Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-26-2012, 05:06 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Norwood, New York
Posts: 84
Optima Batteries

How many of you have upgraded your battery to an Optima deep cycle AGM?

I have decided to buy a second battery for dry camping and have been looking at the Optima D31M Blue Top. I have an x17z hybrid and mainly need the battery for limited use of interior lights, water pump, furnace and fridge (on propane). Most of my dry camping will be limited to 3 nights.

The Optima is pricey but if you believe the advertising it is worth the money. What has been your experience with this battery?

I have also considered a small generator to charge the battery but from what I have read you have to run them for a considerable time to charge the battery. I'm thinking I can get away with 2 batteries instead.


Thanks
Rick
Rick56 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 05:22 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Quahog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,526
Rick, I don't know what the Amp Hour (AH) rating is for an Optima D31M Blue Top but typically, you will get more AHs with two 6v vs. two 12Vs. I picked up two new GC2 6Vs from Sams Club yesterday and it was under $200 for everything... core charge, battery fee, etc. I bet that's less expensive than one Blue Top.

My understanding is that the AGMs are great if you need to place it in a sealed area but do you?
__________________
Mike, Sue, Sissy and Little Man

2015 Ford F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 CC DRW
2015 Eagle Premier 351RSTS

Quahog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 05:24 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Preston's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Friendswood, TX.
Posts: 163
I don't know much about that battery but I tried dry camping with the battery only and lasted about 8 hours LOL. Now I have a generator (3500 starting 3000 running watts) and it runs my a/c and keeps my battery charged.
__________________
2007 Toyota Tundra Crewmax LTD 4x4 5.7l w/4.3r 381 hp and 401 lb-ft of torque
2012 Jayco 32BHDS
Me, Wife and 3 kiddos
Preston is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 06:04 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Terry's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Germantown, TN
Posts: 4,923
+1 on the SAMs 6 volt. I have never owned an Optima, but from what I can tell it is not worth the $$$$$$ based on that kind of usage.



__________________
Terry
2009 Jayco 26BH
2004 Chevy Silverado 1500
2009 JayFlight Manual Library

Want to add a signature to your posts? --> Click Here
Terry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 06:27 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
TexasA&M's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Ft. Worth, TX
Posts: 388
I have three blue tops in my boat, and two red tops in one of my trucks, and they are great - for those applications. I don't think you'll get the benefit of an Optima in an RV though. You'll get more for your money by either buying a cheap 12V deep cycle to go along with your existing battery, or getting two 6Vs as mentioned above.
__________________
'11 G2 32BHDS
TexasA&M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 06:50 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Central PA
Posts: 1,236
I bought a GMA battery last fall. Have not really tested it out so far. Normal 12 volt deep cycle group 29 will last 10 days or more when we dry camp without using the furnace. I wanted the GMA (not Optima) so that I can use and charge it inside the camper when we go on long dry camping trips. I plan on using it to run a computer, tv, video games, etc.
__________________
No I am NOT retired. I work full time.:D

Tracy from Central PA

2010 Jayco 17Z Ex-Port
2004 Ford Explorer V8 with the tow package
2010 Camping Stats
Nights Camping 132 - Nights Camping in My Z 102
2011 Camping Stats
Nights Camping 107
2012 Camping Stats
Nights camping 133 - Nights camping in my Z 128
2013 Camping Stats
Nights Camping 66 Nights
tlhdoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 07:22 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
nylyon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Southeast, NY
Posts: 1,113
I had thought that the Optima's claim was being rugged, so great for off-road / marine use.

I bought a set of Costco batteries (for my truck) which lasted just 2 years BUT there is a FULL refund 36 month warranty (and a 100 month pro-rate) on them so I got a brand new set for free! If you boondock a lot, warranty may be something to consider?
__________________
Karl - Southeast, NY
2020 377 RLBH
2018 Ram 3500 Mega Limited 6.7L Cummins w/ Aisin
nylyon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 08:54 PM   #8
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Norwood, New York
Posts: 84
Quahog- is this the battery you got at Sam's?

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/pr...=gc2%20battery
Rick56 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2012, 10:47 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Idaho/Arizona
Posts: 5,446
I have two Optima's in my truck but if we were boon docking I would use two 6V.
__________________
2011 Eagle 330RLTS with just about every option.
2017 Silverado 1500 4x4 5.3 with tow package. (no, we don't tow the Jayco with it.)
2018 Surveyor 265RLDS well equipped.
Life in the slow lane is still life.
clutch is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 05:11 AM   #10
Junior Member
 
BriBoy01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: WV
Posts: 25
How many amp hours does switching to a dual 6v set up provide over a single and dual 12v set up? DW and I will be doing some off the grid camping.
__________________
-Brian, Holly, Ace (The Jack Russel) and Queen (The Miniature Dachshund)

2014 Whitehawk 27DSRL Summit Edition "The Doghouse III"
2013 Toyota Tundra Crewmax
BriBoy01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 06:01 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
Quahog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,526
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick56 View Post
Quahog- is this the battery you got at Sam's?

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/pr...=gc2%20battery
The only difference I see is that the ones I got were Energizer vs. Duracell. They were around $78 each plus fees.
__________________
Mike, Sue, Sissy and Little Man

2015 Ford F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 CC DRW
2015 Eagle Premier 351RSTS

Quahog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 06:04 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Quahog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,526
Quote:
Originally Posted by BriBoy01 View Post
How many amp hours does switching to a dual 6v set up provide over a single and dual 12v set up? DW and I will be doing some off the grid camping.
You have to know the AH of the 12V you're asking about but let's assume it's 115 AH. Adding another 12V would yield an additional 115 AH for a total of 230 AH. Two 6Vs rated at 225 AH will give you almost that same number of AH but they are supposed to be more resilient to recharging and should therefore last longer.

Go ahead, flame away. Haha
__________________
Mike, Sue, Sissy and Little Man

2015 Ford F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 CC DRW
2015 Eagle Premier 351RSTS

Quahog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 06:26 AM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Norwood, New York
Posts: 84
No flaming from me LOL!

How do you charge your batteries, seperately at 6 volts or connected in series at 12 volts?
Rick56 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 06:56 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Quahog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,526
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick56 View Post
No flaming from me LOL!

How do you charge your batteries, seperately at 6 volts or connected in series at 12 volts?
Connected in series. I'm also going to run 4 AWG cable back to the converter. Trying to lay the ground work for adding a 1.5-2kW inverter later. It's crazy how you can find so many things you want to do and money becomes the constraint. LOL
__________________
Mike, Sue, Sissy and Little Man

2015 Ford F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 CC DRW
2015 Eagle Premier 351RSTS

Quahog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 07:02 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
3'senough's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: New York
Posts: 2,210
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quahog View Post
The only difference I see is that the ones I got were Energizer vs. Duracell. They were around $78 each plus fees.
x3 Energizer Sam's spec GC2's going on our third season and will provide many hours of draw down time between charges. I usually run a fridge, lights, 700 W inverter to power the TV's at night and never get lower than 60% over a full 24 hour cycle. These are taller and weigh considerably more than a 12V deep cycle.

Once hooked in series (positive to negative) they create one 12V battery which your charger will charge the same as your single 12V battery currently installed.

One side note is that I have had these on a 3 stage smart charger their entire life between 2 trailers which will extend the life of any battery you have installed vs the older 2 stage systems which is something to consider before you invest.
__________________

2014 375 BHFS Eagle Premier
2014 Ram 3500 Longhorn DRW CC
6.7 CTD, Aisin, 4.10's
Yamaha EF3000iSEB
3'senough is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2012, 07:04 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
Quahog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,526
My back is still hurting from carrying these puppies around. Haha
__________________
Mike, Sue, Sissy and Little Man

2015 Ford F350 Lariat FX4 6.7 CC DRW
2015 Eagle Premier 351RSTS

Quahog is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:59 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.