Battery replacement. Standard 12 volt or 6 volt

[Leichardti]

The standard 12 volt interstate battery has gone bad in my parents 2014 Forest River 8289WS TT.

Debating if I should replace the battery, replace the battery and add a second 12 volt battery or upgrade to two 6 volt cart batteries like I have on my toy hauler.

The trailer will be plugged in most of the time when it is being used but there will be times when power will not be available.

I am not familiar with the electrical setup on the forest river.

Can upgrading to two 6 volts cause any problems or void warranty?
Any opinions?

Thank you for your time

[Blackhat6mike]

Originally Posted by Leichardti

The standard 12 volt interstate battery has gone bad in my parents 2014 Forest River 8289WS TT.

Debating if I should replace the battery, replace the battery and add a second 12 volt battery or upgrade to two 6 volt cart batteries like I have on my toy hauler.

The trailer will be plugged in most of the time when it is being used but there will be times when power will not be available.

I am not familiar with the electrical setup on the forest river.

Can upgrading to two 6 volts cause any problems or void warranty?
Any opinions?

Thank you for your time

I wouldn't exactly call 2 x 6 vdc rather than a 12 vdc battery an upgrade. Given the room, I would go with two 12 vdc TRUE deep cycle batteries. Much more amp hrs available and they weigh less plus the core charges. IMHO, but that fits me and may not fit anyone else.
It shouldn't cause you any problems as it all looks the same to the converter and house. 12 vdc is 12 vdc regardless how you get there.

[Leichardti]

Thanks for the info. Could adding a second deep cycle battery cause any warranty issues?

[HONDAMAN174]

Nope.

[Blackhat6mike]

Nope X 2

[leefl]

Just be sure to wire 2x 12v in parallel, not series. You want "more 12v juice" not 24v

[Dc8mdtmech]

Positive to positive (+to+) and negative to negative (-to-) use the same gauge wire as what's on the unit now. Probable single aught or 0. Insulate the terminals like what's on the batteries now

[DKRITTER]

Do a little research regardless which way you go on wiring them.

You will wire the 12V differently than the 6V. Both are simple but it's important to get it right.

[PhoneDude 8289]

Originally Posted by Leichardti

The standard 12 volt interstate battery has gone bad in my parents 2014 Forest River 8289WS TT.

Debating if I should replace the battery, replace the battery and add a second 12 volt battery or upgrade to two 6 volt cart batteries like I have on my toy hauler.

The trailer will be plugged in most of the time when it is being used but there will be times when power will not be available.

I am not familiar with the electrical setup on the forest river.

Can upgrading to two 6 volts cause any problems or void warranty?
Any opinions?

Thank you for your time

I have done some research and a true deep cycle 6v battery has way more capacity than any 12v deep cycle battery. look at the 20hr capacity and the amp hrs it will deliver. If it was for my truck than I would look at the cold cranking amps. When it's time for me to change it will be 2 6v golf cart batteries in series = 12v. 2 decent 6v deep cycle batteries would definitely be an upgrade.

[leefl]

but is it twice as much ?
If you put 2x 6v batteries, with say 80Ah capacity (random value) in series, then you get 12v at 80Ah, so 960Wh
If you put 2x 12v batteries, with say only 50ah capacity each in parallel, then you get 12v at 100Ah, so 1200Wh
The Amp-hour rating of the 12v batteries would have to be less than half of the capacity of the 6v batteries to make 2x 6v batteries be more effective than 2x 12v batteries

Now, if space or weight is a concern, then two high-capacity 6v batteries may make more sense than two average-capacity 12v batteries, since they might be close to the same power but the 12v batteries will like be larger and heavier

[riznfall]

I believe the two 6volt batteries will have a much higher capacity. If you have the room that's what I would use. And I wish I had the room. I can only fit one 27 series single battery. They will need to be wired in series to get your 12vdc. And as long as they are wired correctly and with the proper sized wire (which is either 0-2 gauge) you won't have any problems with warranty.


Tim
2015 Ram 3500 Laramie CCLB dually
2015 39R12 Vengeance touring edition.

[oldtool2]

Originally Posted by riznfall

I believe the two 6volt batteries will have a much higher capacity. If you have the room that's what I would use. And I wish I had the room. I can only fit one 27 series single battery. They will need to be wired in series to get your 12vdc. And as long as they are wired correctly and with the proper sized wire (which is either 0-2 gauge) you won't have any problems with warranty.


Tim
2015 Ram 3500 Laramie CCLB dually
2015 39R12 Vengeance touring edition.

Look at AGM batteries. They are a sealed batteries so you don't need a vented battery box. They are more expensive but worth it.

Jim

[Dabmeb]

Originally Posted by leefl

but is it twice as much ?
If you put 2x 6v batteries, with say 80Ah capacity (random value) in series, then you get 12v at 80Ah, so 960Wh
If you put 2x 12v batteries, with say only 50ah capacity each in parallel, then you get 12v at 100Ah, so 1200Wh
The Amp-hour rating of the 12v batteries would have to be less than half of the capacity of the 6v batteries to make 2x 6v batteries be more effective than 2x 12v batteries

Now, if space or weight is a concern, then two high-capacity 6v batteries may make more sense than two average-capacity 12v batteries, since they might be close to the same power but the 12v batteries will like be larger and heavier

Approximate numbers are 140 to 170 AH for two 12 volt and 180 to 220 AH for two 6 volts


Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[leefl]

Originally Posted by Dabmeb

Approximate numbers are 140 to 170 AH for two 12 volt and 180 to 220 AH for two 6 volts


Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

So the 12v are only 70 to 85 Ah each, but the 6v are 180 to 220 each ?!?

Remember that for 2x 12v in parallel you double the individual Ah rating, but for 2x 6v in series you don't, so it's just the per battery rating

[Witch Doctor]

What it comes down to is how you use your unit. If you stay plugged in all the time then two duel use 12v would be best cost wise and for your useage. If you do alot of off grid camping then 6 volt is the way to go. I have 2 12v in the same unit going on 4 years now, but I don't camp without electrical. If your going to hook them up go pos to pos and neg to neg and connect the second battery to ground instead and disconnect the first one simple to do.

[DKRITTER]

Originally Posted by gljurczyk

What it comes down to is how you use your unit. If you stay plugged in all the time then two duel use 12v would be best cost wise and for your useage. If you do alot of off grid camping then 6 volt is the way to go. I have 2 12v in the same unit going on 4 years now, but I don't camp without electrical. If your going to hook them up go pos to pos and neg to neg and connect the second battery to ground instead and disconnect the first one simple to do.

I agree with this, in our old PT 327RES it came with one 12V NAPA marine battery that had 105AH if I remember correctly it was simple to go to NAPA and just get another one and add it to the trailer and was the most economical also.

We only go off grid a couple of times a year and have a 50AMP plug at the house where we store the trailer. One time we were on our way to Wyoming and hooked up at a RV Park right before a storm hit and we all lost electricity for the night. We pretty much had everything we needed with the 2 12V batteries.

The new trailer is a 5th wheel with a residential fridge and an inverter we opted to go with 4 6V batteries wired in both series and parallel giving us 12V and a little over 400aH. If we dry camped a lot more I probably would have opted for a dual fuel fridge or more batteries but we don’t. I need a day maybe 2 of battery power at most.

Like almost everything there is no one size fits all for this either.

[aceinspp]

I installed 2nd 12 volt o my tt and previous ones I've had and had very good results. Later RJD

[leefl]

I just have the stock 12v battery, and don't expect to change that for some time.
The only usage the battery gets is for the landing legs and stabilizers, and slides. We always camp with power and don't have any plans without.

[oldtool2]

Originally Posted by DKRITTER

I agree with this, in our old PT 327RES it came with one 12V NAPA marine battery that had 105AH if I remember correctly it was simple to go to NAPA and just get another one and add it to the trailer and was the most economical also.

We only go off grid a couple of times a year and have a 50AMP plug at the house where we store the trailer. One time we were on our way to Wyoming and hooked up at a RV Park right before a storm hit and we all lost electricity for the night. We pretty much had everything we needed with the 2 12V batteries.

The new trailer is a 5th wheel with a residential fridge and an inverter we opted to go with 4 6V batteries wired in both series and parallel giving us 12V and a little over 400aH. If we dry camped a lot more I probably would have opted for a dual fuel fridge or more batteries but we don’t. I need a day maybe 2 of battery power at most.

Like almost everything there is no one size fits all for this either.

You never know what is going to happen. Power loss due to a storm or a bad electrical hook-up, and sso on. One of the reasons I put the second battery in. My second one is an AGM gel battery with 100ah rating. I really like this type of battery because it is sealed so don't have to have it vented to the outside and no battery box required.

If I upgrade my batteries next year I will go with 4 six volt AGM batteries. More expensive but longer battery life and higher ah rating. And again, no venting required.

Jim

[chriscowles]

Asking for opinions about 2 x 6 in series vs. 2 x 12 in parallel is like asking if gas is better than diesel or Ford is better than Chevy. You'll get many different opinions, most of which are valid for the reasons the poster claims. Your reason for choosing one over the other should be based on how you intend too use it.

I chose 2 x 12 because it met my capacity needs, was more economical, I don't dry camp very often, and because I have a purpose for them when not camping that requires that they be used separately, at 12v.

One thing to consider is redundancy. Others will state that a 6v battery rarely fails, and they'd be correct. But when one does fail you have only 6v left, which is useless. If you have 2 x 12 in parallel and one fails, you still have 12.

Those are my reasons for what I chose. It suits my purpose but I may have chosen 2 x 6 under different circumstances.

If you do choose 12v, make sure you get true deep cycle, not marine dual