Well, I need new batteries because mine were stolen. Come to find out that's a common thing and it had never occurred to me to secure them better. Live and learn.
I had two batteries before but I honestly don't know if they were 6 or 12 volt or whether in series or parallel. I believe the better choice is 6 volt and wired in parallel to increase the amp hours. Does that sound right?
I am also not exactly sure how to connect the new batteries since there are more cables there with the solar ready thing, etc, than I expected.
I can post a picture of the wire situation when I get home
Sorry to hear about the batteries being stolen. Was the TT in storage? Before you go out and purchase a new battery(s), you should probably let us know a few things about your camping style:
- Do you always connect to Shore Power?
- Do you dry camp overnight between camp grounds only?
- Do you dry camp for a weekend only? A week? Mostly dry camp?
- Do you use an inverter for TV and other 110VAC things?
IF you always connect to Shore power and do not dry camp you would be safe to pick up a regular 85Ah Marine/RV battery like come with most TT's. They are inexpensive and last a long time. IE Interstate 24 or 27 size..
If you spend a night between stops, and you do not use an inverter or a lot of DC power you are still ok with one battery.
Add inverter usage, Tv usage, and try to charge your phones, tablets... you may want to look at 2 inexpensive 12Volt 100Ah batteries and connect them in parallel. For an extended length of time, if you have a generator you can keep them charged by connecting the generator daily.
If you are into dry camping, I would recommend getting (2) real 6 volt Deep Cycle batteries (these do not have CCA ratings on them). Example Trojan T105 (220Ah), T145 (260Ah) batteries, or US Battery series....
As for wiring them back in, if they cut your battery cable, you can measure the distance from the battery's NEGATIVE terminal and where it connects to the TT frame (frame ground) and go to an automotive parts store and get a BLACK cable the length you need, also check the types of battery terminals that come with the battery(s) you decide to purchase, some use regular car type connectors some need a lug type. Do not just buy new cable ends and save money, this is where all your DC power will be going through.
Take a picture of your cables that are left and post it so we can help you terminate them in the proper place.
Here are a few pictures for properly connecting your batteries. Ignore the part of the picture with the battery cut off switch if you do not want to install one.
The trailer was at a storage facility when it occured.
I dry camp about half the time and when we do it's for a full weekend - up to 4 days at most.
When it's dry camping there's no tv or other 110v devices being used but we will sometimes charge our phones. I will set the thermostat so the furnace will occasionally come on if the nights are really cold.
Luckily they did not cut any cables! They definitely came with tools and unscrewed the batteries.
I'll be at home about 5:30 today and will get good pictures of the cables and thank you for the diagram. I might take the time to install a battery cut off switch since that would be handy.