Hello Fellow National RV Owners:

I have a 2003 Rage'n Toy Hauler that we have had nothing but battery challenges with ever since we purchased it.

We have two 6 volt batteries and this year have had the batteries once again fail. This will be our third set. We do a bunch of dry camping for about 6 weeks a year. The batteries can be fully charged and basically get off of full charge in a day (nothing running and fridge on gas).

We have purchased a real battery charger that is connected and running when we run the generator. We actually run the generator more than we would like just to keep the batteries charged.

We have been told to switch from two 6 volt to two 12 volt. Is this a good idea. Any other ideas for conserving battery life. There seems to be something that drains the batteries even when we are not running anything at all.

Your help is appreciated.

Regards,

EMagidson

as for how many and type of batteries it depends on how much room you have in your battery compartment. generally 2 six volt batteries in series are much better than 2 12 volt batteries in parallel. one reason for this is that when you charge 2 12 volt batteries in parallel, one of them will always charge better than the other. that means that one will always have less charge than the other. this will be exaggerated over time. i charge my 2 12v batteries separately with an equalizing charger (SCHUMACHER) about every 20 cycles.
i am going to replace my 2 12v deka flooded cell batteries this summer with 2 6v LIFELINE AGM batteries.
you can connect an ammeter in series with a battery lead to see how much current draw you have. then, disconnect one item at a time to isolate the current draw for each item.

Welcome to the forum, EMagidson. Batteries is a a subject that gets a lot of discussion. I am shortcutting your thread to other forums to give better coverage. That means your post will appear in other places as well as here. All posts are duplicated, you don't have to visit all forums. Right Admin?

I'm not an Administrator, but the same thread will show up in all forums to which it has been linked.

Rusty

Two six volt batteries is nothing more than one large 12 volt battery. So having said that, your refer draws power to keep the electronics running. the gas sniffer draws power along with the radio,water pump,any 12 volt fans and the water heater. So if you add it all up there is a considerable amount of current draw before you ever turn a light on. I have seen people last a week on one battery and others that are dead in one day. What you really need to do is start looking at your power usage. How many and for how long are lights on, that sort of thing. A thorough power audit is necessary before you can start to assess what type or how many batteries you actually need.

Emagidon,
In the last two coaches I had Dometic refers. Both had small rocker switches in side the door frame that controlled some functions that may consume a lot of power. One of those switches controlled a heater/defroster of some kind and pulls a fair current. I now have both switches off. Check your manuals for your refer.

I found it very hard while dry camping to have the batteries last more than a week and that was with 2 6 volts. If you have an inverter that will power t.v.'s etc. without a solar panel the batteries will not last. I didnt want to run my big generator to power direct tv or light's etc so I bought a 1000 watt yamaha generator. Its very quite and will run everything except microwave,toaster, etc. At night I would even put in a measured amount of gas in so it would run out and shut off after a couple hours, after we fall asleep. And the best thing it's takes very little gas to run and is only about $500. I never have battery trouble any more!

If all you are running is the fridge on propane and the safety detectors, two decent 6v's should last weeks (at least mine do).

I suspect either you have something else creating draw, like maybe a defective converter, or maybe your fridge has an electric element that heats the cabinet (which draw a lot of power).

If it were mine, I think I'd begin by having the batteries fully charged, pulling the fuse to any LP or smoke detector, and taking an amp meter reading between the trailer's battery cable and the battery.

If there's significant draw when nothing should be on, track that down.

Secondly, the little monitor pannel on most RV's isn't very accurate. A good volt meter would be better.

Lastly, drawing the batteries below 10.5 volts will shorten the life of even the best deep cycles, especially if allowed to sit like that for long periods. If there is some sort of extra draw when nothing is on, and it is pulling the batteries down below that when the unit is in storage, this could explain having to get new batteries frequently...


BTW, I see this is your first post. Welcome to the forum.

The 12V side of life , and a wattage chart , are very helpful in your situation. The suggestion to install an ammeter in-line is very good. Pull every 12V fuse in your converter, and record the ammeter reading as you replace each fuse. Now you know what each 12V circuit is drawing while all appliances are turned off. Astounding isn't it?

Everyone should have a wattage chart for their RV appliances taped inside a cabinet door for reference. It's impossible to accurately monitor/control battery usage without one.