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myredracer · 04-30-2013, 09:52 AM

We bought a trailer tongue storage box to go in the A-frame. I had planned on relocating the single battery we have now down and rearwards but that won't work without it hanging way down.

I had originally thought as a plan B that I would mount an Optima AGM group 27 battery of 66 AH inside the TT in a couple of potential spots. But then I just learned how much bigger these are than the standard flooded cell type.

I see that Lifeline makes a physically small AGM with a 30 AH rating and I should be able to mount it up front. Can anyone tell me if 30 AH is good enough for us? The only use the battery would see is for the emergency brake and lights while setting up, packing up or perhaps in a power failure. We are not planning to do any boondocking. We have a campground membership that we use plus we are at the age of enjoying full services now.

Shadowcatche · 04-30-2013, 11:30 AM

Usable AH from a deep cycle (if you do not wish to damage it) are 50% and 15AH does not go far. Lifeline AGM's are arguably some of the best but you (I have a 150AH). You will need some assessment of how much current you will be using.

myredracer · 04-30-2013, 02:25 PM

Good points. We have a full LED lighting package. No other major 12 volt draws, just the fridge (control board), furnace, radio, etc. Maybe I could go to two of the 30 AH Lifeline batteries end to end. My "problem" is width and height, but not length if I mount in/near the original location.

dagmandt · 05-06-2013, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myredracer

Good points. We have a full LED lighting package. No other major 12 volt draws, just the fridge (control board), furnace, radio, etc. Maybe I could go to two of the 30 AH Lifeline batteries end to end. My "problem" is width and height, but not length if I mount in/near the original location.

If you plan to do any dry camping at all you'll want much much more than that. For comparison I have two 6v 260 AH batteries. I should have 130 useable amp hours from that. I would call this a bare minimum setup. I don't have solar but do have a generator for use when absolutely needed.

With my above setup I can go for two days using the water pump, refrigerator, some furnace at night when cold, LED lights, and a bit of TV... we have a 12v TV so no inverter. I also have electric stabilizers, tongue jack, and awning. If I don't conserve it can be a close shave for two days. If I am extremely conservative and didn't require the use of the furnace at all I could probably make it 4 - 5 days.

Ray,IN · 05-06-2013, 07:13 PM

That is not enough AH. Your furnace for example draws around 7A per hour when running.

myredracer · 05-08-2013, 09:20 AM

What I've ended up doing is staying with the single 80 AH lead acid Interstate battery that came with our TT. I am mounting it in the front pass-through in a sealed vented box.

We have a fiberglass front cap and I discovered a bunch of useable wasted space there just aft of the cap. I just finished building a 3-sided shelf there now and this will work great and did not intrude into the pass-through space. And as a side benefit, in the same void space, I built some storage space for smaller misc. stuff. Good side benefit because our TT only has the pass-through for exterior storage. I sorely miss the extra exterior storage compartment our last (and smaller) TT had and which I used for all the "dirty" sort of stuff like sewer fittings and x-chocks.