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!

[bikendan]

08trdoffroad wrote:
So 2-6v batteries would be the way to go then? Are they typically smaller than their 12 v counterparts?

if you dry camp a lot, then the 6v are the way to go. but, although they have the same footprint as the Group 24 12v ones, they are taller.
so, clearance issues with the tongue jack, bunk door or tailgate, may be an issue.
it was for me so i went with the shorter 12v ones. with my set of two, i can go 4-5 days without having to re-charge them.

if you don't dry camp a lot, having two batteries is a waste of money.

[08trdoffroad]

I will have to look and see if a relocation of the propane tank would be possible. And whether or not my spare would interfere. I like the way the install looks.

So 2-6v batteries would be the way to go then? Are they typically smaller than their 12 v counterparts?

[RoyB]

It would be best if you could swap the PROPANE tank to the front of the tongue and mount a good diamondplate lockable tool box between the propane tank and the trailer front wall. The propane tank would make your battery install more out of sight possibly.



I have seen several battery installs using these type of lockable truck tool boxes...

Sample photo from google images

This is a 48-inch truck side mount tool box which probably needs around 14-inches of clearance between the propane tank and the front trailer wall. Be sure to size up the area pretty good as the slope on some trailer fronts might prevent you from mounting here and be able to open the toolbox lid to gain access to the batteries. You may have your spare tire mounted on the bottom of the tongue also to deal with. Some spares are mounted on the rear of your trailer.

You can install up to 4EA GC2 6V Golf Cart Batteries in this lockable metal box. Some folks just mount two batteries and use the remaining room for storage of other outside items. Go to local hardware stores-Northern Tools-autoparts places and look at the available diamondplate type lockable boxes available. There are several photos for this install on google images. Search google for GILLDAWG79 and when it loads up select IMAGES from the left hand screen.

You can't totally make everything safe from thief but you can slow them down and maybe they will pass yours up.

My trailers are parked here at my house and i have motion detector lights on them at night.

Roy Ken