Camper battery

[ernieandbert]

My camper battery is only lasting about 5 hours with only the interior lights on so I assume that I need a new one.

I have a larger deep cycle boat battery that has more cranking amps than the one that is in the trailer.

Can I use that battery or will it be to much and fry something?

Can I use any 12V battery?

Can someone point me to a good one that will not break the bank?

How long should a good battery last with only keeping the basics on in a trailer?

Thanks all!


Ernie

[beemerphile1]

ernieandbert wrote:
My camper battery is only lasting about 5 hours with only the interior lights on so I assume that I need a new one.

I have a larger deep cycle boat battery that has more cranking amps than the one that is in the trailer.

Can I use that battery or will it be to much and fry something?

Yes, you can use it but cranking amps means nothing for this use. Commonly we compare batteries by using the amps @ the 20 rating.

Can I use any 12V battery?

Yes, but some are better than others.

Can someone point me to a good one that will not break the bank?

Go to Walmart and purchase the largest RV/marine battery that will fit in your holder.

How long should a good battery last with only keeping the basics on in a trailer?

Two days to a week.

Many of us use multiple batteries linked together. You can use 12v batteries in parallel or 6v batteries in pairs.

[dodgerdog]

I may be wrong but you said you leave the travel trailer plugged in (full time) at the house.. If thats right most converters unless they are a smart converter constantly charge a battery... Needless to say it sounds like the battery might have been overcharged (cooked) and that might be a big part of your problem... I would check the water levels in the battery first... Dry Cells kill batteries... and overcharging definately shortens the life of a good battery.... You might need to replace your current one... and only plug the trailer in for a day every couple of weeks or even better yet put an isolator on the batter so when you not using the trailer the battery won't discharge down to zero.... they sell one for marine applications that you can easily unscrew when you not using the trailer... Then you can use a regular battery charger or you can reconnect and use your trailers converter to do the job....

Half dozen methods... I have a little 40 dollar smart charger I bought at walmart that has a lighted scale that I use to keep my cars and rv batteries charge when its done charging the battery it has a green light to let me know its done..... Like a say there are lots of differnt methods... But constantly charging a battery without a smart charger will eventually kill your battery....

Mike C.

[wanderingbob]

Careful when running jumpers to truck for extended periods as this may draw truck to low to start >

[lanerd]

FYI... any battery that is labeled with "CCA" (cold cranking amps) is made to be a "starting" battery and is not designed for multiple drainage. It provides large amount of amperage for a short period of time to start engines with. It will NOT provide that same amount of amperage over a longer period of time.

What you need is a "Deep Cycle" battery that is measured in "Ah" (Amp-hours). Look for one that is at least 100 ah. Yes, you can connect the tv's battery via cables and yes you can connect multiple 12v batteries in parallel.

Keeping the rv plugged into your house may or may not keep the batteries charged. It all depends on the type of converter/inverter you have. It needs to be a three stage that provides a "float" charge to keep the batteries at maximum charge without boiling them over.

Hope this helps

Ron

[2oldman]

Battery FAQ
This tutorial may be of some help. 12v side of life.

Many of these posts are about LED replacements.

[ernieandbert]

The only thing i had on was the lights - nothing else.

I keep the camper plugged into the house and I assumed that this would keep the battery fully charged?

I read in another post here that some people run jumper cables from there TV to the battery on the TT to get more hours. This is OK and will not harm anything?

I can in theory hook up as many 12V batteries in parallel that I want and it will be OK?

Also - can someone give me a link to some good replacemetn LED bulbs. I looked on Amazon and they have ratings with people stating that they were not that bright.


I have a 2005 Trail-Light Max Lite 29BHS.

Thanks again all!

Ernie

[wanderingbob]

Sure . you can use the boat battery that you already own ! It will not fry anything !

[JiminDenver]

What do you have now as a battery and how did you charge it before the trip/ how long?

There is a possibility you have the smallest battery in your rig, a grp 24 with 75 amp hours of which only 37 is available before it needs to be charged. That is if it is in good sghape a fully charged before the trip.

How many lights did you have on? Say a average light takes 2 amps a hour for 5 hours, that's 10 amp hours gone from the battery. Five bulbs for five hours is more than your battery can put out and that doesn't include the control panels for the fridge and hot water heater or the propane detector.

Adding a second battery can help you out but if the one in the trailer is old or weak you need to do two new ones, not just one.

LED light will really cut your power uses and can be found on ebay for a few bucks each. We run at least four for four hours a night and the battery hardly knows they are on.

As for what battery, you can go to Walmart and get a couple of group 27 batteries for around $150 and have close to 200 ahs. A pair of 6v in series will give you some more and can be found at Sams or Costco for around the same.

Now back to the charging part. Having the battery fully charged is what you need before you leave. I take ours out and put it on a stand alone charger as soon as we get home from a trip. Then I charge it once a month and do it again a few days before the trip. That way it is fully charged and ready to go when we are.
If you store your trailer where there is power you can plug in a few days before you go, just make sure the water levels are good and top off with distilled water as needed.