Salem Trailer Batteries

[BakoJohn]

I bought a 2003 Salem 25 ft trailer used. One of the batteries is missing. What kind of battery should I buy? How do I wire it in? Do they make a kit for that?

[Obrieri]

I had 2 12 v batteries as we mostly camp at unserviced parks. Last year I updated to 2 Interstate 6 v golf cart batteries charged by a 123 watt solar system. Could not be happier. The 2 6 v batteries provide 12 v current & store much more power than 2 12 v

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by BakoJohn

I bought a 2003 Salem 25 ft trailer used. One of the batteries is missing. What kind of battery should I buy? How do I wire it in? Do they make a kit for that?

From your post I assume that it was a 2 battery bank and the previous owner took out his high dollar matched pair and replaced it with a cheap DP battery.

If you do not plan on camping without electric much, I would just do nothing.

If you do plan on "boondocking" more than a day, then I would replace the one he left with a good quality matched set of 12 volt deep cycle batteries that fit in your camper.

Here is how the wires should be connected if you choose to replace what you have with a matched set and an article explaining why.

Resist the urge to "go cheap" and add another 12 volt battery. Doing so will ruin the new one in short order. (see article as to why)

If you decide to go the 6 volt route, you would still need to replace the existing one. One disadvantage of a 6 volt series bank is in the event of a plate short due to internal damage, you not be able to remove the offending battery and keep camping, as you would need to replace it to get the required 12 volts.