Battery question

[blams2004]

The battery in my TT is five years old and I have noticed it does not hold a charge as well anymore. I didnt really worry about this because most of our trips have been full hookups, and the ones that werent were on the short side like 2 or three days. This year all of our trips will be dry camping and several days at a time. I wanted to replace the battery but wasnt really sure what to look for in a battery. Any help is greatly appreciated. Cheers, Blams.

[blams2004]

Found one at an auto store that was 210 reserve for 122.00.

[pianotuna]

Hi blams,

Buy the Trojan--but check the date code. Failing that go to Walmart and get the biggest trolling battery they sell.

[blams2004]

Well I guess I should have replaced the battery before this last trip. The battery went dead and we lost fridge power. Had to eat all the junk food before it went bad. Going out today to replace the battery. Live and learn. Still not sure what to get. I called the dealer and they recommended interstate but it had 505 cranking amps and 100 reserve. I thought I was supposed to stay away from a battery with any cranking Amps since a TT was not cranking anything.

[blams2004]

I just got back from the golf cart place and they said they have never sold a 12 v to someone looking for a battery for a camper. He did however have one 12v true deep cycle with I believe 125 AH. It was a Trojan can not remember model. Price a whopping 210.00 with core. But if that's what they go for then it is what it is

[blams2004]

We will camp for five days in a row several times this summer. I only have one battery and probably would be fine for five days with the one right? As far as leaving it plugged in between trips it seems pointless to leave it for long periods. In the past I have plugged it back in a day or so before the trip. I have always been very conservative with the battery when we dry camp. Lowsuv I don't know a lot about diesel but am assuming you have 2 batteries in the diesel and 2 in the TT. I want to get a good battery that will last five days of camping with conservative use and want to be able to keep it as long as possible. I am getting the idea that a true deep cycle rv battery with high AH would be the best for my situation.

[Lowsuv]

we do make sure when we leave home that we have fully charged RV batteries .
mostly by plugging the TT in to 120V for the day prior while packing .
when we return to home we plug the TT into 120V again .
when we park the trailer for storage I fully disconnect the RV batteries from the TT system . I do make sure they are fully charged .
i have installed AGM batteries Exide EDGE in my pickup .
the trailer batts are the standard 12 volt tandems .
i am waiting to see a deal on AGM batteries on a true DEEP CYCLE RV battery .
I would rather spend the money on good Exide Edge AGM batteries for my pickup that i drive most days than on an expensive solar panel for my trailer which sits 333 days each year .
we camp without hookups 70 % of the time
we have no solar .
we have no generator.
we park our trailer .
we turn our diesel pickup around .
we use HEAVY DUTY 12 foot jumper cables to connect all 4 batteries together to run the 12V in the trailer .
the duramax gets driven every 2nd or 3rd day .
its batteries get fully recharged .
as soon as we return we hook up the jumpers again .
the 4 batteries basically equalize .
we camp maximum 9 days in a row utilizing this method .
been doing this for 15 years .
an upgrade in batteries will be efficient enough .
2 big golf cart GC2 batts for the RV and AGM batteries for the tow vehicle. or 2 group 27 RV deep cycle batteries . AGM if you can find them .

[pianotuna]

Hi Blams,

How many days will you be dry camping in a row?

[blams2004]

Right now there is a marine type 12v, Im not sure how the best way to keep it charged is. I camp about once a month for long weekends and 2 week long trips in the summer. When I get home I usually do nothing with the battery. Then a few days before the trip I hook up the dog bone to the outlet in my garage, this charges it enough to get through a short non hook up camping stay. Like said previously this year we will be doing a lot more and longer non hookup camping. I do have a trickle charger, but must say was always a little afraid of having that thing charging in my garage for nearly a month at a time. I too would have enough room for at least two battery boxes in the tray. I thought about bringing the old battery and switching it out about three quarters the way through the trip. I do have a local golf cart shop and was thinking of starting there. Would the local Wal-Mart have anything usable. Most of what I saw there was Marine/RV types. How much should I expect to pay for a decent battery? Also how do I know how low the battery is going? I do not have a generator or anything to recharge while camping. Thanks again. Blams

[skipnchar]

Pretty good advice given so far. I'd just add that your battery will last longer when it's kept charged fully as much as possible. That's why your current battery lasted so long, it was rarely discharged by camping with electric hook ups. When you stay for multiple days I'd set a limit on how low you allow the battery to get before recharging. I generally use about 75% for my two Trojan T 105s and I get from six to eight years from them even though they're used HARD. MOST of my camping is without hook ups and the batteries take a lot of charge/discharge cycles but only RARELY are they deeply discharged.

[sclark]

sorry, double post

[sclark]

Go with the greatest amount of amp hours you can find. 6 or 12 volts your choice. We purchase ours from golf cart repair shops. Good luck with your choice.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

How do you plan to recharge the battery bank?

Maximize the battery capacity. Use what ever voltage allows you to do so. My rv had room for 3 12 volt jars.

[WrongWayRandall]

Pairs of 6v deep cycle batteries typically have a lot more capacity (amp hours) than a single 12v deep cycle, but not all campers will have the space to fit the larger (and far heavier) 6v battery pairs. What do you have in there now?

- Randy

[Mandalay_Parr]

A good deep cycle battery like a golf cart battery.