Batteries not holding charge- overnight

[Wheelhouse]

We replaced the 2-12 volt batteries (10 months ago) with 2- 6 volts hoping to have better results as were told. We will charge batteries at RV site, drive to a rest area(parking lot, unplug truck)for the night with slides outs and bathroom light on for night light. Next morning, batteries drained and have to reconnect truck power to bring slides o\in? Is that normal or should I be looking for something? Everything seems to work??

[Alwims]

Ever leave your dome light on in you car overnight? It'll zap your battery dead. Using your bathroom light as a night light is the equivalent of 2 dome lights since there are 2 bulbs in the fixture. Replace the incandescent light with LED lights and problem solved. Got to http://filamentfree.com/shop/page/1?...Vj&shop_param=. These folks are great people and are members of this site and give you a good discount. Just use MOC in the discount area. I also suspect you aren't getting your batteries fully charged. It can take upwards of 8 to 10 hours or more to charge a battery to full charge from a dead state.

[Ozz]

I am wondering if they are hooked up correctly, check this link:
http://www.rvtechlibrary.com/battery/bat_convert.htm
Also, check the battery water in them, and check the connections, tight, and not corroded.
Let us know.
Good luck.
Ozz

[pineranch]

X2 on what Ozz said.

[scattershot]

Yeah, night light and furnace will drain the batts overnight.

[DQDick]

I would agree with all of the above. First check the wiring of the batteries, if you installed them like you had the 12v you've got it wrong. Then there's the issue of how long it will take for your truck to charge 2 dead batteries (much longer than you think). Then there's the issue of all the things other than the light that will be drawing current (propane detectors etc.). Lastly if you're going to do a lot of boondocking you need to switch your lighting to led and Michael and Kat are the way to do that.

[racerjoe]

You said you changed out two 12 volt batteries for two 6 volt batteries? If that is correct you did not gain anything. To replace what you had you would need four 6 volt batts tied together,that will give you a much longer drain. just asking??

[kdeiss]

You should get a reading of 6.4 Volts or higher on a good 6 Volt Battery any thing 6.2 or below you do not have a fully charged battery. So if you are not starting with a fully charged battery I can understand why you are hving issues. I would never leave a night ligt I would use a flashlite

[NCFischers]

All of the above, especially the night light.

[jwedell]

If you're not doing it you may want to leave the trailer connected to the truck with the truck running when you open or close the slides. Let's the truck power the hydraulic pump and saves some of the battery power. Just a suggestion.

[dieselguy]

Quote ... "Let's the truck power the hydraulic pump and saves some of the battery power."

IMHO ... that little 14 gauge wire (12 at best) from your truck isn't really going to supply enough amperage to add any major power to the slide pump ... it will only slightly assist a 50++ amp draw on a cold day. The more the batteries are undercharged, the more staying connected to the truck will matter.

[H. John Kohl]

quote:Originally posted by Wheelhouse

We replaced the 2-12 volt batteries (10 months ago) with 2- 6 volts hoping to have better results as were told. We will charge batteries at RV site, drive to a rest area(parking lot, unplug truck)for the night with slides outs and bathroom light on for night light. Next morning, batteries drained and have to reconnect truck power to bring slides o\in? Is that normal or should I be looking for something? Everything seems to work??

My first reaction is you have a major drain. Already known.
All the comments are good ones but until measurements are taken no one knows what is causing the problem.
For two 12 in parallel or a pair of six volt in series to be drained over night is a lot of current draw. Much more than normal.
Good luck in trouble shooting.