Sam's Club or Trojan 6V

[TXpopper]

I'm planning on swapping out my single 12V battery for two 6V golf cart batteries.  The question is has anyone done this modification using the Sam's Club 6V batteries?  If so, what is your experience with them.  I have not gone to Sam's Club to get the specifications, but the Sam's Club battery cost was quoted at about 2/3 the cost of the Trojan T-105 battery, which has an outstanding reputation.  I'm leaning towards the Sam's Club batteries due to the price difference, but was wondering if someone else has made this evaluation before and determined the Trojan battery had enough Amp Hr and life advantage to make it a better value.

Thanks in advance.

[wavery]

I'm planning on swapping out my single 12V battery for two 6V golf cart batteries.  The question is has anyone done this modification using the Sam's Club 6V batteries?  If so, what is your experience with them.  I have not gone to Sam's Club to get the specifications, but the Sam's Club battery cost was quoted at about 2/3 the cost of the Trojan T-105 battery, which has an outstanding reputation.  I'm leaning towards the Sam's Club batteries due to the price difference, but was wondering if someone else has made this evaluation before and determined the Trojan battery had enough Amp Hr and life advantage to make it a better value.

Thanks in advance.

There is one disadvantage that you may want to consider before going with 2-6v batteries.

If one battery has a cell failure, you have no battery power. If you go with 2-12v batteries, if one battery fails, you still have another battery. You also have the ability to alternate them. You can use one while the other is charging and still have continuous 12v.

They use 6v batteries in golf carts and other electric vehicles but they always have at least 6-12 batteries (3-6 banks of 2 batteries). If one battery dies, they just disconnect that bank of 2 batteries and still have power to run on.

[dthurk]

The 6 volt batteries have thicker lead plates that cause them to considerably outlast 12 volt deep cycle batteries.  The 6 volts are true deep cycle, compared to the hybrid uses of the 12 volts.  

We did buy 2 6 volt batteries from Sam's Club (IIRC, they were the Energizer name) and are very happy with them.  We still have the original 12 volt battery that came with the camper and we take it with us, giving us great capacity and longevity of the 6 volts PLUS all the advantages Wavery listed in his post.  That's everything of both worlds!!!

[tlhdoc]

My pair of group 31 batteries are going on their 6th or 7th season, and I am wondering if they will last another year.  I may purchase a pair of the 6 Volt batteries at Sam's Club before our Easter trip.  The group 31 batteries that Sam's Club has now are not very good.  The group 27 or 29's there have a larger reserve capacity than the group 31's have.

[TXpopper]

The 6 volt batteries have thicker lead plates that cause them to considerably outlast 12 volt deep cycle batteries.  The 6 volts are true deep cycle, compared to the hybrid uses of the 12 volts.  

We did buy 2 6 volt batteries from Sam's Club (IIRC, they were the Energizer name) and are very happy with them.  We still have the original 12 volt battery that came with the camper and we take it with us, giving us great capacity and longevity of the 6 volts PLUS all the advantages Wavery listed in his post.  That's everything of both worlds!!!

Do you actually connect the original 12V in parallel with the two (in series) 6V batteries, or do you just take it along for a backup?  How long have you had your Energizer batteries in service?  Have you noticed a significant difference using the two 6V (assuming you don't have the original hooked up in parallel) over the original 12V.  Also, do you have each battery in its own box or a single box for the two 6V batteries?  Do you have any recommendations on where to get the boxes and battery jumper cable?  I know, lots of questions, but thanks for sharing your knowledge about this set up.