Battery for 02 Coleman Bayside

[Splinter]

I have a 2002 Coleman Bayside which I'm getting ready to set out with next month in a move from North Carolina to Arizona.  I pulled the battery out to try and re-charge it, but it won't take a charge.  Looking for a recommendation on buying a new battery.  We mainly camp at places that have hookups, but still want a fresh battery for this trip.
Thanks,
Splinter

[beacher]

Check the water level?  Refill only with distilled water.  Be very careful not to get battery acid anywhere.

If you are using a "Smart Charger", they need to register at least 10 volts in order to start charging.  You can trick the charger by temporaily connecting a good battery in parallel.

Sometimes old batteries stop working because of sulphates.  The sulphates accumilate when a battery is allowed to completely discharge.

Some of the newer "smart chargers" will remove the accumilated sulphates on the battery plates once the battery is fully charged, and allowed to sit in float mode.  Check to see if your charger has a "conditioning" mode.

[wavery]

I have a 2002 Coleman Bayside which I'm getting ready to set out with next month in a move from North Carolina to Arizona.  I pulled the battery out to try and re-charge it, but it won't take a charge.  Looking for a recommendation on buying a new battery.  We mainly camp at places that have hookups, but still want a fresh battery for this trip.
Thanks,
Splinter

I agree with you. I wouldn't want to start a vacation with a battery that I had to "Baby along". If it doesn't take a charge, it may well be low on water and you may be able to get it to take a charge by following beacher's recommendation. It would be worth doing just so that you have 2 batteries to take along. However, I would feel a lot more comfortable buying a new battery.

I bought a couple of batteries from Costco recently. They seem to be OK but time will tell. Interstate makes very good batteries. Some people swear by Sears Die-Hard but a lot of people swear at them too. When I was service manager for a large Chevy dealership in LA, we got in the habit of replacing every battery in every used car trade-in that was over 3 years old. We found a high rate of battery failure while the car was sitting on the U/C lot and even a higher rate just after sale. To protect our reputation and keep costs down, we found it much more efficient to just replace them all. We found that most of the battery failure that we had (before the replacement program) were from Sears Die-Hard batteries.

We tried several different brands over the years but found Interstate to be the best. The OEM batteries for GM was Delco. They were as bad, if not worse than the Die-Hard.

I always carry 2 batteries in my PU. I check the water and charge them after each camp-out.

[wynot]

I bought a couple of batteries from Costco recently. They seem to be OK but time will tell. Interstate makes very good batteries. Some people swear by Sears Die-Hard but a lot of people swear at them too. When I was service manager for a large Chevy dealership in LA, we got in the habit of replacing every battery in every used car trade-in that was over 3 years old. We found a high rate of battery failure while the car was sitting on the U/C lot and even a higher rate just after sale. To protect our reputation and keep costs down, we found it much more efficient to just replace them all. We found that most of the battery failure that we had (before the replacement program) were from Sears Die-Hard batteries.
 
We tried several different brands over the years but found Interstate to be the best. The OEM batteries for GM was Delco. They were as bad, if not worse than the Die-Hard.
 

The thing is that there are only a few battery manufacturers out there, no matter what the label says.
 
My luck with Interstates is that they gas/bubble a lot more than my experience with other batteries, and I have seen paint peel anywhere an Interstate battery has been, but that is more application than necessarily the battery.  Turns out that most other people using Interstates in the same types of cars had the same problem.  On the other hand, my experience with DieHards has been great.  The biggest challenge I think that one runs into with the Delco batteries is that GM is trying to put the bare minimum size battery in the vehicle to keep weight (and price) down.  I have the original Delco in my Tahoe, now on it's 6th year, but I wish that it was a larger battery.
 
Considering what abuse we gave batteries at an RV dealership starting these units, I definitely understand just replacing them as a matter of course.

[aw738]

If you remove the caps on the battery and find the water level low enough to expose the plates than the battery is probably gone. That is in my experiance of selling batteries for over 11 years. As far as the Delco batteries I would agree with wavery. The design of the side post battery is a disaster waiting to happen. I would like a dollar for everyone that I have seen with the post that had fallen out. I have seen them only a couple of years old and the acid leaking out around the post.

[Manchesterjim]

However, I would feel a lot more comfortable buying a new battery..

This really IS the bottom line.....A 4 year old battery is on the backside of its lifespan, healthy plates or no.  My only recommendation would be a deep-cycle/marine battery.
 
As for brands.....no suggestions there, we're all going to have opinions and we all have different levels of attention that we give to our equipment......so every battery will act/react differently to the environment in which it is used.
 
Good luck though on your choice.....AND trip!

[Billy Bob]

If there is a Sam's Club near you, go directly there and do not stop at GO. They have great deep cycle batteries at even greater prices. Just look at the battery your going to buy. They usually have manufacture dates on them so don't buy old stock when the next battery is newer. You can get either 24, 27 or 31 group size for about $59 to $69.

[b2220128]

Look for a battery that is a pure deep cycle.  Not a combo deep cycle/marine starting battery.  This leaves out Interstate. Combo batteries will be labeled with a cold cranking amps number.  Cranking amps are not necessary for a PUP.    I recently bought a pure deep cycle Excide Stowaway Marine Deep Cycle.  Excide makes several brands, most sales staff only know them by the brand name so look for Stowaway.  You can find them in sporting goods stores that sell trolling motors.

[tlhdoc]

If there is a Sam's Club near you, go directly there and do not stop at GO. They have great deep cycle batteries at even greater prices.

Excide Stowaway Marine Deep Cycle. Excide makes several brands, most sales staff only know them by the brand name so look for Stowaway.

I have purchased several batteries at Sam's Club.  I have a set of 5 year old group 31 batteries that are Stowaways.  They are still usable.  I also have one newer battery (purchased 2 years ago) from Sam's Club, but a different brand.  So like Billy Bob says go to Sam's Club if there is one in your area.

[wavery]

Just a side note here:

If anyone is interested in why Marine Deep Cycle batteries are recommended, it's because they will take a lot more pounding then regular deep cycle. The PU trailers are not sprung and shock absorbed very well and they take a bit of a beating. Marine batteries are made for that.

[Splinter]

Thanks for all the great gouge, you guys rock.