The Gun Counter

We bought a travel trailer a year ago. It came with ONE 12v battery. A group 24 battery. It is not enough battery. We do well with 110v power plugged in and traveling. Camping does not go well.

Should I go with 2 group 27 12v or 2 6v batteries?

Do you have room for 2 x 6-Volt Golf Cart batteries?? Also, have you considered putting solar panels on top of your rig?

I added solar to our RV YEARS ago, and have NEVER regretted the decision, but then I'm also running 2 x 12-volt deep-cycle batteries (they're the red-top Optima batteries [https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/r ... ng-battery], simply because they were what Costco carried and I could walk out of the store with them) - and I've had them for over a DECADE and they're STILL GOING STRONG!! I'd say the investment was CERTAINLY worth the value we've got out of them!!! But then again, they are also maintained by our solar system and kept in tip-top shape by our expensive battery controller for the entire system.

I recall the first time I took them into Yosemite Valley, and my panels were putting out MORE than the panel's rated power (which has decreased over time - as they're flexible panels with no glass to break on the top of the rig). I was able to drive out to the middle of Yosemite Valley and COMPLETELY recharge my 2 x 12-volt batteries within several hours. It was MUCH better than running my genset for several hours and pissing off all my camping neighbors.

With my limited experience, if our rig had the space, I would DEFINITELY go with double 6-Volt, DEEP-CYCLE golf-cart batteries, because they can (and WILL) store far more energy than a couple of 12-volt batteries run in parallel. Granted, they are MUCH larger and heavier (PLUS, they are FAR MORE EXPENSIVE) than a couple of 12-volt batteries, no matter which size range you specify.

If you want to save money and don't plan on being disconnected from shore power for longer than a week (including running the generator), then stick to the 12-volt batteries with a solar system. If you might wind up being in areas with limited sunshine and plan staying for longer than a week, then go with the 6-Volt batteries & a solar system to at least partially recharge them when the sun's out.

In either scenario (and your current one with a single 12-volt battery), I'd STRONGLY recommend you put solar panels on top of your rig no matter what. You'll see just how much you've become VERY HAPPY with them in a VERY SHORT time!! You don't need to run the generator (WHICH I *HATE* RUNNING) simply to recharge the batteries - except in certain extended circumstances. As it stands today, the ONLY reason we'd NEED to run the RV generator would be to run the microwave for the short time necessary to cook food (IF that's how we chose to cook the food - personally, I prefer boil-in-the-bag meals while camping/RV'ing).

Either way, I think your first investment along these lines should be for a solar system, if you don't have one already. If you have one already, then get the dual 6-Volt deep-cycle golf-cart batteries, because it will take quite a while to run those babies down.

Then again, I'm not currently up on all the battery tech going on today, but that's what *I'd* suggest as of 10 years ago. But I have NO IDEA how much battery tech has changed since then (but then again, the 6-Volt batteries should have also progressed like the 12-Volt batteries). But WHO KNOWS???

YMMV

If you're gonna spend money...

3 Trojan group 27 (about 330 each), and a triple battery isolator - Surepower makes a 240 amp model, unsure of quality though. Add in some solar to charge em...

HTRN wrote:If you're gonna spend money...

3 Trojan group 27 (about 330 each), and a triple battery isolator - Surepower makes a 240 amp model, unsure of quality though. Add in some solar to charge em...

My solar system has definitely saved our batteries, because it CERTAINLY wasn't due to my taking care of them and properly maintaining them over the years!! Frankly, I'm VERY thankful I paid the extra money to buy those red-top batteries simply because they've FARRRRRRRRrrrrrrr outlived their warranties being installed in the RV and maintained by the solar system and (expensive) controller!!

Optima are not nearly as good as they once were, largely riding on reputation these days.

Trojan always had a fantastic rep, the only problem is they dont make batteries in common auto group sizes, instead its mostly the big battery market for rv and class eight trucks.

You know, I'm not surprised, since I was wondering why Costco stopped carrying them. My newer Optima car battery died much sooner than I had anticipated - around 5 years, and for THAT much money, I expected to perform much more like the older ones I had in the RV (which I had no problem paying premium price). But if I'm getting standard performance from expensive batteries, I'd much prefer paying FAR less for less expensive batteries with long warranties, Thank You Very Much!!!

EDIT: FYI - I bought our Optima RV batteries not too long after my wife and I got married, over 15 years ago, and they're still working like champs!!

308Mike wrote:

HTRN wrote:If you're gonna spend money...

3 Trojan group 27 (about 330 each), and a triple battery isolator - Surepower makes a 240 amp model, unsure of quality though. Add in some solar to charge em...

My solar system has definitely saved our batteries, because it CERTAINLY wasn't due to my taking care of them and properly maintaining them over the years!! Frankly, I'm VERY thankful I paid the extra money to buy those red-top batteries simply because they've FARRRRRRRRrrrrrrr outlived their warranties being installed in the RV and maintained by the solar system and (expensive) controller!!

1. Why would the controller be so expensive?

2. From what I understand about Optima batteries, yes their quality has gone way down. The second issue is one of recharging. If you run one all the way down, they will not take a charge again. You can get your vehicle running again, but once the engine is shut off, you are still SOL.

The controller was expensive only to the extent of it being a good-quality controller, which accurately monitors the battery charge state and the incoming solar charge from the panels and takes care of the charging accordingly (including a very light trickle-charge).

Perhaps I should have specified when I purchased these panels and controller system, it was way back around 1998/99 or so. By today's standards, it might not be considered a quality controller - but it was back then. And it CERTAINLY gets the job done without damaging my batteries or the solar system.

Neither of my "house batteries" have been run all the way down - but I can't say the same for the failed engine battery, which was trashed over a decade ago (COMPLETELY run down since it wasn't hooked up to the solar system & I didn't keep a trickle-charge on it all the time).

For a small/medium camping trailer, a pair of Trojan T105 "golf cart" batteries is a good economical choice. Add a couple of 75-100 watt 12vdc PV panels and a solar charge controller for a good basic solar setup.

This is a basic system. You can add to it later.

Also: every $1 spent lowering your power consumption will save about $2 in equipment, generally speaking.

Example: Use LED bulbs instead of incadescents.

I found stitching from a gp24 to a gp27 and switching everything to led light bulbs made the difference for me.
However still not enough juice for extended battery use.