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Old 01-25-2016, 10:39 AM   #1
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DP Chassis Battery(s) - How long do they last?

I had a gent ask me how long he should expect to get out of a DP chassis battery.

So I thought I'd ask for some feedback and real world experiences.

Please answer with:
Qty and Size/Type of battery
Battery brand and build (Wet vs MF vs AGM vs etc.)
How many years of usage before replace

For me:
-Qty 1, 8D
-CAT Maintenance Free (MF) (And yeah, CAT battery, as it had the highest CCA I could find in a MF battery.)
-4 years old and going well

(Note, if you have had to replace one already, please indicate how long the previous battery lasted. That is really what I'm looking for...)

Thanks,
Smitty
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Old 01-25-2016, 10:47 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty77 View Post
I had a gent ask me how long he should expect to get out of a DP chassis battery.



So I thought I'd ask for some feedback and real world experiences.



Please answer with:

Qty and Size/Type of battery

Battery brand and build (Wet vs MF vs AGM vs etc.)

How many years of usage before replace



For me:

-Qty 1, 8D

-CAT Maintenance Free (MF) (And yeah, CAT battery, as it had the highest CCA I could find in a MF battery.)

-4 years old and going well



(Note, if you have had to replace one already, please indicate how long the previous battery lasted. That is really what I'm looking for...)



Thanks,

Smitty

2 group 31 925CCA
NAPA sealed lead/acid
OEM set had 7 year life
Current set started service 9/2010
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Old 01-25-2016, 10:50 AM   #3
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Our OEM batteries in the '02 DSDP went over 9 years, the chassis battereis wwent just one month short of 10 years.
They were Interstate brand. Don't remember the model of the chassis, the house were U-2200's.

Our present rig had 4 925 CCA chassis batteries and I replaced them last year with 4 of the same.
The house had 4-8D AGM's, one of which was bulging when we bought the rig last year.
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Old 01-25-2016, 10:51 AM   #4
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2 group 31 Sealed Lead/Acid
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Still going strong starting 11th year...
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Old 01-25-2016, 10:53 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty77 View Post
I had a gent ask me how long he should expect to get out of a DP chassis battery.

So I thought I'd ask for some feedback and real world experiences.

Please answer with:
Qty and Size/Type of battery
Battery brand and build (Wet vs MF vs AGM vs etc.)
How many years of usage before replace

For me:
-Qty 1, 8D
-CAT Maintenance Free (MF) (And yeah, CAT battery, as it had the highest CCA I could find in a MF battery.)
-4 years old and going well
(Note, if you have had to replace one already, please indicate how long he previous battery lasted. That is really what I'm looking for...)
Thanks,
Smitty
Smitty77
My coach uses 2 "Interstate maintenance free" chassis batteries
Both the original set of 2 and the 2nd set of 2 lasted 9 years each.BTW the same is true of the original, (and the second), set of 4 12V "deep cycle marine house batteries".

Mel
'96 Safari, 145k miles ...(currently on the 3rd set of batteries).
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Old 01-25-2016, 11:06 AM   #6
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2 8D Interstate 1100 cca 7+ years

2 8D Interstate 1200 cca 8 years

2 8D Battery Plus? 1200 cca 5+ years (So far. 1 year warranty when new.)

I replace batteries when they begin to fail, not on a PM basis. The House batteries and Generator can keep me traveling until I find the right price for the Chassis replacement batteries.
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Old 01-25-2016, 02:10 PM   #7
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Thanks gang, some long lived batteries in this mix.

Dean - Interesting that CC put 2 8D's in for the 8.3, vs 1 for our 8.9. (And as mentioned, we always have the house batteries to fall back on to get us going.)

I've also always felt it was interesting how much time is spent talking about house batteries in comparison to chassis batteries.

Best to you all, and again thanks for sharing. I'll see if any other posts pop in, but then send this gent the link. (He refuses to join an of them 'computer talk places', and admits he is just now starting to read the internet when it comes to news stations! A nice man he be...)
Smitty

And Note: I specified DP vs all chassis related batteries, as my thoughts were they were usually living a harder life in starting a diesel, as well as they were quite often installed in pairs for the bigger block diesels.
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Old 01-25-2016, 11:43 PM   #8
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Yes, two 8D batteries seem to be overkill for the C8.3L.

But, I am afraid that if I remove one of them the rig will lean drastically to the driver side!
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Old 01-26-2016, 04:25 AM   #9
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I highly suspect more batteries are assonated by poor maintenance and severe draining that are allowed to run a normal life.

Four big 6 volters for coach
Two monster 12 volters for engine

Originals replaced in four years.
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Old 01-26-2016, 04:48 AM   #10
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Original factory chassis battery was an 8D size and was still going strong after 11 years of service. It was an Interstate Workaholic brand. I was in Fairbanks AK back in 2012 when I prematurely replaced it with an 8D Energizer from Sam's Club because of two reasons.

I really did not know how much longer the OEM battery would last AND the replacement was only $179 with no sales tax. In addition, I did not want to have any engine starting problems on my long trip back to the lower 48.

The same chassis battery if purchased in Canada or the lower 48 would have cost me significantly more than what I had to pay in Fairbanks at the time.

Very pleased with the choice.

I also had replaced all four of my House batteries while in Fairbanks with Energizer GC-2 6 volt batteries.

All of them are now almost 4 years old and no problems with any of them.

Dr4Film ----- Richard
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Old 01-26-2016, 05:30 AM   #11
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My 2002 OEM 8D battery died in 2012. Sounds like Richard changed his out at about the right time.

My wife was driving the coach from TN to Upper Michigan for the summer and it won't start at some point without using the boost. Luckily she was able to make it the rest of the way without a problem.

Replaced with the highest CCA battery I could find ~locally, funny as when you are in a bind the shops take advantage of you. The local shops in Ironwood wouldn't give me a good deal but I had to make a trip to Marquette and found a shop that gave me a decent price.
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Old 01-26-2016, 05:43 AM   #12
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Battery life is also very dependent upon the temperature you spend most of your time in. Hotter climates will kill batteries faster....usually not an issue as most people travel to cooler climate in summer so as to not bake in the heat.
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Old 01-26-2016, 06:14 AM   #13
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Thanks gang, some long lived batteries in this mix.
Smitty
Smitty77
Battery life is a crap shoot.

Although all of my coach batteries have lasted 9 years I have had some new name brand car batteries fail within a week... (some in 1 to 4 years).
In fact over the years I bought 2 new car batteries that would not hold a charge for more than a day.

Having batteries "load tested" will determine if they need to be replaced.

Mel
('07 Saturn toad with the original 9 year old battery)
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Old 01-26-2016, 07:37 AM   #14
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2 Group 31 Sealed Lead/Acid OEM Freightliner Alliance 950 CA replaced at 7 year 9 months
2 Group 24 Sealed Lead/Acid Eletro 930 CA($180.20) replaced at 9 years old
2 Group 31 Sealed Lead/Acid Blair's Farm Fleet 1040 CA($185.28) now 8 months old.

None ever went bad. With the OEM I just thought it was time wise to replace.
Group 24's I had noticed cranking speed had started to slow some.
And was at a area I had time to check around for 950 CA. Not all battery places carry them.
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