Battery replacement

[trail runner]

I purchased a 2020 Apex Nano last May. It came with a Centennial-DC24MF-RV/Marine MCA-915 battery. It is not making 'the grade'. Any ideas for a replacement?

[SlowrideHD]

That's not a true deep cycle battery. If that is what you are after, look at any of the Trojan batteries. If you have the room, two of the T-105 Trojan six volt golf cart batteries will provide 225 amps at 12 volts. But two of them are heavy, about 124 lbs total for the pair. You get what you pay for in a battery.
If price isn't an issue, you can get a single 12 volt Battle Born LiFePo that will provide 100 amps of useable 12 volts power (actually about 90 amps)

[Jay2504]

I’m not totally up to speed on Apex Nano units. Are the angle rails that the battery box sits on above or below the frame rails? If they are welded to the bottom of the “A” frame AND you don’t want to do any mods like putting a big box on top of the frame, then the choices are limited to:
2 group 24 12volt batteries. This will double what you have, and because the rig is new,just buy a second battery like the first. Then another plastic box and hook up the 2 batteries in parallel +To+ and - to- .
Or 2 6volt golf cart batteries, group CG2. Sam’s club and Costco are the cheapest. Same second box like what you have, but the 6volt batteries are TALLER. The lid might not fit too well, but most people seem to make it work. Hook up in series, +to - to make 12volts.
Or a single group 31 12 volt battery. Have to buy a bigger box but it will hook up the same as what you have. Plastic battery boxes are around $10.
Here is the rough power of each set up in amp hours:
1 group 24 like you have: 55AH
2 group 24. 110 AH
1 group 31. 105 AH
2 CG2 6 volt batteries. 215 AH
Power goes up by weight. The 2 6volt batteries weigh about 125 pounds.

[rsdata]

I detect some need for a better understanding of trailer batteries. so,
Pardon me for assuming this if I am wrong.

a little background info:

Group numbers...
24 is the smallest, lightest ( Centennial-DC24MF) you will find, with 27 and 31 progressively larger, heavier and more power for longer discharge times ( longevity)... AND more expensive!

Your group 24 is the least expensive option for a dealer to install. It needed to be installed as that 12V battery powers the emergency application of trailer brakes should your trailer become unhooked from your tow vehicle while underway... ( that thin metal line that you should be hooking to your TV when hitching up controls those brakes)... if it pulls out of the trailer the battery fully powers trailer brakes to slow/stop the trailer on it's own.

You can install two, 12VDC batteries in parallel for more power, or two, 6 volt golf cart batteries in series ( 12 volts total) for slightly more power, depending on which group size you purchase.

Never leave a discharged battery in a dis-charged state for more time than a day... quicker recharge makes for a longer lasting useful battery. Also never discharge a 12 volt battery below 12 volts... Actually a 12 VDC battery fully charged is 12.6 volts or more... as you use the battery power it slowly drops voltage until it hits 12.1 volts and at this point the battery is considered to be 50% discharged and should NOT be used any further until it has been recharged. Failure to fully recharge quickly decreases on-going battery life. Going to Home Depot or Harbor Freight and picking up an in-expensive VOM digital meter ($5 or so) is almost mandatory to allow for testing voltage levels of your battery. You can't tell anything about your battery voltage just by looking at it.

Much info on internet if you google the topic.

INHO...
Least expensive option for a better battery is about $80 RV/Marine group 27 at Costco. THis battery is about 20% larger then your group 24 and will last a little longer than what you currently have. With good re-charge habits it should last you 5 years. Take an old dead battery with you for a trade-in as without it I believe it will cost $15 more. Of course more or bigger batteries are even more expensive.

[CHICKDOE]

how is it 'not making it'? a lot depends on how you are using the battery. are you boondocking or are you always plugged into shore power? how are you recharging the battery?

for what its worth we have 2 of the centenial group 27 batteries and they have performed very well for the 5 years we have had them. but we are pretty much always plugged into shore power and i ensure that the batteries are fully charged with no loads on them when i store the trailer. also, these are maintenance free batteries. i have never added water to them nor have i had any corrosion problems. so they work well for us.

[NJKris]

I looked up your battery, it is a 42lb 'dual purpose' battery, meaning it is meant to crank and engine and have a reserve, but it is not a true deep cycle battery. I told dealer to keep the battery and provided my own pair of golf cart batteries. Yours is only a 75 amp hour battery. Sticking to the 'don't discharge below 50%' rule, you only have about 37 amp hours before it needs to be recharged.

[Semperfi24]

An added note, not sure it was mentioned. If you are going to add the second battery, as many mentioned above, you will need to buy 2 new batteries. If you add a brand new battery, and wire it up to your existing battery, the duo will only be as good as the old battery. The weakest link in the chain scenario. So your old battery that isnt cutting it will just pull your new good battery down to its level and you will have 2 batteries that arent cutting it. Unless I am using outdated protocols, I'm pretty sure thats how the "professionals" recommend you do it.

[tomkatb]

First step is a battery monitor. So you can see what is happening.

Mine is a simple bluetooth voltmeter with historical graphs and alarms. $35 on Amazon. The more expensive meter give more information However this is enough for me.

You can see your usage and gage what you need.

A pair of 6 volt batteries gc2, weigh #125 or so. The Lithium are much lighter however are expensive.

True deep cycle batteries last longer than your "sort of" deep cycle battery. Like 100%