Which battery for small travel trailer

[Scottishman]

My wife and I have a FR Palonini 132FD. 16' LOA.

We use it for two three-week trips every fall and spring - and occasional camping in between.

We tow it with a Toyota Tacoma, and have a 100W solar panel on the roof, plus a spare 80W 'briefcase' solar panel

I always have problems keeping batteries charged and kill them. So this time I purchased a AmpereTime solid-state 200Ah Nickel/cadmium battery.
It's an awesome battery that is good for 2000cycles and will last many years - but the issue is that it needs 14.6V for charging and neither the tow vehicle, the camper converter on shore power (13.63V) or my solar panels will deliver that kind of oomph.

So I'm faced with spending a bundle on any of the solutions and that just seems like overkill. So I think I should return it and start over again - regrettably.

My question is - what's the best deep-cycle battery for this small camper, considering the type of use. We are VERY careful with power usage - just the fridge control panel; heater fan when in use; and occasional LED lights. Thank you

[toedtoes]

deltabravo wrote:

Scottishman wrote:
My question is - what's the best deep-cycle battery for this small camper,

Most TTs have a group 24 sized battery box. I'd get a group 24 AGM battery, or upgrade to TWO.


The factory installed converter / chargers in RVs are not much more than a power supply. You'd benefit greatly from installing a nice 2 stage charger, or even an inverter/charger combo unit.

I recently installed a Victron DC to DC Charger to upgrade my truck to RV charging capabilities.

Check the battery size - I was able to fit a Vtech 85ah agm battery in my box. For the difference in price, you could get a quality 3-stage converter too.

[Lwiddis]

Your panels watts are inadequate but they should be delivering high enough voltage. It is your controller that is lowering the voltage IMO.

Does your new Nickel/cadmium battery have a memory issue?

[theoldwizard1]

mr_andyj wrote:
LiFe?? Nicad are not ideal for camping...

Ampere time does not sell NiCad batteries.

[mr_andyj]

LiFe?? Nicad are not ideal for camping...

You can get solar charge controllers that have adjustable output. That 100w solar panel puts out 18.x volts and your charge controller drops that down to 13.x. I have one I can program any voltage I want to go to the battery.
OR
Get a DC to DC charger where you can either program or get your 14.6 volts. This will help coming from the vehicle alternator.
You might need another 100 watt panel if you go off-grid for days at a time. All depends on how much power you use.
OR both because you need control from the panel and control from the vehicle.

[theoldwizard1]

Scottishman wrote:
I always have problems keeping batteries charged and kill them. So this time I purchased a AmpereTime solid-state 200Ah Nickel/cadmium battery.
It's an awesome battery that is good for 2000cycles and will last many years - but the issue is that it needs 14.6V for charging and neither the tow vehicle, the camper converter on shore power (13.63V) or my solar panels will deliver that kind of oomph.

First, I believe that is a LiFePO4 battery. Yes it needs higher voltage to properly charge.

Invest in a new converter and solar charge controller.

[deltabravo]

Scottishman wrote:
My question is - what's the best deep-cycle battery for this small camper,

Most TTs have a group 24 sized battery box. I'd get a group 24 AGM battery, or upgrade to TWO.


The factory installed converter / chargers in RVs are not much more than a power supply. You'd benefit greatly from installing a nice 2 stage charger, or even an inverter/charger combo unit.

I recently installed a Victron DC to DC Charger to upgrade my truck to RV charging capabilities.

[NamMedevac_70]

FYI This info may be of benefit to others if not the OP

I have for many years used regular 12 volt wet cell or AGM batteries plus deep cycle that I bought from Sams or Auto supply stores on my 28 foot TT. Just one and on road trips the truck kept the battery charged up quite well. I always used shore power when available and with no shore power I used only minimum appliances very sparingly and got along with propane stove and lanterns. Since I had room I carried a spare battery and later small inverter 2000W firman generator with an exide battery charger if needed to charge the bat including deep cycle. I use to use the red top (starting), yellow or blue deep cycle bats from Sam but I heard they changed manufactures with quality deterioration. For a while i had a Champion 3500W but it was much more than I needed and too heavy.

My firman gets 8 to 9 hours on one gallon in econ quite mode and I have been told these 2000W gennys will power one roof top AC. Most RV parks and public campgrounds have quite hours when one cannot run the genny. I have no experience with solar but many others have. I now only boondock for short periods of time.