Battery Upgrade Question

[Bill.vannuys]

Chris,
Glad to share the information. It's good for me because it made me "relearn" how to do pictures to this site.
Honestly, I never thought about the terminals, but mine do appear to be a lower profile or at least different than the 15/16" Embedded High Profile Terminal shown in the battery Data Sheet. Guess I'm not sure.
You will enjoy the battery upgrade; I had the "wimpy" 12 volt Battery - 75AH. This is a great upgrade and overdue for me.
I included a picture of the LED light I added to illuminate the forward compartment. It's great to be able to see up there now! (Lumitronics Designer Double LED RV Dome Light with 3-Way Switch and Removable Lenses ($16.99 on Amazon)).

I also have and plan to install an actual volt meter near my battery box - just haven't done it yet. (Mictuning DC 12V LED Digital Display Voltmeter Waterproof...($9.90 also on Amazon)).

Good luck!

[rames14]

Bill, just remember when you wire in series to get 12v, you also cut the AH in half as well. Were yours 260 AH each? You may have already done the calculation. And, you should only draw 50% of the AH rating. We are running (4) 6v 240 AH rated batteries. So, in 12v wiring, the AH is cut in half and so I have 480 AH available. But, I can only use half of that without damaging the batteries. I learned from other members about the Bogart meter from Bogart Engineering. We added that along with a 2000 watt inverter/charger to our new 3160 last year. Glad the new mod is working out for you.

[Razrbk]

Very helpful. Thanks for your post....

[chris199]

Bill

Thanks again ! I like the light mod. I never go in there without my flashlight app in my phone. A little awkward working in there with that. Three hands needed....

[Bill.vannuys]

Ron,
Thanks for the information on the Bogart Meter; I just found it on the internet (who needs formal training now a days!:-)) and I'm going to learn more about it.

My Trojan T145 6 volt batteries are 260 AH each (total 520 AH at 6 Volts) so that gives me 260 AH at the 12 volt rate (I hope I got that right). It looks like that Bogart Meter is a big help with managing battery usage and ensuring the batteries stay above 50% to keep them performing well. Provides information on real-time usage also.

Hoping to meet you as we begin attending MOC Rallies beginning in Nebraska City in July - saw your name on the list. I can see first-hand what others have done and learn more about some of the great modifications out there - especially at the National Rally in Elkhart in Sep 16. I hear a lot of vendors and the factory representatives attend Elkhart(?).

Thanks again for your advice; I appreciate all the information I can get.

[Bill.vannuys]

Just finished my final tweak; I mounted my "Mictuning DC 12V LED Digital Display Voltmeter" into the top of my battery box. It shows the battery voltage in LED display and draws 9 mA meaning (if the draw is accurate) it only draws 1 amp every 4.6 days; I can live with that! Gives me a little more detail than the battery percentage lights in the control panel although, I do have to walk outside to read the meter...for now.

[rodw6rod]

One of the first things I did was upgrade the batteries in the Montana High Country 293RK. I bought 4 6-volt Interstate golf cart batteries so there's plenty of power for several days boondocking if necessary. I found a battery box that the 4 6-volt batteries fit in nicely at http://www.allbatterysalesandservice...fm/4,5576.html I love the setup with the 4 batteries!

I have considered a permanently installed solar system but elected to try the GoPower 120 watt portable solar panel system and it works well. I like the idea of being parked in shade when shade is available and have a 30' extension cord which allows me to set up the solar panel in the sun and directed at the sun for max exposure. Also have a small Honda generator (EU2000 is the one I think) and between the solar and the Honda I don't ever have any power issues. If I was a fulltimer I think I would probably go with a permanently installed solar system on the roof however.

Rod W6ROD

[richfaa]

Depends on how you use the Montana. We do not boondock....ever. We do have two good interstate deep cycle marine batteries in this 13 3402 as we did in our 06 3400.That arrangement suites our travel needs.

[Bill.vannuys]

Rod,
Thanks for the information on the solar charger and battery box link. I had actually looked at the Century Plastics Dual Battery Box and almost got it instead of the NOCO HM426 I finally purchased (Amazon Prime (free shipping) and the corner mounting holes swayed my decision). I'm going to research the GoPower 120 watt portable solar panel as I remain interested in solar.

Similar to you, I have the dual Honda 2000i generators with parallel cable that runs my essentials in the RV. I mainly use that for AC when I stop during the summer. Concerning my battery upgrade, I just don't feel like plugging in and starting the generators in those 20 degree windy Kansas/Colorado nights when I decide to stop at a rest area to sleep for the night. That's where my battery upgrade will significantly increase my heater fan longevity until morning without using my generators! Other than that, not a lot of Boondocking - for now at least.

I did spend 36 hours in Rawlings, Wyoming a few years ago in my previous "Not so Polar" travel trailer with my generators running the whole time (with 6 gal extended tank) for heaters. They had closed I80 due to a blizzard (55+ winds and Temps down to about 0 degrees F !!!). My wife fondly remembers that event!

Ron, Thanks again for the information. Perhaps we'll get to meet at one of the Rallys.

And Rich, we look forward to meeting you & Helen at the Central Plains Rally in Nebraska this summer.

Bill