Community Forums

87Rockwood · 04-06-2012, 09:52 AM

It depends on what type of camping you do. If you always go to a camp site that you plug in at it will not matter to much whos battery you use. If you Boondoggle much get the 6 volt Deka CG-15 or the Trojans with a good charger like a Progressive Dynamics. I just went through a full winter in our 87 Rockwood and never ran out of juice for the heater/lights

john8545 · 04-07-2012, 11:07 AM

I knew Id get different opinions, now all I have to do is to decide which way to go!. Thank you all for help, and to all safe and happy travels!

deandec · 04-07-2012, 11:14 AM

Switched from Trojan 105 (6 years) to Costco Golf Cart (2 years so far).

All my stuff lights up and operates the same as before.

clyon51 · 04-07-2012, 11:57 AM

Just to throw more into the mix. I was in Sams club yesterday with DW. I went over to check out what they had for 6v.

They had Duracell GCs rated at 215 AH for $73. Not too bad if they're any good.

Muddypaws · 04-08-2012, 09:45 AM

Duracell is a Proctor & Gamble company. According to wiki they are made by East Penn Manufacturing. If they are anything like the rest of Duracell's product line they're probably pretty good. At $73 each it would be well worth giving them a try in my opinion. Maybe they won't last as long as a Trojan, maybe they will. But at that price you can replace them every other year and still come out ahead.

Proctor & Gamble? Toothpaste to Batteries? Go figure.

clyon51 · 04-08-2012, 10:02 AM

If I outlast my Trojans, I would give them a try for $73.

WannaFTit · 04-08-2012, 10:04 AM

I hope this wont be construed as hijacking this thread, but it does deal with house batteries. My vectra has 3 batteries in (parallel?) for supplying the house power, is there anything wrong with adding to this? Can I route a longer battery cable to the next compartment over and add another series of batteries to extend the usable time on battery power only? How would that affect the ability of the charging unit to bring all back up to strength?

John and Judy

clyon51 · 04-08-2012, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WannaFTit

I hope this wont be construed as hijacking this thread, but it does deal with house batteries. My vectra has 3 batteries in (parallel?) for supplying the house power, is there anything wrong with adding to this? Can I route a longer battery cable to the next compartment over and add another series of batteries to extend the usable time on battery power only? How would that affect the ability of the charging unit to bring all back up to strength?

John and Judy

To answer your question, yes. If you have 3 house batteries, they are 12v wired in parallel.

As far as your charger, that depends what AMP it is, single stage or 3 stage "smart" charger.

If you are going to do a lot of dry camping, you'll want your banks to go from say 50% charged to 90% ASAP to avoid running the genny for long periods. For this I would recommend a Progressive Dynamics PD 9260 or 9280. Iota also makes good chargers.

What is important to longer stays is Amp Hour (AH) rating of the batteries used. Depending on the AH of your current batts, 2 6v golf cart batts may have many more than your 3.

Unless your current 12v are in good shape, you may want to consider 4 or 6 6v to increase your total AH.

WannaFTit · 04-08-2012, 11:04 AM

The 3 12v batteries are brand new, just put them in last week. I think that the Ah rating was 140? (that may have been the reserve capacity tho) I was asking if it would hurt to add even more 12v batteries to the circuit. I have 3 more 12v that I could add, if it was thought to be a good idea? I forgot to add, they are interstate (deep cycle) batteries although I have read on this forum that since the also do have a CCA rating that they are not true deep cycle batteries.

John and Judy

clyon51 · 04-08-2012, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WannaFTit

The 3 12v batteries are brand new, just put them in last week. I think that the Ah rating was 140? (that may have been the reserve capacity tho) I was asking if it would hurt to add even more 12v batteries to the circuit. I have 3 more 12v that I could add, if it was thought to be a good idea? I forgot to add, they are interstate (deep cycle) batteries although I have read on this forum that since the also do have a CCA rating that they are not true deep cycle batteries.

John and Judy

You can add as many as you want, but there are considerations.

Adding weight

Cable size to new bank if not close. Further away, the bigger the cable

Using identical batteries thoughout the system, including age.

Having the proper charger for your needs.

Sounds like you do not have true deep cycles if they have CCA, which is a shame. You do not want to add those other 3 batteries unless they are also new and the same kind as you have now.

If it were me, I would see if the dealer would swap those out for 4 Interstate U2200's, which are 235 AH. I would have to say those 4 would way out do 6 cranking batteries. When comparing batteries, check the 20 Hour AH rating.

Kblanch2343 · 04-09-2012, 07:21 PM

I replaced my coaches batteries about 5 weeks ago with Duracell's from Sam's Club for $78.00 each. No problems so far. Hopefully they'll keep going and going.

vito.a · 04-11-2012, 04:30 PM

I agree. I shop Sam's Club and Costco for the best price on 6V golf cart batteries. Costco now carries Interstate batteries and there warranty policy is the best.

jimmyjnr · 05-13-2012, 09:55 PM

House battery's died , not sure how old they were , coach is 10 years old .
Pulled in to checkers bought 2 x 12v deep cycle battery's $82 each , they are physically about 50% bigger than the old ones, fitted them in the car park . Hopefully I will get a few years out of them