Community Forums

deandec · 07-30-2013, 10:20 AM

My rig came with 2 8D 12v batteries and 440 amp hours total.

I now run 4 Golf Cart 6v batteries with 450 amp hours total.

The Golf cart battery individually weighs 1/2 as much as the 8D battery.

The Golf cart battery bank costs about 60% of the cost of the 8D battery bank.

Message.....your quest is about amp hours stored for your expected use.

Most 12vdc batteries are not deep storage batteries.

All Golf Cart batteries are deep storage batteries.

gemini5362 · 07-30-2013, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stan.Birch

Thicker plates, thinner plates, is totally meaningless. The only thing that is meaningful, is whether they are capable of doing the job. The soles on my shoes are 3/8" thick. Do you think 4" thick soles would be an improvement? They would certainly last longer.

Nothwithstanding I had 2 x 12 volt deep cycle Trojan batteries in my rig for ten years of major abuse from a mostly boondocking travel style; and they having crossed the continent every which way, on some of the world's worst roads, my 12 volt batteries were still doing just fine after ten years. The only reason I replaced them is that they may not be up to demands on them for winter travelling when the furnace draws 10 amps throughout most of the night; and batteries at sub-zero temperatures are only good for about half their capacity. They were still fine for summer boondocking for days at a time.

I don't know what manfacturer you had in mind builds a coach where money is not really an object!! Certainly not anyone you mentioned. Winnebago installed 12 volt deep cycle batteries in my rig, and they did a great job!

As for your bottom line: 6 volt batteries are used in higher end coaches; what's your point?? 12 volt batteries are also used in higher end coaches. So what??

All manufacturers care about is the bottom line: profit! Traditionally, RVers gravitated toward 6 volt batteres merely because they were cheaper.

Actually if as you claim 12 volt batteries were as good as 6 volts then manufacturers would put 12 volt in as original equipment since it takes 2 6 volt batteries to make 12 volts then the cost of using 6 volts would be higher. I am not sure where you buy your batteries but 6 volt golf cart batteries cost more than a 12 volt deep cycle from what I have seen. If you do not believe the thickness of the plates makes a difference that is fine. A lot of us who have studied the subject before spending our hard earned money do not agree with you. I do not know if you are saying that Winnebago put 12 volt batteries in at your request or if it came with them. I do know however that the last time I looked at motorhomes thinking about trading mine in. (June 2013) The 460,000 dollar Winnebago tours came with 6 volt batteries. When I visited the tiffin factory in june of 2013 they had several allegro bus and zephyr units being built they had the batteries installed at one point all of those coaches which are in the 400,000 to 600,000 dollar bracket had 6 volt golf batteries for the coach. I must make clear here that I am talking about coach batteries only. All of the units I have seen use 12 volt batteries for the chassis. On a final note I have not met or read about anyone that has decided to trade in their 6 volt golf cart batteries and go to 12 volt deep cycle. If you are correct and I am wrong I weep for the amount of money that has been wasted by the thousands of RV owners who replace their 6 volt coach batteries with 6 volt golf cart batteries when they could have gotten better performance cheaper with 12 volt deep cycle batteries.

Mr_D · 07-30-2013, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BCIslander

The slides are powered off of the Chassis battery I believe. We just did a 3000 mile trip from Victoria BC to Napa California, back to BC and had no power problems with slides. The slides are all hydraulic, not electric motor driven.

It's a 2003 Winnebago Adventurer 33V.

And what powers the hydraulics? Usually it's an electric motor, run off a battery.