One battery or two

[Tin-bender]

I know this question has been answered before, but not for me:)

Buying a new travel trailer and the dealer recommends a single 12 volt battery. We have had double 12 volt batteries on our travel trailers in the past and had no issues with that arrangement. We don't do a lot of boondocking, maybe a couple times a year for a couple days. Will a single battery be sufficient?
Thanks for your time
Tinbender

[BobsYourUncle]

Buddy of mine is the KING of excess!
He scoffs at one battery or two, thumbs down at 4.

Try 8 batteries! Yeah, 8 of them in his 5'ver!:B

Why? Well, because his name is Jim and my buddy Jimmy has always been known for going to the far end in everything he does! Why buy two batteries when 8 will be enough?

Big inverter, fancy this and that, lots a lights.... power a small campsite..

I asked him why?
He grins and says, because I can!

We go boondock fishing every September for 3 or 4 days. He never runs out of juice. 🙂

While the rest of us launch our gennys he sits back and laughs at us!

That's Jimmy, best of friends since high school. Always does everything to excess!
:B

[time2roll]

"Survival" is easy. Comfort to focus on the fun stuff... worth a second battery.

[SoundGuy]

Lynnmor wrote:
OK, you win! The OP just has to do without a shower, have dim lights, run the truck and buy a solar panel. Yep, no pundits in these parts.

Why would the OP have to do without a shower when running the pump for a few minutes will result in so little draw down on his battery it's not worth worrying about. Same for lights, LEDs draw so little there's little point in worrying about it. And running the truck for a few minutes is a disaster? This isn't about "winning", it's about common sense. Hard to believe but one can dry camp a "couple of weekends" each season with just one battery and survive to tell the tale. Good grief. :S

[mordecai81]

I use a single 155 a/h 12 volt and we boondock mostly. Been working well for us, but I charge everyday so if you want to go a couple/few days without charging you might need more amp hours.

[Lynnmor]

SoundGuy wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
So you may run out of power just a few times a year? That may be trips lacking the fun factor. One battery deeply discharged is worse for battery life than two discharged much less.

An exaggeration considering the OP said - "We don't do a lot of boondocking, maybe a couple times a year for a couple days." In a pinch one can still plug the trailer into the tow vehicle for light use - i.e. powering a couple of LED lights or running the water pump for showering, etc. Even a portable solar panel could restore some of what is used from a single battery. No biggie at all. A dual battery setup for many is overkill, despite claims to the contrary by forum pundits. :R

OK, you win! The OP just has to do without a shower, have dim lights, run the truck and buy a solar panel. Yep, no pundits in these parts.

[ppine]

Two are fine unless you can make room for 4.

[SoundGuy]

Lynnmor wrote:
So you may run out of power just a few times a year? That may be trips lacking the fun factor. One battery deeply discharged is worse for battery life than two discharged much less.

An exaggeration considering the OP said - "We don't do a lot of boondocking, maybe a couple times a year for a couple days." In a pinch one can still plug the trailer into the tow vehicle for light use - i.e. powering a couple of LED lights or running the water pump for showering, etc. Even a portable solar panel could restore some of what is used from a single battery. No biggie at all. A dual battery setup for many is overkill, despite claims to the contrary by forum pundits. :R

[Lynnmor]

So you may run out of power just a few times a year? That may be trips lacking the fun factor. One battery deeply discharged is worse for battery life than two discharged much less.

[SoundGuy]

Tin-bender wrote:
Buying a new travel trailer and the dealer recommends a single 12 volt battery. We have had double 12 volt batteries on our travel trailers in the past and had no issues with that arrangement. We don't do a lot of boondocking, maybe a couple times a year for a couple days. Will a single battery be sufficient?

We too rarely dry camp so I've always had just one battery. JMO but rather than invest in 2 flooded batteries that would rarely be used to their full extent considering how you camp I'd spend the extra $$$ on upgrading to a single Group 31 AGM battery that's sealed and requires no fluid maintenance. In fact that's exactly what I did do when I replaced my worn out G27 with a new G31 AGM. :B

[azrving]

This:
We have had double 12 volt batteries on our travel trailers in the past and had no issues with that arrangement.

If that's been working, why change.

[Tvov]

From the original post, if you are "boondocking" (camping without electric hookup) only rarely, you should be fine. If you are going to boondock a lot, I'd recommend looking into a quiet camping generator.

We've camped at non-electric sites on a regular basis with one battery just fine. Friday through Sunday is no problem, even a couple more days. You have to have "battery discipline", only using power when really needed. We usually only camp like that in the spring and fall, when air conditioning is not needed (or to be more exact, wanted).

A multiple battery setup would be great, but if I was going to go that route, I would also look into a camping generator.

[naturist]

We rarely boondock, and have had no trouble at all using a single 12 volt battery for the last decade. Unless you boondock, a single battery is quite adequate. Yes, more are better. But that’s NOT the same as “necessary.”

[gbopp]

time2roll wrote:
Get two. Not sure I would have this dealer install the second.

A dealer who isn't trying to sell something extra is interesting.

[colliehauler]

Another vote for two golf cart 6 volt batteries. My last set lasted 8 years before I replaced. If you don't boondock and use campgrounds one 12 volt battery is probably sufficient.

[dom101]

One note of interest. I needed to change two of my 6 volt deep cycle batteries. I went to Costco and their 6 volt batteries were 150 with 12 month pro rated. So if it dies in 11 months you get squat back. There 12 volt batteries we around 100 with a full 36 month warranty.