What kind of battery's

[True_temper]

My friend asked me to post and check on wich batteries would be best for him. He has a 30' travel trailer it has 2 lead acid batteries on it now.
Next summer he is going to be camp host for 4 months in Wyoming. Totally boondocking, with champion generator, the quiet one. He asked about adding a total of 4 batteries on his rig just don't know what would be the best to buy. I guess the choices I know are RV marine lead acid, 2 or 4 6 volt golf cart, AGM, Lithium, or something else.

[pianotuna]

600 watts of solar and a 2k hybrid inverter/charger.

[theoldwizard1]

DrewE wrote:
For most of the rest of us, 6V golf cart batteries probably offer the best bang for the buck. Two or four of them would do quite well for this sort of use.

CONCUR !

AGM golf cart batteries DO exist, but you will pay a premium for them and they are more difficult to source. Both Sams Club and Costco usually stock flooded (wet) 6V golf cart batteries.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Depends on intentions of using an inverter. For instance Northstar's Ultra High Capacity group 31 battery has a CCA rating of 1150 amperes. A pair of them would power a microwave via a true sine inverter equal to the CCA of (8) GC-220 units.

Unless I was permanently off-grid with a Daddy Warbucks pension for me Lithium is out of the ballpark. Then the camping spot would have to be temperate...

Like Mexico? The beach?

Where outdoor living is the rule rather than the exception. Where a 20 lb pot and an 1100 watt eqvt Flamaneta LPG lantern is the hot-setup (pun).

Much more demanding is a rolling hunting lodge. Cool to cold weather. Big time battery use for heater and lights.

I've been aboard cruising catamarans, where TWENTY-FOUR golf car batteries were heavily cycled overnight. And smaller sloops where a single group 27 was (according to the skipper) "more than enough".

So, I refuse to guess...waste of time IMHO 🙂

[Sandia_Man]

X2

[Lwiddis]

"Totally boondocking, with champion generator, the quiet one"

The automatic answer is generator? Why not a solar system? Most days he wouldn't need to use his generator.

[time2roll]

I recommend 4x GC2 and 200 to 500 watts solar.

[wa8yxm]

First: You need to know the size of the battery tray Length width and available HEIGHT..

Now if the fit: I suggest a pair of GC-2 Golf Car batteries. These are Flooded wet cell (Means you can add distilled water as needed) and they are DEEP CYCLE (means you can talk 'em down to half full before serious damage sets in)

Many RV's come with Group 24 or 27 MARINE/deep cycle, these need to be kept 75-80% full or damage (Shortened overall life) sets in FAST.

Group 24 75 AH each 150 total (Approximate)
Group 27 95 and 190
Group 29 105 and 210

GC-2 220 give or take 10... And Again you can use 50%

4D same as GC 2 if DEEP CYCLE but 2x as heavy as the six volt GC battery

GC-2 is also the most common battery made (lead acid type) and thus the cost of production is lower due to lack of re-tooling every couple days.

Get 'em at Sam's or Costco (Sam's generally lowest cost).

[MEXICOWANDERER]

The question needs to be narrowed down. Not criticism but this can be compared to asking about which "kind" of RV rig would be best for a 6,000 mile cross-country vacation.

• Budget
• Available space
• Inverter? Yes/No
• Living habits
• With or without children
• Maintenance freedom?
• Type of charger or converter?
• True wilderness camping?
• Any limit on generator run hours?

[2oldman]

The 'best' depends on size of wallet, propensity to maintain batteries, and ease of getting to them.

[DrewE]

If price is no object, Lithium Ion batteries (and presumably a matching converter/charger) would be the nicest generally available today.

For most of the rest of us, 6V golf cart batteries probably offer the best bang for the buck. Two or four of them would do quite well for this sort of use. I have a pair of them in my class C motorhome, and in nice weather I can go several days, maybe a week, before I have to charge them with a little bit of electrical conservation. I don't know exactly how long because I haven't been in one place dry camping for that long yet. (It's closer to two or three days if I need to use the furnace some at night, depending largely on how much the furnace gets used.)

[PatrickA51]

You did not say what voltage of the 2 lead Acid batteries that are currently in the travel trailer. So that would lead us to believe that he has 12v batteries. If he wants to change the batteries, if it were my rig to 6v deep cycle AGM batteries. In my RV I have 6 6v Lifeline AGM type deep cycle batteries. I also have an Excide 12v AGM Battery, as the chassis battery. I also have 3 100w Solar Panels and a 2000w Xantrex inverter.

Good luck.