Deep cycle battery suggestion

[Gutz54]

Need to replace my batteries---look up the 10 best---one site said Optima?? Had a 4.5/5 rating--most said great--but some said total junk?? Any suggestions?? thanks everyone!!

[DQDick]

I get mine from NAPA, makes it easy as we travel if I need warranty work.

[1retired06]

Interstate or Sears for us, both work good. We Don’t drycamp.

[Montana Man]

I'm good with Autozone brand. Veteran's discount and stores everywhere.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

I'm good with Autozone brand. Veteran's discount and stores everywhere.

I've not bought an Autozone battery for the RV. I did however buy a 2nd one for my Jeep at our mountain house after it got weak (never had them before the weak one). Ran down and took the same "Duralast Gold"? to them and asked for a replacement - 4 years old if I recall....$174. Just a note....

[Rondo]

We've been running two 12 volt Interstate Heavy Duty batteries in our last two units and have had great luck with them. One thing about Interstate is that if you have a problem, you can get replacements nearly anywhere here in the US. I just replaced ours a couple months ago after having them in this rig since 2014 so I think I got my monies worth out of them.

[Gutz54]

Exactly
which Interstate batteries do you have?? can you tell me the model?? thanks a lot!!

[twindman]

On other recent posts, people have complained about Interstate from Costco in the last couple of years. Some don't even last a year. I used Costco for my first 2 sets of 6V batteries and they lasted about 5-7 years. But the report is the newer ones are not very good. So I just bought the Trojans. Local Battery store had them for $125.

[rohrmann]

We do very little dry camping, and instead of golf cart style batteries I use the RV/Marine maintenance free deep cycle batteries, and have used the Centennial group 27 size for many years. I just replaced them with the same while at Quartzsite in January after 5 1/2 years. They do the job and never have to check water.

[Gutz54]

Well we decided to spend the xtra bucks and bought the Optima closed cell batts.The guy at AutoZone said they have a 2 year unlimited guarantee--we see what happens!!

[laverdur]

I prefer Centennial because they are true maintenance free batteries.

[Gunny B]

Originally Posted by Gutz54

Well we decided to spend the xtra bucks and bought the Optima closed cell batts.The guy at AutoZone said they have a 2 year unlimited guarantee--we see what happens!!

I'm looking at Optima Blue Top for my next battery as well.

[Oldharley]

So what everybody that replied missed is how many batteries you should have, because the bigger the battery bank the fewer times you draw it empty which is the biggest killer of batteries. Myself I prefer the centennial AGM 6v and I currently have 4 in my rv. If I was boondocking regularly I would double that or even triple it by putting some of those batteries in the truck and running a battery cable to the rv with a winch style connector. I would put the truck batteries on a solenoid that would allow them to be charged from the truck or disconnected from the truck by the use of the solenoid.

[Erikksen]

So the big thing on battery life- it DOES matter what voltage you charge your batteries to. And I mean the actual voltage applied to the battery terminals not some remote panel meter.

Interstate AGM’s are supposed to be charged at 14.7 volts For 4 hours daily and then floated at 13.6 or so otherwise They will build lead sulphate on the plates and you will eventually damage the plates similar to rust on steel. I’ve seen 6 month old batteries that were junk- never got charged properly.

[GeologyTek]

We replaced our 500ah Interstate battery that came with the coach when I purchased it with a 1,100ah Optima. We do alot of traveling in Texas for work and the heat caused the wet cell battery to dry out. I picked a blue top Optima D31 because it was the most powerful battery Optima makes. Our previous interstate battery was going dead after 4 hours traveling with the power inverter on to run our refrigerator. Now the optimal can run it for at least 8 and have plenty of power for hydraulic pumps when we arrive at camp. We purchased it from Orileys. Optima batteries are pricy, but totally worth it. I will be replacing the two batteries in my F250 next chance I get.

[BiggarView]

Originally Posted by GeologyTek

We replaced our 500ah Interstate battery that came with the coach when I purchased it with a 1,100ah Optima. ...

I only see 900CCA d31 batteries. Their C20 rating(the one that really matters) is 75AH... a lot of money for only 75AH. Lifeline group 31 battery for 40 dollars more will give you 125AH. JMHO

[ChuckS]

Even if you don’t boon dock GC2 batteries are an excellent choice over many other wet cell 12 volt RV batteries. Much larger and robust plates. Currently running a set of GC2S from Costco... $88 a piece.. on my 5th year with them. I’ll run nothing but GC2.

[CAG]

I will keep this short and to the point. I got this information from various sources.

• Lion - Expensive, can charge fast, tend to last longer, lightest and smallest, 80% of Ah usable
• AGM - less expensive, maintenance free, have to charge slower, 50% of AH usable
• Flooded - cheapest, have to add water, can charge faster than AGM but slower than Lion. Used in Golf Carts (6V), more Ah for less money using 6V, but if one goes bad you may lose 12V, 50% of Ah usable

You should only use deep cycle batteries for the Coach. You may need a new charger depending on what you have now and which battery you choose. You can draw down the batteries more but life will shorten, it is a choice. Don't zero out a Lion, they die.

LiPH4 appear to be the safest Lion batteries.

Full Disclosure - I don't boondock, and use GC2 batteries from Costco, which are Interstate batteries and better batteries according to my local Interstate person.