The cover is finally off"! Almost ready to go.

[NLOVNIT]

Boy, if any days make ya want to be camping it's what we've just had with the warm days & cool nights. Too bad this good weather won't hold. But, at least, it's a taste of what's to come.

We got the cover off the MH this wknd, put in 1 Jeep load worth of stuff &, for the most part, it looks as good as when we put it to bed last fall. A few new holes appeared in the cover (more rub spots) this year, but not nearly as many as last year. We turned the coach around to face into the prevailing winter winds & gathered up the cover slack at the back. I think this, plus putting some more padding on the poke-thru items, allowed the cover to make it through the season better than last.

The only things we lost were the house batteries. We're guessing they froze, but don't know why they did when the chassis battery didn't. We topped off all 3 before buttoning it up for the season & we kept it plugged in all winter. Same procedure as last season (actually, same procedure as we've done with all our rv's for the past 9 years), but this year, the house batteries both split at seams & lost all water. The house batteries are Trojan brand & they're really expensive - like $150 a piece! So Dave's been reading up on the Yahoo Bounders Forums on what else to get. If the Trojans can't take the OH winters we sure aren't gonna pay big bucks to buy them again. Maybe we'll just have to pull them come next fall & stow them in the heated garage, like I've read others do.

So, once we get some new house batteries, replace the windshield wiper blades & get one more load of stuff in it, we're good to go for the season.

Lori-

[Joe-K]

Glad to hear you woke the rig up from it's hibernation.

I'm surprised to hear the batteries froze unless it was that the water you added las fall didn't mix with the electrolyte and caused them to freeze. Normally a fully charged battery has a freezing point way below temperatures we see locally however it does change quickly with the charge level.

A approximate chart showing state of charge, Specific Gravity and Freezing Point would be as follows.

100% charge, SG = 1.27, FP = -90F
75% charge, SG = 1.225, FP = -39F
50% charge, SG = 1.190, FP = -15F
25% charge, SG = 1.155, FP = 0F

I'm guessing that either the water didn't mix, or possibly something interupted the power to the charger over the winter and allowed the batteries to become discharged.

[FLYTYER]

I suggest the batteries were cooked by your charger converter.


If you are interested in a replacement see what DriVer did. Look HERE

[Tom N]

I suggest Sams Club 6 volt Energizer golf cart batteries. They are made by Johnson Controls. Johnson Control makes the Optima brand batteries.

In March, after 4 years and 2 months, my 2 - OEM 12 volts bit the dust. I replaced them with 2 - 6 volts Sams Club golf cart batteries for a total of $145.56. IMHO, this is the most bang for the buck.

I've installed hold downs since I took this photo.

-Tom

[NLOVNIT]

Tom,

You said you replaced your 2 12v's w/2 6v's. Will 2 6v batteries do the same job as 2 12v ones? Will I have enough voltage to run stuff with a total of only 12v instead of a total of 24v? We've never boondocked where we had to rely on the coach batteries for power (or even the genny for that matter), but ya never know when we'll venture into the land of "no shore power".

Lori-

[Tom N]

My 2 - 6v golf cart batteries have a slightly total higher amp hour rating than my 2 - 12v RV/marine batteries.

The old 12v's were wired in PARALLEL for a total of 12 volts.

The new 6 volts are wired in SERIES for a total of 12 volts.

We mostly use batteries/inverter for TV, satellite receiver and computers when parking overnight at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel. I easily got ~8-10 hours out of my old 12 volts. I've only used the new batteries for one night on our way home from FL 2 weeks ago. I didn't put a dent in them running for 4 or 5 hours.

-Tom

[Joe-K]

True deep cycle 6 volt batteries (often referred to as golf cart batteries) are excellent replacements for 12 volt batteries in an RV. The 6 volt batteries are built with heavier and thicker plates since there are only 3 cells per battery rather than 6 cells as in a 12 volt battery.

In most cases, 6 volt batteries can replace 12 volt ones with equal or slightly greater capacity, and longer life. The reason I say most cases is that you do need to look at the total battery capacity in 12 volt amp hours that you currently have and what you would have with the conversion to 6 volt batteries.

Remember that you must wire two 6 volt batteries in series to make the 12 volts that your coach uses. Each pair of 6 volt batteries (making 12 volts) and can then be wired in parallel with another pair doubling the capacity. In some circumstances due to the requiring of pairs of 6 volt batteries you cannot fit as many and therefore loose capacity.

When you calculate the amp hour capacity of your old 12 volt battery bank compared to a 6 volt conversion make sure you add the amp hour rating of the two parallel 12 volt batteries, but do not add together the 6 volt amp hour ratings as they are connected in series.

So as examples:
A 12 volt group 27TMX Trojan battery is rated at 105AH.

A 6 volt Trojan T105 battery is rated at 230AH

Two of the 12 volt 27TMX batteries would be added together giving you 210 total Amp Hours.

The 6 volt versions in series would give you 230 AH at 12 volts.

In this case, where originally you had 2 batteries and can still fit 2 replacements, you would be better off going with the 6 volt conversion. It's a great upgrade which I did to our Windsport years ago.

In other cases, like our recent Winnebago Journey I had three 12 volt batteries which using the above specifications ( 3 x 105 ) had a combined capacity of 315 Amp Hours. Since 6 volt batteries need installed in pairs and I could not fit 2 pairs or 4 total batteries, I would have lost capacity since I could only install 2 of the 6 volt ones. In that type of circumstance, I stayed with the 12 volt style.

In the current Allegro Bus, I installed Lifeline GPL-4C batteries which are 6 volt AGM batteries. These batteries would be your best choice as you would not have any maintenance with them. Because they are sealed batteries, you never need to add water or worry about the out gassing causing corrosion on your cables. Also since they don't outgass hydrogen, the compartment they are mounted in can be sealed so everything stays nice and clean.

The batteries are pricey, but I like them so much, I replaced the 6 brand new wet cell golf cart batteries in our rig with 8 of the Lifeline batteries before ever spending a night in the rig. The GPL-4C batteries have a couple amp/hr less than the wet cell 6 volt batteries I pulled out, (220 vs. 230), but since I went from 6 to 8, I increased the bank capacity from 690 to 880 total.

Of course now that 650 pounds of combined battery weight in the back of the rig makes me do wheelies

[Superslif]

I just replaced my trailer tires and was wondering if anyone can direct me to a brand name of water based tire shine. My old tires were replaced because of the thread, but looking up close you could see very small rubber checking on the sidewalls. Mike said I should look for a water based tire shine product. I looked in Autozone, but none of their products listed if they are water or oil based. Any ideas? The old stuff I used would look good for a week, but then turn a slight browning haze. Applying more would bring it back to life again. But I figure I might as well start off using a water bases spray.

[NLOVNIT]

Jim,

You want Pinnacle Black Onyx Tire Gel. It's very expensive, but it's what the guys at the Mustang car shows I attend use.

Lori-

[ISLAPP]

I use 303 Aerospace Protectant. Doesn't fly off all over the vehicle and seems to hold up to several rains and or washings.
Mike

[Superslif]

Thanx U guys....There is a hot rod shop in the next city I'll have to stop.....I use Meguiar's Gold Class wax on the Toyota. It's a little more, but goes on and off nice and easy....I see that Bill sells the 303. I got-ta put my order in for a couple of those Wineguard Wingman antenna digital signal boosters from RVupgrades....I do like what they say for the Pinnacle product.