Which golf cart battery is best - Exide, Trojan, or Interstate?

[blsh]

We are planning on changing out our batteries on our trailer to use golf cart batteries and are wondering which would be better between Exide, Trojan, and Interstate. We used Interstate GC batteries on our tent trailer and they worked great, but we can get better pricing on Exide and Trojan. Have any of you used at least two of these to be able to offer a comparison?

[Imnaha.Mansion]

The only 6v Batteries I've had are the Trojan 105 and Lifeline. The Trojan we great and durable but is a wet cell so requires distilled water on occasion and mounted to were it can Vent. The Lifeline is a AGM so no maintenance or venting requirements. The Lifeline is more expensive.

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by blsh

Have any of you used at least two of these to be able to offer a comparison?

I have used 2 Interstate Marine 12VDC (85Ah) batteries and now I have 2 Trojan 6VDC (260Ah) batteries in series.

The Interstate batteries were OK but are not true deep cycle batteries so it is understood that they will not produce a lot of power over a period of time.

Using the 85Ah batteries was a close call, as I actually had to turn off some of my things by 9 or 10 pm. With the Trojan deep cycle batteries, I make it through the night and in the morning the batteries are at about 12.4 VDC.

I also have solar, so by 2-3PM each day my batteries are charged up again.

It really depends on what you will be using with your batteries.. LED's, Inverter for a Tv, DC fans (motors and regular lights are not a batteries friend). Some dry camping? A lot of dry camping? How will you charge them? Have a generator?

Oh, and don't forget about the 12VDC vs 6VDC battery debate and that outcome ALSO depends on who you ask...

If you are asking for my OPINION, I would go with the TROJAN, but that is my OPINION and I am sure you will hear a lot more.. which is a good thing!
Good Luck,
Don

[Ela1948]

I have a friend that is in the battery sales business. He has seen some problems with Trojan batteries over time. He claims that he's convinced that US batteries have been most durable and long lasting in floor scrubbers and golf cart applications. Plus there is two plants in Georgia and one in California. All US batteries are made in the USA.

[blsh]

Thank you for the responses so far. We dry camp most of the time, and go for four nights and five days. We changed all the lights in our trailer to LED lights. We only run the furnace in the morning for a few minutes when we get up and get ready (we have warm sleeping bags). We don't have a generator so want a setup that will last us till we get home and can recharge the batteries. We currently have two 80 Ah marine batteries that came with the trailer and they've lasted fine, going down to about 70% on our last trip. But we want to have more than 160 Ah which we can get with golf cart batteries (over 200 Ah), and we want to get the best golf cart batteries so we're hoping to hear from several people about their experiences with different brands.