'm not going to go into a brand war, but Deka and Interstate have proven reliable for me in the past. You want deep cycle batteries, so look for the heaviest weight battery that will fit the physical dimension confines. This will get you the thickest charge plates and do better at deep cycle use.

[Shaft0201]

Do you guy reccomend a couple decent 12v batteries that I should look into? Also any reccomendations on a good volt-minder with a built in alarm? For batteries we have a oostco and normal large chain suppliers here in the Portland Oregon area. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

[Shaft0201]

nayther wrote:

Shaft0201 wrote:
After camping this last weekend and getting a couple dead batteries I’m now on the market for the following... two 12v batteries for doing a fair amount of boondocking. I know there is a lot of talk about 6v vs 12v but I’m just more comfortable with 12v for the room and to keep ALL batteries 12v on my trailers. Would like to limit running my generator (Onan 4K) to a couple hours a day for charging if that possible. I’m sure my 2008 extreme megalite 25ST has the stock converter and not even sure what it is putting out for charging. We have a baby and a toddler so running the furnace pretty steady when chilly and TV off and on a couple time throughout the day is a must when kids are present, but all interior lights are now LED and we make sure we don’t use them unless needed, but my 2yr old does like to have one on for a night light. Fridge will run nonstop and furnace often.

I got a nice sized battery box that I will vent and be mounted on the tongue between LP tanks and TH front.

Will also want to add a nice Voltminder with alarm so I don’t let the batteries get to low and ruin them.

Thanks all.

My first/best suggestion is to upgrade the converter to a multi-stage high output model based on your anticipated battery load, somewhere about 60 amps should suffice. Check out bestconverter.com, dude is super helpful and will match you up. The changeout is easy. I prefer two 6v. The multistep smart charger will charge much faster by remaining at a higher output longer before stepping down. Plus it won't boil your batteries if you leave it connected.

I will call them for sure. Thank you

[Shaft0201]

dedmiston wrote:
Hi Shaft,

I like the idea of staying with 12v if you only have two batteries. If one battery goes south, you can still make do with the other one.

You mentioned your converter. Are you sure your stock converter is multi-state? The stock converter on our last trailer only charged slowly. Running the gen for a few hours a day wasn't enough to keep two 12v batteries charged.

Good luck with your project.

I honestly have no idea if my stock converter is a multi-state charger or not, but I would guess....NOT. I will defiantly want to upgrade that to keep the batteries in top shape and reduce frying them.

[dedmiston]

2oldman wrote:

dedmiston wrote:
I like the idea of staying with 12v if you only have two batteries. If one battery goes south, you can still make do with the other one..

That depends on what 'goes south' is. A catastrophic failure of any battery is extremely unlikely. A failure of a poorly maintained or old battery is almost assured.

It shouldn't happen, but it does. It's happened to me twice in 15 years.

[nayther]

Shaft0201 wrote:
After camping this last weekend and getting a couple dead batteries I’m now on the market for the following... two 12v batteries for doing a fair amount of boondocking. I know there is a lot of talk about 6v vs 12v but I’m just more comfortable with 12v for the room and to keep ALL batteries 12v on my trailers. Would like to limit running my generator (Onan 4K) to a couple hours a day for charging if that possible. I’m sure my 2008 extreme megalite 25ST has the stock converter and not even sure what it is putting out for charging. We have a baby and a toddler so running the furnace pretty steady when chilly and TV off and on a couple time throughout the day is a must when kids are present, but all interior lights are now LED and we make sure we don’t use them unless needed, but my 2yr old does like to have one on for a night light. Fridge will run nonstop and furnace often.

I got a nice sized battery box that I will vent and be mounted on the tongue between LP tanks and TH front.

Will also want to add a nice Voltminder with alarm so I don’t let the batteries get to low and ruin them.

Thanks all.

My first/best suggestion is to upgrade the converter to a multi-stage high output model based on your anticipated battery load, somewhere about 60 amps should suffice. Check out bestconverter.com, dude is super helpful and will match you up. The changeout is easy. I prefer two 6v. The multistep smart charger will charge much faster by remaining at a higher output longer before stepping down. Plus it won't boil your batteries if you leave it connected.

[2oldman]

dedmiston wrote:
I like the idea of staying with 12v if you only have two batteries. If one battery goes south, you can still make do with the other one..

That depends on what 'goes south' is. A catastrophic failure of any battery is extremely unlikely. A failure of a poorly maintained or old battery is almost assured.

[dedmiston]

Hi Shaft,

I like the idea of staying with 12v if you only have two batteries. If one battery goes south, you can still make do with the other one.

You mentioned your converter. Are you sure your stock converter is multi-state? The stock converter on our last trailer only charged slowly. Running the gen for a few hours a day wasn't enough to keep two 12v batteries charged.

Good luck with your project.

[Bedlam]

I'm not sure what battery box you are installing, but Torklift has the PowerArmor that also has a trickle charging solar panel on top to keep your batteries up when the trailer is not in use.

Although I like the capacity of dual 6 volt batteries, I don't like the fact that if one fails your entire system is down. If you were setting up a bank of four, then you still have redundancy. Since the batteries are easily accessed on the tongue, I don't see a need to buy sealed batteries - You can buy larger flooded cell batteries and just make sure you check the water levels.

If you leave your trailer plugged in all the time, replace the converter with a better one that has intelligent phased charging modes. This is isn't a requirement if you don't have constant power, but it will help restore a charge on your batteries better than the OE model that came with your trailer when you boon dock and need to run the generator.

[WNYBob]

AGMs seem to be a battery of choice on here. Less maintenance, but you'll probability need a new converter/charger as the AGMs need a smart charger for peak performance.

[valhalla360]

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