Community Forums

Kevwen · 09-30-2015, 07:46 PM

What battery came with your 5th wheel or did you have to buy one separately?

Skip426 · 10-01-2015, 12:05 AM

My last 5er , purchased new in 2005, had a battery box big enough for 2 , 6 volt golf cart batteries , and that's what the dealer installed.
Dealer included , everything for set up, sewer hose, water hose, wheel chocks, tank chemicals, and even though it was my 4th , 5er , insisted I go through the PDI talk with the salesman/tech. Went camping the next day and 24hrs after delivery the salesman called my cell phone to make sure everything was perfect.
Guess I got lucky and found the perfect dealership to buy my 5er from.

If there is room , 6 volt golf cart batteries are the best , lots of power to operate jacks and days worth of power if you boon-dock.

tuffr2 · 10-01-2015, 04:31 AM

If you have the room and if you do not go with the best battery set-up of golf cart batteries the one thing to be aware. 12v batteries come in 24, 27, and 29 group. The cost difference is not much. I priced Interstate deep cycle batteries and the little group 24 battery was $99 and the much larger group 29 was $129. What I found is a group 24 can not run the furnace blower on a cold Dec night as I traveled and spent the night at a truck stop...brrr? That was a cold morning.

Cumminsfan · 10-01-2015, 09:08 AM

Mine came with two Interstate G24 batteries. A good dealer should always install two batteries in a new 5th wheel. Next season I'm going to up grade to 4 6V GC batteries and some solar.

Kevwen · 10-01-2015, 11:11 AM

Thanks for the responses,

SkiSmuggs · 10-02-2015, 07:04 AM

RV Dealers need to get with the program and realize that a single Group 24 battery is inadequate. Group 27 should be the minimum, and duals would be even better.

Kevwen · 10-09-2015, 06:32 AM

Mine did not come with a battery, thats why I thought I would ask. Picked up a 31 deep cycle and dropped off at dealer to be install prior to our inspection

justafordguy · 10-09-2015, 07:55 AM

That is odd, how could they test everything with no battery? Mine came with two 27 series.

JBurg · 10-09-2015, 09:27 AM

Mine came with two 6-volt batteries.

wa8yxm · 10-09-2015, 04:24 PM

Here is a bit of math for you.
A group 24 is roughly 75 amp hours So two of them are 150 amp hours
You can safely use around 40% of that power or 60 amp hours. Why only 40 percent (or less) Well these are MARINE/deep cycle batteries. Designed for starting a boat.

Now golf Car batteries are TRUE DEEP CYCLE.. You can use half their content and a pair of six volt golf car batteries holds 220 amp hours, give or take a bit,,, (Mine are 230 amp hours, I got the upgrade when I replaced 'em) so that' 110 amp hours, Nearly two times the power of a pair of Group 24/s

And they have almost exactly the same foot print (Six volt's are a touch taller is all).

Technobody · 10-14-2015, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffr2

If you have the room and if you do not go with the best battery set-up of golf cart batteries the one thing to be aware. 12v batteries come in 24, 27, and 29 group. The cost difference is not much. I priced Interstate deep cycle batteries and the little group 24 battery was $99 and the much larger group 29 was $129. What I found is a group 24 can not run the furnace blower on a cold Dec night as I traveled and spent the night at a truck stop...brrr? That was a cold morning.

There is also a group 31 of which I have two deep cycle. The largest 6 volt batteries I had room for were 204 Amp hours two of them combined in series would have given me 12 volts but still only 204 amp hours. The group 31 batteries I have are 130 amp hours each. So in parallel they are still 12 volts but 260 amp hours. In my opinion 6 volt batteries are the way to go only if you have room for 4. With only two there is no advantage. Also bare in mind four batteries are a considerable weight. okay if you can spare it.

twinboat · 10-14-2015, 04:48 AM

Can you offer the brand name and price of the gp 31, 130 AH batteries ?

SkiSmuggs · 10-14-2015, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technobody

There is also a group 31 of which I have two deep cycle. The largest 6 volt batteries I had room for were 204 Amp hours two of them combined in series would have given me 12 volts but still only 204 amp hours. The group 31 batteries I have are 130 amp hours each. So in parallel they are still 12 volts but 260 amp hours. In my opinion 6 volt batteries are the way to go only if you have room for 4. With only two there is no advantage. Also bare in mind four batteries are a considerable weight. okay if you can spare it.

Are they true Deep Cycle or are they RV/Marine Deep Cycle? There is a difference.

Technobody · 10-15-2015, 06:28 AM

As a mechanical engineer I tend to do considerable research before making any major purchase.
There is a difference between a "dual purpose marine battery" and a "marine deep cycle battery" The difference being that a dual is intended to be used as both a starting battery as well as deep cycle hence they do not have the same degree of deep cycles as a regular deep cycle battery.
The difference between a standard deep cycle and a marine deep cycle is that the marine deep cycle is more explosion proof than a regular deep cycle. This is done by way of the vent caps.

The batteries I chose are called Nautilus and they are a RV/Marine deep cycle battery. They are sold at Canadian Tire Stores for $126.00 each. So far I can go almost 3 days before they are getting close to the 50% discharge. This running just the refrigerator, and lights. I have changed all my lights to LED. I have also run my bathroom vent fan for short periods as well as living rom and range hood fans. I am noticing that the furnace fan will draw the batteries down quicker than anything else.