Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

Rogueknight · 08-14-2022, 07:08 PM

Hey guys need some education
I recently purchased my first Rv a 2011 Montana mountaineer 345dbq
Again I am new to rvs so reading some of the battery posts got a little confusing.

So my Rv has a deka marine starters dc27 battery. It’s a 2019 battery and it works but I suspect performance is not what it should be. I generally hook up my standing battery charger to the battery to make sure it’s at a good 12v for the Rv. I do notice better performance with the charger.

So I was looking to replace the battery. I was looking at Walmart because I am in a rural area and the nearest Rv store is an hour away. I know in my vehicles I have gone to gel batteries and been much happier than standard batteries.
But looking I see standard batteries, a 100ah deep cycle hybrid gel battery, LiFePO4 which if I am not mistaken is a lithium battery, and there are various sizes that get costly (200ab,300ah,400ah,etc) and agm batteries.
I am not wanting to dump loads of money into the battery right now as I am still making repairs and upgrades. Maybe in the future but I want to put in something that will be reliable.

At the moment I don’t have plans for boondocking. I may take trips and on the way might stop where power isn’t available but for the most part I plan to go where I have a 50 amp service (I live in texas and 104 degree days I want the ac’s to work lol).
I was about to go with the lithium but then it seems like I would need another charger, a monitor and other stuff and I wouldn’t be able to use my battery charger it only has modes for standard and agm. Maybe in the future I was considering getting solar because that should work great out here. But I still have to get the carpet replaced in the back room first.

I am waiting on the power company to come out this week to see about a service pole so I have mostly been using the battery and charger (generator evidently needs a tube up and it doesn’t like the ac on the Rv lol).

Should I be looking at a deep cycle battery just to replace the one I have (though I will get a maintenance free instead)
Should I look for a gel battery like I did the vehicles? Should I go to a agm? Or for now should I go to two batteries and run them in parallel? If so which type should I use?
I also know the Rv should be charging the battery when I get my 50amp receptacle installed. Would any of these require me to change anything.
It hasn’t beed a major deal right now because I have a good charger and it is maintaining the battery that’s there. When I switch all the light bulbs this week to led that should lower the drain too.
I know right now on battery I can run the hydraulics and the roof fans but not the ceiling fan that needs the generator and I think that’s all that runs on the battery.
I know the fridge and acs and stuff work cause I was in it when the previous owner was living in it.
I am not living in it I am using it as a guest house and for travel.

08-14-2022, 07:08 PM	#1
Rogueknight Established Member Join Date: Aug 2022 Location: Sabinal Posts: 34 M.O.C. #31462	Newbie help Hey guys need some education I recently purchased my first Rv a 2011 Montana mountaineer 345dbq Again I am new to rvs so reading some of the battery posts got a little confusing. So my Rv has a deka marine starters dc27 battery. It’s a 2019 battery and it works but I suspect performance is not what it should be. I generally hook up my standing battery charger to the battery to make sure it’s at a good 12v for the Rv. I do notice better performance with the charger. So I was looking to replace the battery. I was looking at Walmart because I am in a rural area and the nearest Rv store is an hour away. I know in my vehicles I have gone to gel batteries and been much happier than standard batteries. But looking I see standard batteries, a 100ah deep cycle hybrid gel battery, LiFePO4 which if I am not mistaken is a lithium battery, and there are various sizes that get costly (200ab,300ah,400ah,etc) and agm batteries. I am not wanting to dump loads of money into the battery right now as I am still making repairs and upgrades. Maybe in the future but I want to put in something that will be reliable. At the moment I don’t have plans for boondocking. I may take trips and on the way might stop where power isn’t available but for the most part I plan to go where I have a 50 amp service (I live in texas and 104 degree days I want the ac’s to work lol). I was about to go with the lithium but then it seems like I would need another charger, a monitor and other stuff and I wouldn’t be able to use my battery charger it only has modes for standard and agm. Maybe in the future I was considering getting solar because that should work great out here. But I still have to get the carpet replaced in the back room first. I am waiting on the power company to come out this week to see about a service pole so I have mostly been using the battery and charger (generator evidently needs a tube up and it doesn’t like the ac on the Rv lol). Should I be looking at a deep cycle battery just to replace the one I have (though I will get a maintenance free instead) Should I look for a gel battery like I did the vehicles? Should I go to a agm? Or for now should I go to two batteries and run them in parallel? If so which type should I use? I also know the Rv should be charging the battery when I get my 50amp receptacle installed. Would any of these require me to change anything. It hasn’t beed a major deal right now because I have a good charger and it is maintaining the battery that’s there. When I switch all the light bulbs this week to led that should lower the drain too. I know right now on battery I can run the hydraulics and the roof fans but not the ceiling fan that needs the generator and I think that’s all that runs on the battery. I know the fridge and acs and stuff work cause I was in it when the previous owner was living in it. I am not living in it I am using it as a guest house and for travel.