Adding an extra house battery

[GM'sEnvoy]

I have a 2018 Envoy which is very similar to the Greyhawk. I have been thinking about doing the same thing. Have you made the mod? Wondering how it worked out.

[Keljude]

I was able to put a double battery tray in the compartment next to the existing battery compartment by adding metal straps to support the new tray. It seems to be quite secure. I now have three 27 series together and it seems to give me the power to dry camp for a longer period of time. 6 volt batteries wouldn't have height clearance. The key will always be running the heater as little as possible. I'll try to attach a picture.

[GM'sEnvoy]

Nice looking, really nice install. Did you do it yourself?

[Keljude]

Yes, I did. I reinforced the plastic bin on the outside by using heavy-duty metal straps bent to shape and bolted to the frame. I built a wooden frame that the battery tray (ordered online) sits on and is bolted through the metal straps. I cut a few drain holes in the bottom of the bin and air vents in the top and back side since the batteries aren’t AGM. So far it seems to give me more hours of dry camping, although I’m frugal with the furnace. We live in Colorado so nights can be chilly! Good luck with your project. Let me know how it turns out!

[putz]

My dealer installed 2 batteries on my 2016 5th wheel. What I did is just like all of the boats I have owned, is install a Perko (red) marine switch. The reason is if one of the batteries goes dead you go to one battery or if you want to charge one battery just turn the switch. You can also shut down all the power if you have an elect. problem. I usually just leave it on both. Every so often I turn off the switch & check both batteries to see if they have an equal charge.

[glamisbound]

Originally Posted by Keljude

Yes, I did. I reinforced the plastic bin on the outside by using heavy-duty metal straps bent to shape and bolted to the frame. I built a wooden frame that the battery tray (ordered online) sits on and is bolted through the metal straps. I cut a few drain holes in the bottom of the bin and air vents in the top and back side since the batteries aren’t AGM. So far it seems to give me more hours of dry camping, although I’m frugal with the furnace. We live in Colorado so nights can be chilly! Good luck with your project. Let me know how it turns out!

Nice set up. You should have triple the amp hours now so it's probably not necessary to be so conservative with power use if you were "getting by" with one battery before??

I'm doing a similar mod on my 31FS, expect I'm taking out the 12v and replacing with two 6v in series. I'll be going from 85 amp hours with one 12v to 225 amp hours with two 6 volts...almost triple the amp hours but with only two batteries.

[Vicr]

After working a little overtime I bought these group J-185 batteries. We do a lot of dry camping so I wanted to have plenty of capacity. Someday I'll replace my 1000w inverter with 2000. These are in addition to my 2 house batteries which are 160ah each. I purchased and installed a Blue Sea System battery selector switch which will select off, battery bank 1, battery bank 2 and both on at once.