Deep Cycle Battery

[paulor]

Was wondering what do travel trailer owners buy when the original battery that came with the trailer gives out by not charging?
My original battery which is an Interstate 31MHD with 950 CCA manufacture date of 9/2016 no longer can except a charge. I own a 2016 coachman clipper 17FQ. Thanks

[timfromma]

I have a pair of 90aH flooded deep cycle marine batteries. I will probably upgrade to lithium when these batteries need replacing.

[paulor]

Thanks for your reply. So you have two 90 aH batteries joined together in parallel?

[SlowrideHD]

Two 6 volt golf cart batteries, wired in series. Trojan T-105 specifically. 230 amp/hr.

[timfromma]

Originally Posted by paulor

Thanks for your reply. So you have two 90 aH batteries joined together in parallel?

Yes. My batteries are 12V so they are wired in parallel which keeps the voltage the same but doubles the power. They act like a single 180aH battery.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by paulor

Was wondering what do travel trailer owners buy when the original battery that came with the trailer gives out by not charging?
My original battery which is an Interstate 31MHD with 950 CCA manufacture date of 9/2016 no longer can except a charge. I own a 2016 coachman clipper 17FQ. Thanks

A lot depends on whether you dry camp or boondock or not.
If you always have electric hookups, then any basic Group 24 dual purpose marine battery will be fine.
BUT if you do plan on dry camping or boondocking, the best affordable choice is a pair of 6v golf cart batteries. But they are heavier and will increase the tongue weight.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by bikendan

A lot depends on whether you dry camp or boondock or not.
If you always have electric hookups, then any basic Group 24 dual purpose marine battery will be fine.
BUT if you do plan on dry camping or boondocking, the best affordable choice is a pair of 6v golf cart batteries. But they are heavier and will increase the tongue weight.

Even if one doesn't plan on boondocking it's not a bad idea to have enough battery for a couple nights. If fo any reason the trip to and from a full hookup destination is delayed having enough power for essentials is more than just nice. Heat is first to come to mind.

[flyflotrtim]

Originally Posted by bikendan

A lot depends on whether you dry camp or boondock or not.
If you always have electric hookups, then any basic Group 24 dual purpose marine battery will be fine.
BUT if you do plan on dry camping or boondocking, the best affordable choice is a pair of 6v golf cart batteries. But they are heavier and will increase the tongue weight.

So right. Time of year is important also. We have a pair of inexpensive flooded lead acid batteries, paired with a portable 100 watt solar panel. In the summer with limited heating needs, we can camp indefinitely without worrying about running down our batteries. Folks that are boondocking with larger RVs running microwaves, residential refrigerators, televisions etc while "camping" will have entirely different needs. You can compensate somewhat with appropriately sized solar units and/or running a generator.

[debit]

X2 on what bikendan wrote; we have two 6 volt batteries and they have been perfect, when on or off the grid. We also use a 2000 Honda at times.
.............
Ram 2500 Surveyor 251rks

[PhilFromMaine]

Respectfully to the LA users, I would strongly recommend lithium iron batteries and for many reasons. They are expensive, but they will last as long as 10 years or more, easily. With lead acid (LA) batteries you can only use 50 percent of capacity before you do permanent damage to the batteries. With LIFE4 (Lithium iron phosphate) batteries you can get away with using most your amp hours.

LIFE 4 batteries also charge up much faster than LA batteries. I have found that the subject of batteries is quite complex and there are a lot of divergent views out there, but one thing for sure is that Lithium batteries are at the forefront of the new battery technology.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by PhilFromMaine

Respectfully to the LA users, I would strongly recommend lithium iron batteries and for many reasons. They are expensive, but they will last as long as 10 years or more, easily. With lead acid (LA) batteries you can only use 50 percent of capacity before you do permanent damage to the batteries. With LIFE4 (Lithium iron phosphate) batteries you can get away with using most your amp hours.

LIFE 4 batteries also charge up much faster than LA batteries. I have found that the subject of batteries is quite complex and there are a lot of divergent views out there, but one thing for sure is that Lithium batteries are at the forefront of the new battery technology.

Most people never get past the above highlighted words.


For some, having only two 33 lb batteries delivering twice the usable power is not just nice, it's a necessity if their trailer doesn't have either room or load capacity for four 66 lb Lead Acid 6 volt batteries.

But then it's really hard to get past those above highlighted words.


BTW, the "10 year life" isn't absolute. Some who've been researching the use of LiFePo4 batteries are saying that that life expectancy could well be low if batteries aren't abused. The 10 year number is merely a common Warranty period.

[Doug in Alaska]

What do you guys think about a couple deep cycle agm batteries?

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

BTW, the "10 year life" isn't absolute. Some who've been researching the use of LiFePo4 batteries are saying that that life expectancy could well be low if batteries aren't abused. The 10 year number is merely a common Warranty period.

The warranty for ten years implies that you will still be able to get 80 percent of the original amp hrs. Not a bad deal and by far the cheapest long term solution.

[tomkatb]

An observation.

Quality batteries should last 5-6 years easily.

I would guess yours were not treated well.

Therefor I would suggest a battery monitor and two gc2 batteries if they will fit. Costco, $180. Also sams.

If taken care of they will last 6-10 years.

RV batteries typically have a one year warrantee. Cause, that is how long it takes to ruin them if you are not careful.

If you plan not to maintain the batteries, the AGM battery is more tolerant to abuse. They also do not last as long. More expensive.

One 100 amp lithium battery would work well but they need a fancy battery monitor, new converter, $1500.

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

An observation.One 100 amp lithium battery would work well but they need a fancy battery monitor, new converter, $1500.

Good analysis Tom. There are other benefits to lithium such as charging time. They charge substantially faster than LA and you can use them to most of their state of charge (SOC) which would be, in the case of a 100 amp hr (AH) battery, nearly 100 AH without doing substantial damage to them. (However, wise lithium users won't deplete their batteries more than 80-90 percent.)


As for cost, You can purchase a 100 AH lithium battery for 1000 dollars that has a built in blue tooth battery monitor as well as a built in thermal blanket. so that you can easily charge it at temps as low as -20 degrees C or -4 F. I purchased a drop in converter from WFCO that charges all types of batteries for approximately 250 dollars.



I think the decision whether or not to buy lithium depends a lot on your RV life style. If you do a lot of boon-docking, invest in solar, and intend to keep your RV for a long time, lithium could be a good investment. If you mostly camp in campgrounds with shore power then maybe a cheap 100 dollar battery like the kind dealerships put in new RVs would be the way to go.

[eye95]

You don’t have to keep a trailer for a long time to make lithium pay. When you sell the trailer, the lithium batteries go with you!

[comfun1]

I have had a lot of campers over the years but I can't think of any that I have had more than three years. I have never traded one in on the next and when I sell one I have never had anyone enquire about the batteries. I did have a fifth wheel once that I added a second battery to and I plan to replace the battery in my current fifth wheel this spring with a pair of batteries. I also have a Westinghouse iGen2200. I think if you were doing lots of boondocking for long periods lithium and solar panels would be the way to go.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by PhilFromMaine

-----snip------There are other benefits to lithium such as charging time-----------.

A good example of that benefit is my trip last week. Was in a Forest Service campground where lots of others were trying to get in one more trip before snow.

I spent 4 days there with my two Battleborn batteries providing all the power I needed for lights, pump, TV/DVD, and even microwave occaisonally. Had to run my generator on the morning of day four as batteries were down to 30% SOC. Took me exactly 3 hours to FULLY recharge the batteries (@58 amp continuous current).

Everyone else in the campground was running their generators ALL DAY, every day (and some into the night) in order to charge their batteries. Weather was totally overcast and Solar was totally ineffective both because of the solid cloud cover but also because of being deep in the woods with tree cover.

Many of the others had issues with their furnaces not running all night due to batteries going dead in the wee hours.

Two 6 volt batteries are certainly better than a single 12 volt battery as a rule. If you stick to the 50% discharge convention though you only have about 112 Ah of usable capacity. About the same as you would have from a SINGLE Lithium battery at ONE FOURTH the weight.

Cost? Initially, yes they are more. Now compare the real cost against the more frequent replacement AND all those generator hours. My generator run time cost me less than one third that of the others in cost of gasoline alone. Three hours of run time cost me approximately $2 at todays prices.

It all adds up.