154BH Baja dual 6 volt batteries

[LAoutdoors]

Hey Everyone,
I'm mulling over the idea of upgrading to dual 6 volt batteries on my new 154BH but i've got a few questions. Hoping some of you crafty geniuses can help!

1. Does anyone know if dual 6 volts + a battery box will fit on the factory battery rails on the tongue? If not does anyone know a way I can mount dual 6's?

2. Will my stock WFCO 35amp battery charger in the trailer be able to charge dual 6 volts appropriately? I've read conflicting reports from owners about the performance of the factory charger.

3. Are there any other precautions or upgrades I need to consider while doing this?

Thanks for any help you can give me! I'm trying to set up my rig so I can comfortably last a few days dry camping before having to crank over the generator.

 

[Vicr]

What is the group type of the battery(s) you have now. 6 volt batteries come in different sizes. When I had my TT I installed two 6 volt deep cycle batteries from Costco and they fit into my two Group 27 battery boxes on my TT tongue. The Costco batteries were excellent made by Johnson Controls one of the largest battery manufacturers in the world. Trojans are excellent but you pay for the name. Look at battery weights and specs to do price comparisons. The heavier the battery the thicker the lead plates.

 

[LAoutdoors]

Thanks for the Costco battery recommendation! I'm not really sure what group type of battery I currently have in my TT. It's a single 12v at the moment. I tried to get out and take some measurments of the battery rails this weekend but my storage lot had my trailer indoors due to the high winds and major fires burning nearby. Once I get measurements i'll post them.

 

[SkyBound]

My two Trojan T-105 6V fit side by side on the stock battery rail but your trailer is likely a narrower frame and tongue. I would definitely suggest getting rid of that WFCO charger and upgrading to a Progressive Dynamics unit.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/power-converters/inteli-power-4600-series/

It fits right into the stock location and is an easy install. It will care for your batteries far better than the WFCO will. As far as charging amps go, I have the 55a version for my twin 6Vs.

 

[baldwinwb]

I just installed two 6v batteries on my 154BH to the same place the 12V battery was mounted. I used 2 separate Noco battery boxes, but it was an extremely tight fit. The handles got in the way of each other and I had to alternate the direct of the lids to get them to fit. If I did it again I would get a single battery box that fits two 6v batteries in it and then there would be plenty of room.

 

[LAoutdoors]

I just installed two 6v batteries on my 154BH to the same place the 12V battery was mounted. I used 2 separate Noco battery boxes, but it was an extremely tight fit. The handles got in the way of each other and I had to alternate the direct of the lids to get them to fit. If I did it again I would get a single battery box that fits two 6v batteries in it and then there would be plenty of room.

Thanks for the info. I’m looking at a dual box, glad I asked. How are the dual 6v’s working out for you? Any issues with the WFCO Charger?

 

[LAoutdoors]

My two Trojan T-105 6V fit side by side on the stock battery rail but your trailer is likely a narrower frame and tongue. I would definitely suggest getting rid of that WFCO charger and upgrading to a Progressive Dynamics unit.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/power-converters/inteli-power-4600-series/

It fits right into the stock location and is an easy install. It will care for your batteries far better than the WFCO will. As far as charging amps go, I have the 55a version for my twin 6Vs.

I’ve been looking at the PD chargers recently. It’s my understanding that the WFCO’s don’t like to charge at 14.4v...... I have a WFCO 8735 and the PD equivalency is the 4135 (they claim it’s a “direct” replacement). I’m not exactly an electrical novice but the thought of gutting my new TT’s main panel has me a little leery.... thoughts? Has anyone done this before? I really need to increase my total AH’s for dry camping. My single group 24 just isn’t enough.

 

[Siamese]

The WFCO charger is garbage. Does not do multistage charging like it claims to.

If you always camp with electrical hookups, it is a barely adequate charger.

If you plan to boondock and charge from a generator, ditching the WFCO (Whiff Co...it stinks) definitely upgrade the charger. I did it on mine. The Pro Dynamics unit is a direct replacement for the the WFCO unit, and bolts right into the existing WFCO enclosure. If you can follow instruction and are the least bit handy, it's not a tough job.

It's one of those jobs where people say, "oh, I had it done in and hour". I know if people are saying that, I'll take three hours because I'm cautious, and I'm ADD, so reading instructions gives me fits.

With the Pro Dy, you can get a good charge from a generator in a couple hours, compared to easily six times that or more with the WFCO.

Garbage.

 

[RoyBraddy]

If your batteries currently set in a welded angle strip area on top of your Trailer Tongue Area like on mine it is very easy to add a long angle section on the inside of the current angle that is welded to the top of your frame...

I can fit three GP24 12V 85AH Interstate Batteries across my OFF-ROAD trailer tongue. I could very easily add longer right angle metal strip to extend the batteries out over each side of my present mount.

Roy's image

I originally had four of these GP24 85AH batteries installed here in 2009 using added angle strips and was using a WF-8945 WFCO Converter/Charger at the time and one of my 12V batteries ended up getting a shorted cell due to the boiling out of fluids. The bad battery got very hot to touch when i first noticed it. The WF-8945 converter/charger apparently never would go into its smart mode charging modes and always put out 13.6VDC... I replaced it with a PD-9260C 60AMP DC converter/charger and continued on with the remaining three 12VDC Batteries you see in the above photo. They lasted until the 2016 season and would not hold charge anymore. I check my batteries on a very regular basis now even after they always show fluids at the required levels. All out of habit I reckon...

My camping plan using the three 12VDC batteries was to use them overnight drawing around 25AMPS DC current between 6PM and 11PM each evening which would drop them down to the 50% charge state around 8Am each morning. Then i would re-charge the three batteries to their 90% charge state using my 2KW generator hooked up to the trailer shore power cable. This would take around three hours each morning to get the three batteries back up to their 90% charge state so that I could do all of this all over again for the next day/night off the batteries. I could do a good 10-12 cycles of the the 50% to 90% charge cycles before having to do a full 100% charge cycle and not do any harm to my batteries. Here on the East side of the US you have to pick where you camp as the use of Generators is not always guaranteed. They have generator run time rules it seems. Using you can find it OK to run one between 8Am and 8PM but i never was able to run mine after 8PM anywhere i camped on public places. Even in the Natl Forest areas...

I presently am in the process of using a Torklift Battery box that will be 59-inches long and will sit inside the current angle strip on my trailer tongue area. This will extend out over a foot on each side of my trailer tongue area when installed. This will house 4ea GC2 225AH 6VDC batteries (Planning on the Trojan T-105 but may end up being the CostCo specials depending on the price savings) and having them wired in two series connected groups in parallel will give me 12VDC at 450 AHs capacity to allow me to do some serious camping off grid trips like we love to do...

Google image

We all learn from our mistakes hehe...
Roy Ken