Monaco Windsor 6 Volt Batteries

[HartsRving]

We just bought a 1999 Monaco Windsor 34 1/2 ft and have 6-6 Volt batteries. Was wondering if anyone has this set-up in their motorhome and have changed them out for 3-12 Volt? Our batteries need to be replaced and thought it would be cheaper to go with the 3-12 Volt rather than buying 6-6 Volt.

[vito.a]

My Windsor came with two of the large 2D deep cycle batteries. I changed them to four 6V golf cart batteries (2 in series). The golf cart batteries are less expensive (at Sam's Club or Costco) and last longer than the 12V batteries.

[HartsRving]

Thank you vito.a for your information. We have 6 of the 6v in a 3 in series and was thinking that we possibly could change them to 3 of the 12v but not sure if that would work. Might save us some money doing it that way. What are your thoughts if this could be done.

[RED2010]

We have a Tiffin Allegro RED with 6 - 6 volt Interstate batteries (220 amp-hours each) in series / parallel arrangement giving 660 amp-hours total @ 12 volts. You may come out less expensive with 3 - 12 volt batteries but most 12 volt deep cycle batteries (not starting, not combo deep cycle/starting), which you need for your house/coach batteries, are less than 100 amp-hours. This gives much less than 300 amp-hours or less than half the capacity of the 6 - 6 volt batteries. This will reduce your weight and may be OK if you don't boondock or have a residential fridge. Just be sure you compare apples to apples with amp-hours (At 20 hour rate) or reserve capacity. Most 12 volt batteries are starting batteries and list cold cranking amps (CCA) and don't list amp-hours or reserve capacity. You definitely do not want these as house batteries unless you want to buy again in 6 months. Check Costco prices for 6 volt battery prices.

[Dutch Star Don]

HartsRving......You can change your batteries around to any arrangement you want. If you don't boondock and don't need much battery power, go with the three 12 volt batteries.

I know times are tough and people are trying to save where they can, but my opinion is there are two hearts beating in your coach. The heart of the drivetrain is the engine. The heart of the chassis is the battery bank. Almost EVERYTHING in your coach needs 12 volt power to operate with the exception of the A/C and microwave. Even the A/C units need 12 volts for the thermostat.

Pulling in your slides creates a huge battery draw. Even when plugged in or running the generator, the power is drawn from the batteries and then replaced by your charger. You don't want a wimpy set of batteries, because you'll be back here asking why stuff doesn't work.

You'll also have to be careful and pay attention how you wire in the new batteries if you switch from the 6 volt to 12 volt.

[Jim_HiTek]

I'd agree with the others, don't try to switch to 12V, you'll be replacing them much more often. You could take those batteries to a battery shop and have them serviced with a flush and new acid. That'll save you some money and might get you a couple more years out of them.

How old are they? If original, you probably need new. Less then 7 years, try servicing them.

[Skip426]

If $ is the issue, and you don't boondock, consider just 4- 6v , a lot of coaches out there doing just fine with that set up, and more power than 3-12's

[Gary RVRoamer]

The question here is not number of batteries or 6v vs 12v, but total amp-hours.Three tpical size 12v (not the huge 4D or 8D models) will have about half the available amp-hours of the 6 x 6v you now have. That's why several of the replies mention "if you don't boondock". You could cut back to 4 x 6v or even 2 x 6v if you always use shore power (or generator) and do not reply on battery power except when driving.

If you want to keep the same amount of power (amp-hours), then buying three 12v that deliver the same amp-hours as the present 6 x 6v will actually cost you more - a lot more! 6v golf cart batteries are the cheapest way to get lots of amp hours.

[HartsRving]

Would like to thank you all for your responses. We went down and bought 6 of the 6v at Costco over the weekend. Now to get the battery trays cleaned for them to be put back in. Thanks to all of you for the great information given.