200AH Battery?

[pward]

My '18 Redhawk 22j has a single 12v battery in a slideout tray. Although great folks here have said I probably only need that one, I would feel better having more capability. Dealer will install two 100ah sealed 12v, bypassing the single in the tray which is a flooded type. Bummer is I will lose part of a storage bin, which I don't have that much of to begin with. Cost for the installation is reasonable, but battery cost is not, especially if using 6v. I have found a 200ah sealed 12v that I think will fit in the existing tray, a Renogy deep cycle AGM for about the same cost as a single 6v. Seems like that would be an ideal replacement, keep my storage and utilize the existing tray, but have not seen much published about 200ah batteries. Thoughts would be very helpful?

[Nathan S.]

There’s a lot to think about here and a lot of options. 1st thing to remember you can only discharge to 50% of the battery capacity. So a 100ah is really only 50ah on useable current. The key to your direction is “what do you want to accomplish?” If you dry camp a lot or your off generator in quiet hours but still want some electricity then you need battery storage. The more ah you have the better off your going to be. I would also recommend a 100w solar panel on your roof to maintain them during storage. If you cover your trailer, park it inside or it covered in snow during the winter this doesn’t help much. Most people just double up their 12v’s to give them the extra storage. If you go to 6V you can increase your ah. But they are bigger and will chew up more storage space. There are a lot of threads and information on this site about this subject. But first thing is, What are your needs and what are trying to accomplish?

[pward]

Okay, so that would give me 100ah on the single battery? RV has a 180w solar panel now but figuring most 12v use would be after dark. And, you're right, there's too much to think about and too many options

[RogerR]

I would look at my demand in order to decide my supply.


Will you be dry camping? More than one night? Solar or generator to recharge the batteries?
Will I need or really want anything other than the furnace and some lighting?
Some people want microwave, coffee pot, lots of TV time, recharging laptops and phones, etc..

The furnace will kill a standard 24 or 27 in one night if it runs much. It seems to be one of the biggest draws you can't go without in cold weather camping. Small items like the LP/carbon monoxide detector will use up a battery over a few days

Once you have demand calculated then look at supply and decide on batteries, solar and generator combinations.

[Nathan S.]

If you are dry camping, 100ah isn’t going to be much. DC lights, radio and some electronics recharging. MAYBE a little TV. if your furnace is on for the evening the fans will use up a lot. You have enough solar for recharging. I would look at the space you are willing to give up and cram in as many ah as you can. You can also go with a lithium battery. They are a lot more expensive but can discharge way past the 50% number to 20%. You can pick up a lot of capacity that way. They also have a longer life span by at least double.

[pward]

Have looked at lithium and from what dealer told me, would have to change converter and solar manager also. Not willing to do that at this point. Not planning on a lot of dry camping but my wife is always cold so have to look at furnace use and fan draw. I think the 200ah Renogy is a good option if it will fit in the existing tray, and the tray will take the weight. That will also give me a brand new Group 27 Interstate as a backup.

[Nathan S.]

I don’t think mixing battery types is advisable. But if you plan on your interstate group 27 as an unwired backup, then your OK. But if your going to wire in 2 batteries, they both need to be the same. If not, you could cause damage, and it would be to your interstate 12 v. If you decide you have room, then I would put in 2 of the renogy 12v in parallel, now you would have a total of 200ah for overnight usage. That should be more than enough as long as your not using a current hog like an electric space heater.

[pward]

The Interstate would be unwired. The Renogy I'm looking at is a single 200ah battery so would have the same capacity as two in parallel without taking up more space, hopefully.

[Nathan S.]

Sounds like a solid plan to me. If you find you can afford the space for a second battery, put another one in and now your in really good shape.

Good luck! Hope it fits like you hope.