Battery Theft and replacement questions

[RRZNagas]

So on New Years Eve or Day, we're not sure yet, on of our 2 batteries was stolen from my Jayco while it was in storage. They cut the strap, and the wires, and just lifted it out, leaving behind the other one. They have both been used over the last 16 months.

My question is should I replace the one they left behind and get two new batteries, or can I get away with just buying one, since the other one should have a few good years left?

Yeah, so Happy New Years to us...

[pianotuna]

Hi GordonThree,

My math is seriously off tonight. Ty for questioning my post.

[GordonThree]

Don, what sort of lights are those, 4 amps a piece sheesh. The most powerful I run are two 36 watt 1 meter strips, three amps each x 2.

[pianotuna]

My OEM converter is 40 amps. That's twenty 1156 bulbs. I have 16. If they all are turned on then the converter won't be too happy. Therefore a working battery is often a good thing to have.

Correction thanks to GordonThree.

Recount on number of bulbs. It is 25. That's more than my converter can put out.

[SoundGuy]

RRZNagas wrote:
Ultimately we decided since we don’t boondock to replace only the stolen one and not both.

So I'll ask once again - if by "we don't boondock" you mean you always camp with shore power available why would you replace the battery at all and not just run with one? :h

[RRZNagas]

We got sort of lucky I suppose. The thieves only cut the wires that connected between the 2 12volt batteries, and the one between the battery and the cutoff switch. They were also nice enough to leave us enough wire that we only need to add new connectors. Ultimately we decided since we don’t boondock to replace only the stolen one and not both. Now I just have to find a way to secure the new setup.

[fairfaxjim]

PaulJ2 wrote:
My guess would be a 12 volt battery. A thief would likely not know what to do with a 6 volt one.

Thieves aren't deep thinkers nor do they usually spend much time contemplating or examining their targets. It's grab and run.

Given the OP's descriptions, I would simply repair the wiring and replace the stolen battery.

[SoundGuy]

GordonThree wrote:
Thief jonesing for a fix might not even know the difference.

Nor apparently does the OP ... pretty hard to offer suggestions when he doesn't even know what type of battery he has. 😉

[GordonThree]

Thief jonesing for a fix might not even know the difference.

[PaulJ2]

My guess would be a 12 volt battery. A thief would likely not know what to do with a 6 volt one.

[RRZNagas]

SoundGuy wrote:

RRZNagas wrote:
We are taking it over to the dealership to see what the estimate will be. I’m most likely going to buy a single new battery, and a lockable toolbox/dual battery box to prevent it from happening again. Part of the reasoning is because we don’t boondock and also partly because we want to get by as cheaply as possible in the short term.

If by "we don't boondock" you mean you don't ever camp without shore power then why would you even need a second battery? ... unless we're talking about a pair of 6 volts, a question asked previously that you haven't answered. :h

I'm not entirely sure which battery voltage I have. The wife was the one who went to the storage place to see the damage. I'm going this afternoon to check it out and see what we have and what type of damage was done to the wiring. The camper came with 2 batteries, hence why I would buy a replacement. The reason we don't boondock is because of my need of a cpap machine.

[pianotuna]

If you have a single 12 volt and do not camp without shore power then that is all that is needed. Buy a secure box for what you have.

[SoundGuy]

RRZNagas wrote:
We are taking it over to the dealership to see what the estimate will be. I’m most likely going to buy a single new battery, and a lockable toolbox/dual battery box to prevent it from happening again. Part of the reasoning is because we don’t boondock and also partly because we want to get by as cheaply as possible in the short term.

If by "we don't boondock" you mean you don't ever camp without shore power then why would you even need a second battery? ... unless we're talking about a pair of 6 volts, a question asked previously that you haven't answered. :h

[RRZNagas]

We are taking it over to the dealership to see what the estimate will be. I’m most likely going to buy a single new battery, and a lockable toolbox/dual battery box to prevent it from happening again. Part of the reasoning is because we don’t boondock and also partly because we want to get by as cheaply as possible in the short term.

[2oldman]

Ok, time for OP to return.

[rbpru]

I certainly would not argue that maximising your TT battery life is a good idea. However, I doubt that most folks ever give it a second thought. They check the water, take it inside in the winter, use it till it dies and get another.

Usually it takes about 7 years or so. If you camp with electricity, your battery can be near the end of it life. Except to help power the slide and the awning it does not see a lot of demand and it is constantly being topped off by the TV or the park electricity.

Now if you are a boondocker or occasionally camp without electric, that is a whole different situation.

Our battery will last us two days, if we know we will need an extra day or so, we carry a spare from the trolling motor or use jumpers from the TV for 15 or 20 minutes.