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SuperDudeAbides
Newbie
Joined: 03 Aug 2016
Location: Kansas
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Posts: 20
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Topic: Battery recommendations Posted: 11 Aug 2016 at 8:40am |
Awesome thanks. My only experience with deep cycle batteries is on my boat, and with stereo playing and what not I have used up a reasonable amount of battery power. I'll probably just stick with the 2 deep cycles and solar and see how it goes.
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Mojave1
Newbie
Joined: 18 Jul 2016
Location: Texas
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Posts: 33
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Posted: 10 Aug 2016 at 7:32pm |
12 volt battery groups to choose from are (smaller to larger) 24, 27, 29, & 31. For a single battery setup, eventually, I was thinking I'd go with a group 29 (about $100 at Walmart). Previous trailer had two group 24s. Never ran out of power dry camping, but I hated replacing them every 4-5 years due to cost.
This is an older post... Not disagreeing with anything previously said. Just wanted to attach other options in case someone looked it up.
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Shelpod
Groupie
Joined: 14 Sep 2015
Location: Arizona
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Posts: 74
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Posted: 10 Aug 2016 at 7:15pm |
Invest in some solar panels and two deep cycle 6 volt batteries. We were recently out boondocking with our pod for 5 days and still had 90% on our batteries when we left the site. Even watched some movies at night. 4 bats would be too heavy and hard to mount.
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Pod: 2013 178
TV: 2014 Explorer Limited with tow package
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JHoffman
Groupie
Joined: 06 Mar 2016
Location: Westfield, MA
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Posts: 82
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Posted: 10 Aug 2016 at 6:25pm |
Batteries are heavy, four would be close to the 200 lb mark or more. That's a lot of extra weight on the trailer and toung weight on the TV.
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2016 176t Rpod the "Hoffpod"
2010 Toyota Tundra 5.7L
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furpod
Moderator Group - pHp
Joined: 25 Jul 2011
Location: Central KY
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Posts: 6128
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Posted: 10 Aug 2016 at 4:38pm |
Originally posted by SuperDudeAbides
Has anyone ever done 4 6v deep cycles? To replicate a dual 12v battery setup? I am planning on adding solar to my pod and in the fall and spring when no AC is required do some boondocking on battery and propane. I had considered doing this but have not personally seen or done it. I do have dual 12V batteries with a kill switch set up in my boat. Just wondering if anyone has used this option (4 6V batteries in series / parallel) . Thanks! |
Where would you put them, and how long do you want to stay off grid anyways? We did 12 days on our dual 12v's.. figure we could do close to 20 on our dual 6v's, if the weather is right. If you have solar to recharge the batteries, even if it's not a full charge everyday, you can stay out an awfully long time.. We try to do a lot of spring/fall trips.
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SuperDudeAbides
Newbie
Joined: 03 Aug 2016
Location: Kansas
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Posts: 20
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Posted: 10 Aug 2016 at 3:07pm |
Has anyone ever done 4 6v deep cycles? To replicate a dual 12v battery setup? I am planning on adding solar to my pod and in the fall and spring when no AC is required do some boondocking on battery and propane. I had considered doing this but have not personally seen or done it. I do have dual 12V batteries with a kill switch set up in my boat. Just wondering if anyone has used this option (4 6V batteries in series / parallel) . Thanks!
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WillThrill
Senior Member
Joined: 04 Jul 2014
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Posts: 298
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Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 5:55pm |
Originally posted by dr.becky
Yes, fridge is on propane. I wish that was the problem. Costco has 6 volt batteries so I am going to get two of those. We have a generator and run it when using the oven and when the battery was low.
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Remember that you don't want to let the batteries get below 50% charge or else you'll really reduce their lifespan. There are many ways to do this, but getting a $10 voltmeter and manually checking the voltage is the simplest. If the voltage is at 12.2 or below, you need to recharge the batteries by running your generator or recharging them from some other means.
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"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien
2014 Hood River 177
2005 GMC Envoy XL
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dr.becky
Newbie
Joined: 13 Apr 2016
Location: UT
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Posts: 30
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Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 5:48pm |
Yes, fridge is on propane. I wish that was the problem. Costco has 6 volt batteries so I am going to get two of those. We have a generator and run it when using the oven and when the battery was low.
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sailor323
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2015
Location: S Central KY
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 281
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Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 5:23pm |
Originally posted by dr.becky
Our batteries are not last 24 hours, the Pod was new in
April and we have camped about 25 nights so far. We mostly dry camp
with a generator for the AC and oven. I have very little knowledge
about electrical stuff, suggestion on what we need to do? New
Batteries??? |
I assume you were running the fridge on propane. If not, that's the problem
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ToolmanJohn
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Apr 2014
Location: Connecticut
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Posts: 451
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Posted: 11 Jul 2016 at 5:12pm |
Learn to treat them right, like pets that you want to survive.LOL... It's like that though.
Letting them completely go flat (not disconnecting them between trips), running them until dead, not checking water levels a few times a year during use , can lead to short life times and not very many recharge cycles before they won't charge anymore.
The propane detector runs of the 12VDC supply and it's always on. The only way to prevent the batteries from going flat between trips is to install a battery disconnect switch or remove the positive cable from the battery bank.
HOT weather can evaporate the water levels in the batteries. Check them once a month in really hot weather. Keep them topped off (distilled water only, no tap water-tap water has minerals).
I agree that dry camping usually means needing more power, and 2 - 6 VDC golf cart batteries is best. You may have to get a small generator to recharge the battery bank if you see that you run it down a lot during trips.
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2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler
2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD)
2013 VW Touareg TDI
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