rorr1821 Report post Posted January 26, 2011 I am considering replacing my house batteries because of age. There are only a few battery manufactures, but I realize the specifications can vary from InterState battery to Trojan, etc. However, cost should be a consideration. For example a Sam's Club InterState battery which according to InterState is there 2200 series battery with a re-label and is $70.00 less than the same battery sold under the InterState label. If what I have been told by InterState is correct then the Sam's Club InterState Battery is a deal. The Trojan 105 seems to be priced at about $140.00 each which is similar to InterState U2200. I am convinced the life of a battery has many variables of which as an owner you can control like watching water level, using distilled water to refill, do not discharge more than 50%, etc. The quality of the manufacturing is equally important but who is to say one manufacture is better than another: Torjan verse Johnson Control, versus US Battery, etc. One last note, InterState Battery used US Battery to make there U2200 series until a year ago and then they changed to Johnson Control. Interesting note is that Johnson Control has sublet some of the manufacturing back to US Battery. This information came from a reliable source. Not sure why? Has anyone had experience with the Sam's Club 6 volt Deep Cycle InterState golf battery which I have seen in San Antonio, TX stores ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted January 26, 2011 I replaced my house batteries two years ago with Interstates from Sam's. Never had a problem. The good thing about Interstate is if you have a problem You can go to Sam's or Interstate for help. If and when you change out your batteries be sure to clean your lugs well. And, put some spray on them to help protect from acid corrosion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ronmonson Report post Posted June 13, 2011 Is there any information on the different types of batteries and which is better or longer life, ie: GEL, wrapped ? or flooded? Should I buy the maximum minutes of use rating? I have a 2006 Monaco Cayman. It appears to have two engine batteries and 4 house batteries. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BillAdams Report post Posted June 13, 2011 Engine batteries are going to be very different than your house batteries and it's unlikely you need to do anything more than replace the engine batteries with ones similar to those installed. When you move to house batteries you will find that the AGM (usually Lifeline) are the best but they are extremely expensive. They require zero maintenance and have excellent life spans, much more so than a gel or wet battery. The wet cell batteries will be the least expensive but require a dedicated rigor related to the maintenance schedule. Forget to put water in just once and you can dramatically shorten the lifespan of these batteries. Due it a few times (like I used to) and they can be dead in a year (like mine used to). There are 12V batteries as well as 6V batteries wired together in series and parallel. Be sure you know what you have now and whether that is what you want to maintain. I would buy all the amps you can afford and will fit in that space if you do a lot of dry camping. If you do little if any dry camping you are going to want to simply buy a reasonable compromise between low maintenance and high cost that you will be happy with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikev Report post Posted June 13, 2011 When I purchased my coach in 2009 the house batteries were due for replacement. They were US2200's and that was what I put back in. Bill is right in the need to decide how much amperage you need, how much maintenance you are willing to do and of course how much you want to spend. In my case the maintenance is something I am willing to do, besides it gives me a good excuse to check the connections-security and cleanliness of the batteries. I figured the extra cost of getting a higher amperage battery was not worth it to me - squeezing in a few more amps isn't too big an issue as I spend most of my time on shore power wherever I am. The few times I was boon-docking I ran my generator for a bit. Lastly when I priced the AGM batteries the price was significantly higher, I decided that I could probably get more value out of the flooded cells with a little care. The AGM's are better just not necessarily a better monetary value in the long run. The research I did showed me that many of the brands available were made by US Battery so I thought I'd give them a try. The Trojans up here were around $50 more per battery, too much of a difference for me. The US2200's I removed were 7 years old, not bad in an average battery. Just read lots about how to take care of them. Here's a great writeup of batteries. http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
