Battery

[uchytil]

I have a 2017 22RR toy hauler. Pretty well versed about batteries just looking for your ideas/ways you do things. I have the factory installed deep cycle that lasts a few days at most with light use. This is my first trailer so I don't know how people go about basic housekeeping regarding their battery. I have mine plugged into 120v A/C all the time. I was thinking this may not be a good thing and wondered what you do to keep the battery from being drawn down?

I was considering:

1. Putting a wing nut on the negative post to allow me to easily remove the negative battery cable when not in use.

2. Wiring in a second battery, or just keeping a charged spare up front.

[Herk7769]

A couple of days for a "OEM" battery is pretty good.

They are usually Group 24 Dual Purpose "Marine Type" Batteries around 75 Amp Hours.

When you replace it, you will do yourself a favor by getting a "true" deep cycle battery as large as will fit in the space available.

Having a shutoff is always a great idea and so is recharging it whenever the "Good" light on your monitor goes out (about 50% discharged).

LOTS of great reading here on deep cycle battery care and feeding so I won't go into depth. I attached some light reading.

[SuicideSaints]

I have 2 batteries installed wired in parallel. I have a wing nut, that I do just as you describe, and remove the negative wire when not in use. This has worked well for me in the last year and a half I have owned it.

[Herk7769]

As an FYI, you can use the battery capacity vs discharge rate chart "as a percent" to calculate the actual capacity of your battery's amp hour ratiing.

For example if your battery has 75 AH, use that as 100% in the chart.

At 12.5 amps of continuous discharge, for example, a fully charged 75 AH battery will last 70% of its 20 hour rating at 5 amps (or 14 hours).

This is why folks add multiple 12 volt batteries so in a 2 battery "bank" each (correctly wired) battery will see only 1/2 of the total system demand therby extending the useful life of the bank in addition to the "doubling" of rated capacity.