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Old 09-04-2005, 09:10 AM   #1
bigrockbruce
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Batteries - How many should I have?

Our new 3295RK came standard with one battery. I know that I will be more comfortable with adding more batteries. For those of you that have had to add batteries to your rig, how many would you recommend?

 
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Old 09-04-2005, 09:28 AM   #2
DHenry
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We have two batteries in our 3670. Our dealer added the second battery without us even asking. I guess I paid for it some where in the deal but it was nice to get it without asking or bringing it back to have it added.
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Old 09-04-2005, 10:00 AM   #3
Montana Sky
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I only have one battery and it seems to work fine for me. I am plugged into shore power all summer so I just check the water level every month or so in it. Does not seem to boil that much water out of them even though I am plugged in.
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Old 09-04-2005, 10:18 AM   #4
bob n pam
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We have two.
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Old 09-04-2005, 10:29 AM   #5
Montana Sky
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Well heck I am starting to feel left out. Guess this is something I should be looking into.
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Old 09-04-2005, 10:36 AM   #6
CountryGuy
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Had a hard sided RV since 1984, never had more than one battery. Don't do a lot of boondocking these days tho.
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Old 09-04-2005, 10:54 AM   #7
Charlie
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One battery has always been plenty, make sure you keep good water levels and charged.
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Old 09-04-2005, 02:39 PM   #8
padredw
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One of the first requests I made on this forum was in regard to installing two batteries. I now have two golf-cart 6 volt batteries wired in series to produce 12 volt output. I am very pleased with this installation, which I did myself. The photo shows the Blue Sea Battery Box I used. If anyone wishes detailed information please send email or private message. I higly recommend such an improvement.
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Old 09-04-2005, 03:12 PM   #9
richfaa
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Have always used 2 12V batteries in parallel..Gives you more amps(current) to run things like power jacks, etc... One will do just fine tho..depends on how you use things...
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Old 09-04-2005, 03:48 PM   #10
Glenn and Lorraine
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As Rich said "One will do just fine" and one has been doing just fine for us for nearly 2 years of fulltiming. Keep the water level up and fully charged, which the rig will take care of all by itself, and you shouldn't have any problems. But if you intend on boondocking and using a lot of 12 volt power than additional batteries would be a plus.
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Old 09-04-2005, 04:31 PM   #11
ken
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I feel safer with two batteries. It only takes one nite with the slides out with no electricity and a dead battery that will make you think two batteries. The original battery went dead while were traveling with our 2003 Montana and thankful to have the other battery. Since i was in the Walmart shopping center, I just replaced the dead battery. We have two batteries in the new 2005 connected with a marine switch so I can switch batteries at will and even turn both off while the trailer is stored.
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Old 09-04-2005, 05:12 PM   #12
dsprik
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What's up with two 6 volt batteries in series? I have read about others doing this. One guy had four 6 volts all wired. What am I missing here?
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Old 09-04-2005, 05:24 PM   #13
padredw
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[/sA lot of RVers have switched from the "standard" group 24 or 27 12 volt batteries to the larger 6 volt golf cart batteries. If you have room for at least 2 of them, they are a good choice. They are true deep cycle batteries and will last a lot longer than most common 12 volt batteries in your RV. They are physically larger, so you must measure carefully before buying them, but I recommend you use them if you can. I have a set of Trojan Golf cart batteries that are going on 5 years old and they still have almost all of their original capacity. They are priced about the same as (or a bit lower than) the common 12 volt deep cycle battery. Golf cart batteries have a higher capacity than group 24 and 27 batteries... a pair of group 24 12 volt batteries only provide 140-170 amp/hours of capacity, where a pair of golf cart batteries provide 180-220 amp/hours. There are other deep cycle batteries available, such as the L-16 and AGM types, that are extensively used in large solar and alternate energy systems, but their physical size and added expense make them a less attractive choice for the average RVer.

If you have room and want to change over to the 6 volt golf cart batteries, you must make an important wiring change. Most rigs that have 2 or more 12 volt batteries have them wired in parallel. when going to the 6 volters, you must wire pairs of them in series to produce the needed 12 volts.

Quote above taken from :

http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm
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Old 09-04-2005, 06:03 PM   #14
dsprik
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That's interesting! Why doesn't someone just make a better 12 volt battery???? I definitely will consider the 6 volt system. Thanks, David!
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Old 09-05-2005, 03:25 AM   #15
drhowell
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I prefer the two battery setup. My old Class A had the isolation switch and I really used that when one battery went dead and needed to start the engine. I like Ken's idea about adding one to the Montana. May look into that. The 6 volt Golf cart hookup is interesting and may give more amp/hr but will not help if one or both go dead where the extra 12 volt is cheap insurance. However, unlike the Class A we always have a tow vehicle with two batteries and jumper cables are lighter than a second battery so I may have talked myself into the one battery is enough column? So it appears this is one of those what ever you prefer will work type situations.
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Old 09-05-2005, 08:45 AM   #16
Bill Hill
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We had 2 X 6V on our previous TT and am doing the same on our Montana. Lasts much longer.
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Old 09-05-2005, 05:02 PM   #17
Wagonmaster
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Ours came with 2-12v in parallel from the dealer,don't know if we need two but better to have a back up I guess
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Old 09-06-2005, 03:02 AM   #18
NJ Hillbilly
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2 12v wired together will not give twice the capacity. It is better to isolate them with a switch so if a cell goes bad in one of them it wont kill the good battery.

If I added a second it would be another 12v with an a-b switch.


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Old 09-06-2005, 03:25 AM   #19
richfaa
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2 12's in parallel give you twice the amps..not twice the volts.As for a spare battery..do we not have a battery in the TV for backup if needed.
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Old 09-06-2005, 04:08 AM   #20
drhowell
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Well said Rich!
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