Battery Questions

[Allagash]

I'm still going through my newly purchased camper trying to figure everything out. A couple of days ago, I fired up the heat and it worked fantastic.  Does anyone know how much power it takes to run the gas heater?  

The previous owner told me the battery needed to be changed.  I pulled the cover on mine and it's a marine battery.  Two questions I have are:

Should I replace the battery with a "deep cycle" marine battery?  Also, does the battery charge up while the lights are plugged into the truck harness?  It seems as though the battery cables are spliced into the wiring for the lights.  Otherwise I'd have to charge the battery every time I get home from camping, I guess.  

Any advice?

[AustinBoston]

The previous owner told me the battery needed to be changed.  I pulled the cover on mine and it's a marine battery.  Two questions I have are:

Should I replace the battery with a "deep cycle" marine battery?

You really want a "deep cycle" battery without the "marine" part.  Marine batteries are compromises between true deep cycle batteries and starting batteries.  Since your camper battery is never going to be used as a starting battery, you don't need or want the compromise.

Also, does the battery charge up while the lights are plugged into the truck harness?  It seems as though the battery cables are spliced into the wiring for the lights.  Otherwise I'd have to charge the battery every time I get home from camping, I guess.

Even if it is wiried with a "charge line" from the truck, whether or not the battry will receive much charge from it is dependent on several factors:

* How heavy is the gauge of the charge line?  If it's less than a 14 gauge wire, it won't charge much at all.  If you have a fridge that you run on 12V, it won't charge at all without at least a 12 gauge wire, and 10 gauge would be better.

* How long will you be towing?  If you drain a 100Ah battery, then under ideal conditions it will still take at least three solid hours for it to charge while towing, and quite posibly more.

* Will you be using a fridge on 12V?  You need an exellent charge setup to supply both 12V for the fridge and charge the battery.  Marginal setups may even drain the battery with a fridge on 12V.  Most who dry camp (camp without plugging in) will tow with the fridge off or on propane in order to preserve battery power.

* How clean are the contacts (both on the battery and the truck/trailer plug)?  Even if everything else is ideal, a poor connection at the plug can wreck the charge plans.

Most who dry camp make sure their battery is in top condition (cells filled with distilled water, posts clean, etc.), and fully charged before and after every trip.  If you do, a good battery will last for years.  If that's the way you plan on camping, then a good three-stage charger is a good investment.

Austin

[Tim5055]

I agree with everything AB has said! (Look at the number of times he has posted, he has to get it right every now and then )

Stick with deep cycle and even if it is a pain in the ***, charge your batteries before/after every trip with a good "smart charger".  Some of the newer converters installed in pop ups are of the "intelligent" type, but most are not.

Treat your batteries right and they will give you many years of wonderful service.

Now, because of the amount of "dry" camping we do we have switched from 12v batteries to twin 6v golf cart batteries.  CHECK IT OUT

[austinado16]

Tim thanks for all the work you've invested in building your website!  It's a huge wealth of information and I know it took a million hours to dial it in the way you have it.  I've learned a tremendous amount from it, and refer to it often.

Cheers to you!!!

[AustinBoston]

I agree with everything AB has said! (Look at the number of times he has posted, he has to get it right every now and then )

Dumb luck, I guess... :-()

Austin