[BiggarView]

Originally Posted by Tamu320

I replaced our factory battery after it failed only months after we bought our 2017 Montana 3950BR. Bought a 27 series duralast from Autozone last June of 2018. We are FT travelers, and I am now on my 3rd battery. CW says i have to pay close attention to water levels after we were having severe power problems. I dont want to pull it all apart every couple weeks to check levels... Interested in the AGM battery as discussed here. What is it? Any other words of wisdom? Thank you.

AGM "Absorbed Glass Mat" is a type of lead acid battery using technology developed to meet Military specs. It has many advantages over a regular lead acid battery. Some of them you have already read about on this thread. They are well suited to RV applications.

Not sure of the causes for your battery issues, but I'd agree with AZ Traveler on the battery disconnect usage when stored. You say you are FT, so with that, I'm going to guess you are draining the battery and not recharging it in a timely manner. AGMs will not solve that issue. More battery capacity won't either, but it will give you more time before it becomes an issue so extra batteries are not the sole fix. A better description of what your rig has in it and what you use power for will help pin down your consumption patterns and point to an appropriate battery solution and recharging routines you will have to implement to make it work the way you need it. AGMs still require maintenance but checking water levels isn't one of them. They seem to be the preferred choice among FT RVers.

AGMs and regular lead acid batteries of all types will have their lives serious shortened by repeated draw downs that go below 50% of their rated 20 hour capacity (the important number to know when looking at deep cycle batteries for RV applications). Again battery don't die, they get murdered.

A brief word on Lithium batteries... Lithium batteries are a whole different kettle of fish but might fit your application but they are expensive. I would not recommend them at this time for you based on your experience as reported by you. They have a steeper learning curve than traditional AGM or lead acid batteries. Information on them is getting better all the time.