Increased Battery

[Hujipher]

I have a 2011 Rockwood 232XR and I do mostly dry camping. I want to increase the battery capacity from the 70 or 80 AH I have with the deep cycle that came with the unit. I was thinking of getting a couple of 6V golf cart batteries and wiring them in series and hooking them up instead of the old battery.

Will I need to do anything else to my trailer or will this do the trick? Also, will my converter charge these okay?

Thanks for the help.

Any other advice would be appreciated.

[flyrotor]

There are a lot of people that do just that, make sure they are still mounted where they will vent properly. Your converter should be just fine with the new setup.

[SaskCampers]

Either a pair of 6V or a pair of 12V Trojan batteries will do you well. The 12v would be better in some ways due to the fact if you have one fail you still have useable voltage. Not so with the 6 volters. You pay premium money for Trojan bateeries, but you get what you pay for with them. And your converter will have no trouble with them.

[rkswyo]

You will not be disapointed in the Trojan batteries. I am running two Trojan SCS225's. They have an AH rating of 130 each. Double that and that is all I ever need. They are expensive but well worth it. I just recently paid $340 for a pair of them. I like dual 12 volt for a couple reasons. If I loose one battery I am still good to go with the remaining battery. I also occasionally use them for the trolling motor on my boat. I have been through many different brands of batteries over the years and none have matched the Trojans. I had 5 years on the Trojan on my last travel trailer and it was still going strong when I sold it.

[Titleguy]

Also be aware that a lot of the 6v batteries are taller than your 12v ones and may not fit in the battery boxes you have.

[rkswyo]

Deep cycle batteries come in all different sizes. Some are designated by Group size, like group 24, 27 and 31. Basically, the larger the battery the more amp hours you get. Depending on your needs and the amount of space you have available, there are several options when it comes to batteries.
You can use one 12-volt 24 group deep cycle battery that provides 70 to 85 AH.
You can use two 12-volt 24 group batteries wired in parallel that provides 140 to 170 AH. Parallel wiring increases amp hours but not voltage.
If you have the room, you can do what a lot of RVers do and switch from the standard 12-volt batteries to two of the larger 6-volt golf cart batteries. These pairs of 6-volt batteries need to be wired in series to produce the required 12-volts and they will provide 180 to 220 AH. Series wiring increases voltage but not amp hours.
If this still doesn’t satisfy your requirements you can build larger battery banks using four 6-volt batteries wired in series / parallel that will give you 12-volts and double your AH capacity.

In my case with the 2 Trojan SCS225's I am getting 260AH. This is better than I can get with a pair of 6 volts and I have no desire to carry four batteries. (Cost and weight prohibitive and I don't have the room)

[Triguy]

I have a pair of Trojan T-145s in series for 260Ah. Your converter will be fine charging these as long as they are hooked up correctly with one issue. The converter probably doesn't go up to the 14.8 volts that Trojan wants so a separate charger is a good idea. My converter only charges up to 14.2 volts.

I bought a bigger battery box to fit both in the tray and allows for the extra height of the batteries. Its a tight fit so measure appropriately. Others have had to modify their trays to work.

I also put in a battery disconnect, of course. These batteries are very heavy and I didn't want to have to take them out once I had them in.

Speaking of which, I used a battery puller to lift them in. Very handy device. You can get one at an auto parts store for about $15 if you need one.

[donn]

IMHO on a TT where you are going to only have two batteries you would be far better off capacity wise to get two 12VDC deep cycle batteries. Remember two 6 volt batteries are just one 12 volt battery in a large package. The current available in each 6V battery is not multiplied. So if you have two 100 amp 6 volt batteries, you still only have one 100 amp 12 volt battery. Whereas if you have two 100 amp 12 volt batteries, you now have 200 amps.

[Triguy]

Donn - the problem that I ran into with two 12 volts is the size of the 12 volt vs 6 volt bank and the additional cost to the 12-volts.

Trojan T-145 6 volt in series offer 260Ah. They are 10 3/8" long, 7 1/8" wide, and 11 5/8" high. Total weight is 144lbs.

Trojan T-145 12-volt in parallel offer 280Ah. They are 12 7/8" long, 7 1/8" wide, and 11 11/16" high. Total weight is 156lbs.

My tray would never allow that much length and I didn't feel like modifying it. Granted this might not be an issue for the OP.

The 12-volt bank would have cost $150 more. Hard to justify.

[RobertGreenlee]

If you were going to choose 1 12V battery to get the maximum storage capacity which one would you get. The Trojan SCS225 looks good with its specs. We are usually pretty good about conserving power and I really don't want to added expense and tongue weight to have two batteries.

I'd love to put one really good battery and maybe a solar system on the roof to not necessarily recharge the battery fully every day but maybe added enough back in to extend the trip 1-2 days.

[sherdep]

I would personally do the two 12 volt GEL Batteries - which is what I am running now.
The only change I would make is add a battery cut off switch that allows me to switch between each battery or allow them to be combined at the same time - Blue seas makes one. I have an on and off battery cut off switch now but eventually I am going to change it out

[Herk7769]

Check out the battery FAQ Sticky in the FAQ section.

I believe there was some issue with GEL batteries in a deep discharge scenario. I will have to re-read it to refresh my memory.

[D-mo]

Basically i gave away the RV/marine battery, and replaced them with two group 31 deep cycles. This does not strain the the 12 volt charging system ... and gives us much longer dry camping time. If you are considering moving to off the grid camping stuff, and going solar ... like we go ... this first step is a good way to go.
Seriously .. when you think about it .. these Aframes are all set up to be off the grid anyways .. with a few ideas and options.

d-mo

[sherdep]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Check out the battery FAQ Sticky in the FAQ section.

I believe there was some issue with GEL batteries in a deep discharge scenario. I will have to re-read it to refresh my memory.

you mean this -

Gelled batteries, or "Gel Cells" contain acid that has been "gelled" by the addition of Silica Gel, turning the acid into a solid mass that looks like gooey Jell-O. The advantage of these batteries is that it is impossible to spill acid even if they are broken. However, there are several disadvantages. One is that they must be charged at a slower rate (C/20) to prevent excess gas from damaging the cells. They cannot be fast charged on a conventional automotive charger or they may be permanently damaged. This is not usually a problem with solar electric systems, but if an auxiliary generator or inverter bulk charger is used, current must be limited to the manufacturers specifications. Most better inverters commonly used in solar electric systems can be set to limit charging current to the batteries.
Some other disadvantages of gel cells is that they must be charged at a lower voltage (2/10th's less) than flooded or AGM batteries. If overcharged, voids can develop in the gel which will never heal, causing a loss in battery capacity. In hot climates, water loss can be enough over 2-4 years to cause premature battery death. It is for this and other reasons that we no longer sell any of the gelled cells except for replacement use. The newer AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries have all the advantages (and then some) of gelled, with none of the disadvantages.

I read the instructions to the converter / charger and it says it will charge gel batteries without an issue besides I get my GEL batteries for free since my brother works for a place that installs and frequently replaces Large Building UPS's that use these batteries

[Herk7769]

Yep, that was it...

[thehamguy1]

Ditto what D-mo did. Like him, I switched out the group 24 and put in two group 31s, and use solar panels to slow down the discharge rate--they might actually charge the batteries given enough time and light, but for shorter campouts they just supplement.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by RobertGreenlee

If you were going to choose 1 12V battery to get the maximum storage capacity which one would you get. The Trojan SCS225 looks good with its specs. We are usually pretty good about conserving power and I really don't want to added expense and tongue weight to have two batteries.

I'd love to put one really good battery and maybe a solar system on the roof to not necessarily recharge the battery fully every day but maybe added enough back in to extend the trip 1-2 days.

This is what we have done. One 130 amp 12V Trojan. Works well.