Dual Battery Setup on 2010 Starcraft 176RB

[08trdoffroad]

Hey all,

Does anyone out there have a dual battery setup on their Starcraft 176 RB or the Jayco trailer it is a clone of?

If so, could you please post a picture so I can see how you arranged the battery boxes on the tongue of the trailer.

My battery was stolen and the wiring cut so I figure now is the best time to convert to a dual setup for more storage capacity and run time while using battery power!

Is a dual 12 volt, or dual 6 volt better in this cirumstance?

Any help/tips/tricks/how to's/etc you can provide would be great!

Also, I need some advice on which brand/size of battery to go with for the project.

TIA!

[Chuck_S]

My battery switch is open in the back. You can see the opening in the top and there's a matching slot in the bottom. It's merely bolted to the plastic battery box after the wires are connected.

I switch the Ground wire connection, the wire between the negative pole on the battery and the frame. That way it makes not a bit of difference if the switch studs touch the frame or if they get wet and the frame gets wet -- they're already grounded. In addition this is a battery disconnect switch, not an ignition switch. Automobile and marine electrical safety insists that the battery ground be disconnected before working on the system. This switch does this and I only to connect one wire to the switch, not 2 or 3 or 6.

A heavy black battery cable runs from the battery Negative to one side of the switch and the heavy white ground wire from the trailer goes to the other stud. Simple. Done. Switch Off and everything is off.

Blue Sea makes a variety of marine quality switches. I picked up a couple of these a few years ago because I liked the color coding. I can see at a glance if the battery is On or Off.

-- Chuck

[08trdoffroad]

My identification of the the wiring was correct! Battery is installed and working great!

[08trdoffroad]

Hey all, I went to install the battery last night, but couldn't find the appropriate size connectors I needed. After looking at the wiring, I began to second guess myself as to which wire went where. Below is a picture of how I believe the wires need to be connected to the battery. Would you please double check my work and let me know if I am going to do something wrong.
Thanks!

[08trdoffroad]

I ended up just picking up a Group 27 battery from Costco. After pricing out what the 6V Setup would cost, there just wasn't money in our budget for the project right now and we need the trailer ready to roll in a few weeks for a family reunion.

[mitechie]

Chuck_S wrote:
I turned the battery boxes 90° and two Trojan T125 6v batteries fit nicely side by side.

Do you have pics of the switch install? I picked up a similar battery switch which I read as 'marine' so figured water proof. However, the connections are inside there but exposed. So I'm not sure how to mount it in a water-proof way really. I guess I could mount it inside my battery box itself?

http://goo.gl/cJD6S is the one I picked up.

[bikendan]

08trdoffroad wrote:
Chuck, where did you get the cut off switch for your batts? I am finally getting ready to replace the battery on my HTT! Thanks!

that's a Blue Sea switch. that model isn't available anymore as far as i know.
but other Blue Sea swiches are available online, at marine supply stores or CW has Battery Doctor switches that are similar.

[crcr]

I don't have a Jayco, have a Rockwood Mini-Lite TT, but I had limited space between the propane tanks and the front of the TT to mount my two 6V GC batteries when I switched to them from the single 12V OEM battery. But if you have limited space, this is the tightest possible way to install two 6V batteries.

The box is from Century Plastics is heavy duty but does not weigh a lot (Clicky here), and the one I bought holds two GC batteries perfectly, with almost no room to spare, which suited my application. I think I paid around $45 for the box, and am very happy with it. As you can see in the pic, I got out my welder and fabricated a hold down out of angle iron and incorporated a padlock on each end of the enclosure.


screenshot by lightshot

[08trdoffroad]

Chuck, where did you get the cut off switch for your batts? I am finally getting ready to replace the battery on my HTT! Thanks!

[Chuck_S]

I turned the battery boxes 90° and two Trojan T125 6v batteries fit nicely side by side.

They weigh 66 pounds each compared to about 40 for a full LP tank so swapping the tank and battery locations will take 40 pounds off the ball. Didn't look viable on my Roo 23SS.

Don't worry about the height of these batteries, your LP cylinders are MUCH taller. Note the crank clears on mine as does the power jack.

-- Chuck

[mbopp]

Our 21SSO came with one battery and 2-30# propane tanks. I mounted 2 G29 batteries in place of the propane tanks, and mounted one 30# tank in place of the battery. I found a guy on Ebay who makes single 30# tank covers out of Sunbrella, I'm happy with the one I ordered from him.
Sorry, the HTT's in storage so I can't get a pic.

[RoyB]

offroad - just enter the model number and make into google search and add the word specs should come right up.

Roy Ken

[bikendan]

should have been a standard Group 24 battery, if it came from the dealer. it would be unusual to put a different Group size on there.
you can look up the Group 24 specs anywhere.

[08trdoffroad]

RoyB wrote:
This is the spec sheet for the TROJAN T105 6VDC Golf Cart Battery. You will need two of these wired in series to make a 12VDC battery but you gain a bigger capacity. These batteries (Look-alikes) are also offered by COSTCO and SAMS CLUB GC2 batteries at around $70 each. You will end up with alot of battery capacity for a very good price and a two year warranty I think they have.

TROJAN T105 6VDC Battery Specs

Get the battery that suits your RV lifestyle but you also need to get a lock-up box or some secure method to keep your new batteries as safe from thief as you can.

The GC2 batteries are very popular among the RV guys...

Roy Ken

My wife and I typical go for a weekend (3-4 days), but once a year for the bow hunt we go for about ten days. With the stock 12 v battery that came with the trailer, it lasted about 2-3 days and then I was running the generator every day for a couple hours to keep the lights on for the night. I would like to be able to go quite a bit longer than than. So I would really like to go to the dual 6v set up, and at $70 a piece that isn't much more than one 12v deep cycle would run me.

I plan on doing something to secure the batteries. When the battery was stolen it was just in a standard battery box with a fabric strap holding it closed. I knew better than to leave it in the trailer where I had it parked (battery and propane tank thefts have been on the news in my area lately). I was just lazy the last time after we got back and didn't feel like lugging the monster up to our second story apartment. I was thinking of just getting a section of heavy duty chain and locking it around the battery box to prevent the lid from being removed easily.

I am currently building a house, which should be done the first part of January. Once we are in there. The battery(s) will be in the garage or basement when not in use. And eventually the trailer will be secured behind a fence/gate in the back yard.

Does anyone know where I can find the specs on the original battery?

[RoyB]

This is the spec sheet for the TROJAN T105 6VDC Golf Cart Battery. You will need two of these wired in series to make a 12VDC battery but you gain a bigger capacity. These batteries (Look-alikes) are also offered by COSTCO and SAMS CLUB GC2 batteries at around $70 each. You will end up with alot of battery capacity for a very good price and a two year warranty I think they have.

TROJAN T105 6VDC Battery Specs

Get the battery that suits your RV lifestyle but you also need to get a lock-up box or some secure method to keep your new batteries as safe from thief as you can.

The GC2 batteries are very popular among the RV guys...

Roy Ken