Workhorse Battery

[Finhawk]

Just how long is the origional battery supposed to last. Mine died in a little over 3 years! And the so called bolt holding the positive cable on the side mount rounded off so bad that it was impossible to remove. Finally got it off with one of the grip-all sockets on the main part of the bolt. What a PIA!!

[Davel]

Finhawk,

My '03 chassis battery was replaced once under warranty, probably due to sitting during the build process in '05. I put a battery tender to maintain charge while plugged into shore power on the replacement. I just installed a battery in April and I'm sure the charger is the reason it lasted so long. The chassis battery in a motorhome has all the same constant loads as a car, radio, computer, etc., plus the additional loads like air monitors, steps and leveling/slide systems. It's a wonder they last as long as they do.

Good luck,
Dave

[KJINTF]

I didn't think Workhorse supplied the starting battery, I thought it was the coach builder, however I might be wrong and have been wrong several times in the past. My starting battery lasted a grand total of 2 years, it was a NAPA POS, while upgrading the junk coach batteries (They were just as bad) during a solar PV system installation I replaced the starting battery. My starting battery was a sealed side terminal cheap battery glad to see it gone. Additionally I changed the wiring to enable the disconnect switch to disconnect the KIWI steps that were always active. Now when turned off there is ZERO load on the battery.

[okgc]

You can extend the charge and life of your Chevy or Workhorse engine battery by purchasing a disconnect. These switches are available for both side and top post batteries. Usually cost less than $15

[FreshAir]

6 years on my orig. starting battery. Don't remember the mfgr. but do recall it was a good brand.

Coach batteries, T105's lasted almost 2 years. I didn't watch them close enough and think my WFCO Power Converter cooked them. It's history.

[Finhawk]

That battery had the Workhorse name on it. They are guilty.
I just went to the local Batteries Plus and laid put $188 for a Optima. Next is the house bank----with a 24 month warranty, I figure the life span is just about at it's limit. So, if I have room---depth of the compartment---there will be 2 6 volts sitting there.

[mgscott4]

Mine is original. 59k miles. July 2006. It has a Workhorse sticker on it. Still going strong.

[JohnRR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finhawk the so called bolt holding the positive cable on the side mount rounded off so bad that it was impossible to remove. Finally got it off with one of the grip-all sockets on the main part of the bolt. What a PIA!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finhawk That battery had the Workhorse name on it. They are guilty.

How did the bolt get rounded off in the first place?

[BryanL]

Well, if your into bashing and trashing, there's always plenty of targets, I guess.

If you are into reality, the fact is that lead acid battery technology and manufacturing is reasonably mature and they are commodity items with only a small number of OEM's. There's not much of any difference between brands.

You can get 4 to 7 years from a lead acid battery in an RV if you use and maintain it properly.

Don't take it below 50% SoC as a routine thing (below 12.0v as measured after resting with no significant charging or discharging for at least a half hour)

Avoid heat as that is hard on batteries.

Don't let them sit for more than a few days without a full charge.

Recharge promptly with a modern multiple stage intelligent battery charger properly rated for your battery bank.

When not in use, use a battery maintainer that will keep a full charge on the battery without pushing plate corrosion and also apply a sulfation inhibiting technique.

Do check for the sulfation inhibiting thing. The float charger mentioned above doesn't do this. Items like the Battery MINDer(tm) devices or some converters like the PD Chargewizard or WFCO or Iota have good maintenance modes.

Proper use also means proper installation with terminal protection and good connections, keeping an eye for electrolyte loss or other indications of a battery or charging and maintaining device failure,

Be kind to your batteries and they will serve you well. usually.

[Easyrider]

I have separate battery tenders for all my batteries not being used in the off season-motorhome engine battery, coach batteries, and motorcycle battery. I get good life out of all of them, my engine battery is original for the motorhome, I just replaced the coach batteries, and just replaced the motorcycle battery for the second time, the motorcycle is a 1997 model. I take the batteries out during winter storage and put them on the tenders till spring.

[dieselclacker]

I replaced the original equipment (Delco) battery in my Workhorse at 5 years of age. It was still working good, I just did it to eliminate a possible problem maker. I would rather replace the battery before it leaves me stranded somewhere that a replacement may not be readily available. I have had that happen a couple of times, although not on my motorhome. Ideal would be to use it till the day before it dies, but alas no crystal ball. I too use a battery maintainer on house as well as chassis batteries while parked. I replaced the original house batteries (2 six volt Interstate deep cycle) at four years of age because of loss of capacity in them. I had no problem with corroded or rounded battery connection bolts.

Dieselclacker

[wa8yxm]

Well.. I hate to tell you this but it is very likely you replaced a perfectly healthy battery.

Mine is six years old and going strong.. HOWEVER every couple of years I go below where the battery lives with my handy dandy tool kit and clean those stupid terminals of corrosion and re-attach them.

here is the problem

The battery terminal is lead, The bolt that goes into it, I don't know, the lug that attaches to it is also supposed to be lead, but it's not, they used a different cable lug, not a proper battery cable at all, Thus corrosion sets in and the resistance goes up up up. you see this as a dead battery, I saw it as a dead battery (So I do not blame you)

The difference is this: Before I wrestled the battery out the first time it happened, I dropped a load tester on it (Well properly connected) and the battery passed.

So I cleaned and re-attached..

The second time,, Same thing.

Third time should be this winter.

[RV 4 2]

I am thinking that I got barely 3 years out of my Workhorse battery. But for some reason, I think my chassis had a rough start to it's life based on other failures so I think the batter probably dropped way down on charge for an extended period of time while it was waiting for the body to be put on. I know that it never got low on charge while I owned the coach as I normally check on the batteries on a weekly basis anyway and we used to go out almost once a month for a weekend for the first 3 years of the coach's life.

[FDchief]

I got 7 years out of chassis and coach batteries. Nothing done extraordinary. Ran the motorhome each month while in storage (no electrical). Made sure electrolyte is up and connections are tight with no corrosion.

Replaced mine with Costco batteries. The coach batteries had more amp hours and the starting battery has more CCAs.