2 batteries or 1?

[barroncm]

I assume the answer to the 2 batteries or 1 question will depend on if we boondock or not.
We dont boondock alot but we also have a genny.

[Jay2504]

If you don’t boondock I would say “it depends” if all you have is a group 24,that is either new or near new, then I would get another one to go with it. If you have a single group 27 or better still a 31, then 1 battery will do just fine in your application. We don’t boondock without our generator running as much as we need (at the racetrack) but always end up doing an overnight without running it. At the last race, it was cold at night so we ran out furnace quite a bit. It was nice to be able to get through the night without running the generator. At the time we had a single group 31. IMHO a single group 24 would have been shaky. If you are in the market for a new battery Interstate has a new enhanced lead acid in group 24 and 27 with a 2 year warranty. Jay

[Phoenix PAL]

We camp in Natl Forest Campgrounds with 100w solar panel, no hookups.
With one battery, I was constantly monitoring the charge. And yes, by bedtime it was pretty low. Granted, it was the 3yo oem battery.
This year, I replaced it with 2 new batteries. They get such a good charge from the solar panel that I don't even monitor them anymore.
One less thing to stress about.

[Jagiven]

"It Depends" is really the right answer. Do you have a CPAP machine or other medical device that needs 12 volt power? How about heat? The furnace can wipe out a single cheap group 24 battery in a day. Do you have LED lights or incandescent?? Like to run a 12V fan at night?

An experiment you can do some time when you are out camping. Do not connect to shore power (electric site) and see how long you can go before having to plug in. You wont have AC or the microwave. But it will give you a real world experience under a controlled condition.

I have a single group 31 battery on the tongue of our HTT. I also have a generator.

When boondocking; I try not to use the heat or humidity chamber on my CPAP, as they are big power consumers. In the cooler seasons, we will watch our furnace use (we tend to not run it at night). My single group 31 battery is down to 70% or so charge in the morning.

Typically I will run the genny for an hour or so each morning and evening. So far this has worked for us. But if you still have incandescent lights, turn them on and walk away. you will use a lot more power. Like the furnace to run all night, or if you have one of the new 12V refrigerators. If yes to the above a study of your amp hours should be considered. If we do not need heat or use the CPAP we can go 2 days without a recharge.

[fisduki]

We have camped several times in dry camps at state/national forests. We had a single Group 24 battery when we got our trailer. It didn't make it to the second night, and we didn't run the furnace, no cpap, nothing but the fridge which was running on propane, and a few of the LED lights.

Since then, I upgraded to a Lithium battery and added a 120watt solar panel as well as a Jackery 500(FYI, this will run the AC in my 174BH) and haven't had any issues running out of power since, but our longest trip was 3 days/2 nights since we upgraded. The only bad thing with this battery is, it was WAY bigger, so I no longer have the second battery box on the tongue to use as storage, I could fit two Group 24 boxes, but this battery takes the bigger box. Looking at what it would take to move the brackets to the top of the tongue so I could add another battery box up there again.