Its A Dry Heat
Arizona
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Joined: 01/04/2006
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My Greyhawk 33DS is now a little over a year old and I did my first dry camping without needing to use the AC and anticipated not having to use the generator. The problem is the single house battery ran down very quickly. After approx. 3-4 hours of using several 12V lights, the battery didn't have enough power to allow me to run my fridge or furnace on LP. I did not use the inverter to watch TV and nothing else was using juice other than the 12V interior lights. I then had to start the engine to get my generator running and after getting the house battery charged, the same thing happened again in the middle of the night after 4-5 hours of only the furnace and fridge on (on LP).
I don't have any experience with deep cycle batteries, but my auto battery would have done much better than this. I haven't had it tested, but I assume that my battery needs to be replaced and am wondering whether I should replace it with another single 12V, two 12V, or go with two 6V golf cart batteries.
Any input regarding the best house battery setup for a coach like mine would be much appreciated. We plan on doing a fair amount of dry camping this winter in the desert and I would like to have an adequate or better setup for my house battery or batteries.
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Jacksmith2008
everywhere
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Joined: 08/24/2008
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you would be better off replacing the single 12volt with two or even 4 six volt batteries deep cycle. even two 6 volts will be much better then one 12 volt.
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tomlang
Los Angeles area
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Joined: 06/11/2007
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If you have the room, replace that 12 volt battery with two 6 volt batteries in series, the new batteries each the same physical size as your original 12 volt batteries, but wired in series.
Use deep cycle batteries, and you should have double the capacity of your existing setup.
What size battery is in there now? I'm surprised to hear it is only a single battery in a rig that size.
Tom and Lynne
Tom is an Electronics Engineer, Lynne a retired teacher.
old rig is a 1988 Winnebago Superchief, just back from being on tour with the Blue Turtle Seduction (band)
new (our dream rig) is a 2003 Foretravel 38' U295
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Westronics
Redmond, WA
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Joined: 08/07/2002
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What do you have now? How much more space is there in your battery compartment?
Assuming room for only one battery, I suggest a Trojan J150, if it will fit. That's about the best you can do for a single deep-cycle 12-volt battery that may fit in your existing compartment.
2002 Jayco Greyhawk 24SS, Cameras (RVCams), ScanGauge II/Blendmount, 300W Inverter, Airtabs,12' Portabote w/sail, Be kind to septic systems.
Ford motorhome customer service: 1-800-444-3311.
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RVWithTito
Poulsbo, WA, USA
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Joined: 08/21/2008
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I recently added a second 12V battery to my rig and would definately recommend it. It has made a big difference for me, both dry camping and long days on the road. My rig is a year old and I had been in similar situations where I though the power would last longer than it did. Also, you mentioned running your furnace. Even running on LP, your furnace fan will kill your battery by morning if you've only got one 12V. It has actually happened to me. You'll be much happier with two batteries. When I dry camp, I still run the generator in the morning for about an hour to make coffee and recharge. That lasts me the rest of the day. On my last 3-day dry camping trip, we had no power issues with the two batteries. I wish the coach came with two in the first place.
What I did: The coach came with a single Interstate SRM-27 battery. Since I wasn't sure if my current battery was operating at 100% or not, I replaced it with two brand new SRM-27 batteries from my local RV place at around $90 each.
 
I didn't have room in the existing battery tray for another battery so I converted one of the small storage compartments on the opposite side of the coach (see picture). If you have room to put them side-by-side, even better. You can use #4 or #6 wire to connect the batteries in parallel (See picture for wiring). If you use a compartment to house the battery, you'll have to create a little vent.
It's an easy do-it-yourself project if you're comfortable working with 12V. You should have a decent voltage meter. You'll also need a heavy duty crimper and wire cutter. Everything you need you can get from Home Depot, WalMart and your auto parts store.
Finally, since you're in the desert, a decent little solar panel can be mounted on your roof (or air conditioner) to give your batteries a good trickle charge during the day. Of course sizes vary, but you could get a smaller one for a $100 to $200. It wouldn't work as well for me since I live in the Seattle area where there is alot of cloud cover. My rig came with a small 5Amp solar panel, but it rarely does me any good.
Good luck and enjoy!
2007 Four Winds 31F Class C
Ford E450 Triton V10
2004 Honda CRV Toad
Roadmaster Sterling Towbar
Roadmaster Even Brake
Photos, trips, maps and tips at www.RvWithTito.com
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super_camper
Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 08/22/2006
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RVWithTito wrote:I recently added a second 12V battery to my rig and would definately recommend it. It has made a big difference for me, both dry camping and long days on the road. My rig is a year old and I had been in similar situations where I though the power would last longer than it did. Also, you mentioned running your furnace. Even running on LP, your furnace fan will kill your battery by morning if you've only got one 12V. It has actually happened to me. You'll be much happier with two batteries. When I dry camp, I still run the generator in the morning for about an hour to make coffee and recharge. That lasts me the rest of the day. On my last 3-day dry camping trip, we had no power issues with the two batteries. I wish the coach came with two in the first place.
I did the same thing as Tito, I added a second group 27 battery in my Greyhawk. I didn't have room in my battery tray so I had a new tray added between the chassis rails and behind the gas tank. I have room for more but so far the two group 27 batteries seem to be enough for us.
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TF36DSMatt
SoCal
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Joined: 05/15/2007
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A lot of folks on this board replace a single 12 volt house battery with two Costco 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series. I replaced mine after figuring out that my one house battery couldn't last through the night when running the heater. Since I made the switch, no issues making it through the night. This swap will typically more than triple your battery capacity.
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Its A Dry Heat
Arizona
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Joined: 01/04/2006
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My current battery is a group 27 Interstate battery. It sounds like replacing my current battery with a couple group 27 batteries would probably work for my needs, but a couple 6V would be even better. Fortunately, my battery tray actually has room for 3 more batteries.
I called to inquire about replacements and the 6V were about $70 more per battery than the 12V. Living in AZ, I've found that battery life is abysmal here and unless the 6V has a longer expected lifespan, I may go with two 12V in the interest of cost. I was told that the dimensions of the 12V and 6V only differ in height, with the 6V being approx. 1" taller.
I really appreciate the time all of you have taken in responding to my post. I feel confident I'll get what I need now. Thanks again!
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jcamp123
Putnum County, New York
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Joined: 11/19/2005
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As stated before there is no difference between 2 12 volt or 2 6 volt batteries. If they are 100 amp batteries then they equal 200 amps if they are 6 volt or 12 volt
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mfa
Florida
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Joined: 08/28/2006
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Its A Dry Heat wrote:My current battery is a group 27 Interstate battery. It sounds like replacing my current battery with a couple group 27 batteries would probably work for my needs, but a couple 6V would be even better. Fortunately, my battery tray actually has room for 3 more batteries.
I called to inquire about replacements and the 6V were about $70 more per battery than the 12V. Living in AZ, I've found that battery life is abysmal here and unless the 6V has a longer expected lifespan, I may go with two 12V in the interest of cost...
IMO, for your purposes, if you don't get true deep cycle batteries then you are wasting your money. 6V golf cart batteries are made for deep cycling purposes.
BTW, running a furnace fan draws a lot of power. If you are getting 3 hours out of your 12V group 27 battery now, you're going to get ~6 hours out of two of them. Is that what you want?
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