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Old 11-23-2014, 07:10 PM   #1
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Adding Another Battery

I am thinking of adding a second battery. The trailer is fairly new and came with a group 27 12V and I will most likely keep it and add another 12V. When those wear out I’ll probably go to 6V’s.

Few questions;
1. Should I shuck the newish 12 and go with 2 6V’s from the get go?

2. The tray on the A-frame is probably to short and needs to be modified, I was thinking of cutting off the back bracket and turning the batteries 90 degrees.
Can/Should I weld a new piece of angle iron onto the A-frame?

3. Recommendations on cables and trays?
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Old 11-23-2014, 07:30 PM   #2
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Please mention what trailer you have so we can inform you better
I use 2 - 6V US2000 deep cycle golf kart batteries and works fine for me and they fit on the regular battery tray.
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Old 11-23-2014, 07:51 PM   #3
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Old 11-23-2014, 08:56 PM   #4
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I looked at your model TT and it looks like the same front area as my 2013 28BHS. Mine has the battery frame right behind the tongue jack mounted on top of the frame (like yours) and right in back of it is a second battery location lowered and welded to the bottom of the frame. This allows for the LP tanks to be removed without any space issues. I will send you a picture tomorrow.

As for should you add another battery or start out with (2) 6 volt batteries. I would ask, if you have any long term experience in maintaining deep cycle batteries.. checking the water levels all the time, checking terminal connections for corrosion, constantly checking your voltage level and NOT letting your batteries drop below 50% (12VDC). Being dedicated to your batteries. It is cheaper to add another 12 volt battery and use them to make your mistakes on while learning. Once you have finished killing those batteries and you have learned how to survive on batteries, then I would recommend purchasing (2) TRUE DEEP CYCLE 6 volt batteries ($$$$). I started with 2 marine so called deep cycle batteries and moved on to the (2) 6 volt setup.

I would also ask how much dry camping you do or plan to do as you will need to recharge those batteries somehow (generator, SOLAR, TV, you on a modified exercise bike hooked to a 12VDC alternator...).

How much power do you need to support your dry camping life style (now)?
Do you plan on adding an inverter? What size?
Does your TT have LED's?
Computers? Tablets? Smart Phones?.....

Just my thoughts,

Don
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Old 11-24-2014, 06:35 PM   #5
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DKRITTER,
As mentioned in the previous post, I added a picture of the 2 front battery trays/angle iron. The back one is mounted to the bottom of the frame. If you do not have a 2nd battery area all you need to do is pick up some angle iron and have them welded in.

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2 Battery Trays.jpg  
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Old 11-25-2014, 09:27 AM   #6
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DK you have lots of room up front so just go with the good stuff now and add a pair of 6's adding another single 12 is almost a waste of money.. Now I do assume that you will be spending some time boondocking or Wal-marting.. if you are just driving from campground to campground then you don't need the extra power..
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Old 11-25-2014, 10:02 AM   #7
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When we started we very rarely boondocked but as we have grown and evolved in this lifestyle I find myself wanting to do it much more.

I’m trying to keep it simple and I’m getting the impression to just bite the bullet and go with a couple of 6’s as it looks like a better long term solution.
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Old 11-25-2014, 10:37 AM   #8
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I also added another battery to my 338 rlts last year when I bought it. The rear tray is big enough for a group 27, but the front tray will only hold a group 24 size. So I have a group 27 and a group 24 in parallel. Been working fine for over a year still like new. Big trucks (which I drive) typically have 3 - 4 batteries in parallel and will almost always wide up with every conceivable combination of batteries such as different brands and sizes. Mine has three different ones right now for the past three years no problems. Agreed that the same brand and same size is ideal, but in the real world a mix will work. I would avoid going to 6 volts because the battery controller is not set up for that. Two six volts in series need more voltage to fully charge than two 12 volt batteries in parallel. There are many other threads here than go into detail about this. Also, if you go to two six's then what do you do when one goes bad? You are dead in the water and the brake system won't work nor will anything else that runs off battery. So you have to carry a spare battery. With two 12 volts if one goes bad all you have to do is disconnect it and you are still good to go. Going with two six's means also changing out the controller to properly charge the batteries and this is a unnecessary expense on a new trailer especially for the small gain in capacity you will gain. If in the future your controller goes bad then maybe consider replacing it with a unit that will charge two six volt batteries properly. I know there are two sides of this fence and many will take a stand the other way. That's fine because I already know which side I'm on, and it is totally up to you to weigh all the pros and cons on going either way. To me the pros of two 12 volts outweigh the pros of two six's. But I don't boondock that much and that is my deciding factor. To me adding another 12 and replacing all the interior lights to LEDs makes more since to give you a better bang for the buck. But what ever you do go with a true deep cycle battery and not a marine deep cycle which is a compromise.
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Old 11-25-2014, 10:43 AM   #9
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Just a question my trailer came with 2 batteries but looking at the pictures if you add another battery and have to remove the propane tanks where do you put them.
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Old 11-25-2014, 12:41 PM   #10
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I have a 19 jayflite came with 1 12 volt , iLive in Arizona. So lots of sun . I use a solar panel and it keeps it charged year round
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