Lisa, it is best to stick with the same “frame” sized battery. What I am talking about is the outside dimensions of your battery.
Typically, trailers use a universal battery box that will easily house a few different sized batteries.
To simplify, stick with the same overall size you have.
Next, you need to determine how the battery cables connect. Some batteries have top post which looks like a old school automotive battery. A top post battery will have a cable laying on top of the battery, and the bolt that fastens the clamp is parallel with the top of the battery.
The more modern connection is a screw type terminal. This arrangement has the cables either on the top, or side of the battery. If you examine the cable ends, you will notice the ends look kinda like a flattened doughnut with a small hex headed fastener in the center.
Either way, you need to determine what your cable ends look like, and the size of your battery. This is where cell phone images and the internet come in handy.
Take a picture and post here for more detailed help.
Once you know the size and terminal style, you can then decide what you want based on the following generalizations:
-Lead Acid. This is pretty much the oldest battery in terms of technology. While quite old technologically, simple lead acid batteries (properly cared for) can serve an owner for a very long time. In terms of care, these batteries require topping off with distilled water, and corrosion removal. I’ve had lead acids last for 5 or more years. In Arizona, plan to pop the caps and top off once a month. This is by far the least expensive battery solution.
-Sealed Lead Acid. Well, this one is proof of truth in advertising. It’s the same as above, just sealed! This means no way to add water. This is fine unless you abuse the battery and cause it to spit out the electrolyte, in which case you will be buying another battery sooner than anticipated. This battery still has issues with corrosion. The cost of SLA batteries is only fractionally higher than a simple Lead Acid.
-AGM. This is sort of where rational battery pricing ends in the industry today. Yes, I know Lithium batteries are out there, but the cost of entrance is simply staggering. Back to reality, an AGM battery is kind of the quiet professional of the battery gang.. it doesn’t need service, is hard to kill, won’t have corrosion issues, and is more tolerant of abuses than any form of lead acid battery. These sweet sounding features come at a price. Comparing a lead acid battery to an AGM (of the same size) will reveal a substantial premium in price. I’d expect to pay anywhere from 200-300% more for an AGM when compared to a simple Lead Acid. Woof. Ok, that is pretty staggering but keep in mind if you completely discharge a Lead Acid, it’s probably very damaged, if not dead. A full discharge on an AGM doesn’t sound the death knell. Don’t take this as permission to discharge your AGM, instead think of it as more error tolerant. With any battery there is a documented correlation between the depth of discharge, and the the number of times the discharge happens.
With all this being said, any battery is simply a storage device. Every user is different. It’s important to determine how you will use your trailer, and what things are important to you.
For example, if you are almost always at a campground with electrical, then you don’t need anything terribly fancy in your battery bay.
On the other end of the spectrum is someone who spends a lot of time on BLM land, and hasn’t seen a FHU CG in a month. This person needs the best and most capable battery bank available.
Most of us are in the former category, and just a few in the latter.
It’s likely you have either a Group 24, or Group 31 battery. Most trailer manufacturers ship the trailer without the battery, and its installed at the dealer, so you may be the only person able to determine what you have.
One good resource is Batteries and Bulbs. There stores are plentiful, and they are very competitive with regard to price. In their Lead Acid and SLA lines, I like their Duracell batteries.
Let us know and we’ll try to help finish your research.
-Matt
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