Chassis batteries

[rogergibson@dc.rr.com]

The previous owner of my '97 Safari pusher left a note saying he had removed the four 6-volt golf cart batteries for use in his new rig, and replaced them with three 12-volt batteries. He suggested that the new owner install four new 6-volt cart batteries. As the three 12-volt batteries are dead, I need suggestions in replacing them.

Thanks.

[garykd]

Hi jroger,

What a bummer. Have you tried to charge the 12 VDC batteries? Depending on how you RV they may be fine to use. If you are almost always connected to shore power, the batteries are used to power the refrigerator and any 12 VDC appliances when traveling. When connected to shore power, the batteries are used to power the refrigerator and any other appliances that have 12 VDC requirements. However, when connected to shore power the batteries should be being charged as they are depleted. Therefore, they are always fully charged.

If you decide to replace the batteries, 4 6 VDC batteries would be the best choice. Now comes some hard choices.

1. AGM technology (sealed, don't need to add water) or flooded technology (must check and add distilled water from time to time).

2. There are different brands and it all depends on how much you want to spend, which translates into how much you will rely on the coach batteries. If you boondock a lot, then you might look at the best money can buy. Look in the Yellow pages under batteries. There should be several choices for you to shop.

3. Don't forget the cables. Think of the installation as two separate sets of 2 6 VDC batteries. Each set of 6 VDC batteries will be connected in series. Then the two sets will be connected, to each other in parallel. There will be at least one + and one - connection to the coach. If the previous owner did not leave the cables, you'll need to purchase or make them.

[tbutler]

jroger,

I will start by referring you to a discussion of 12V vs. 6V batteries in the section on Technology>Electrical.

Since you are starting from scratch, you want to replace the 12V batteries with four 6V batteries in a series and parallel arrangement. There was a good article in Family Motorcoaching Magazine several years ago that I used as a reference for replacing my batteries. It has good step-by-step information to take you through the whole process. If you are not interested in doing the work yourself, I would suggest going to a RV shop and having them do the replacement for you.

Suppliers for batteries of the wet cell type are many. I went to Interstate Batteries, www.interstatebatteries.com for a local supplier and they had them in stock.

For the sealed absorbed glass mat batteries, check out www.lifelinebatteries.com These cost about twice as much as the wet cell type batteries. They should last longer but I don't think it will be twice as long.

[hermanmullins]

I found the best place to buy 6 volt(golf cart batteries) is at Sam's Club. They are reasonable and you can install them yourself. However when you install the batteries it appears that you will need to make up new cables since the previous owner took evey thing with him. First of all, that was a rotten thing to do. How were you able to check out the coach before you purchased it? Sorry back to the instalation. You will need several feet of 1/0 cable, and cable lugs. You can get the cable from your local welding distributor. He will know what you are looking for. The lugs will need to be for 1/0 cable with 1/4" or 5/16" holes. on my last battery change out I had flickering with my 12 volt lights. I solved the problem by cleaning the lugs to bright brass. I purchased brass flat washers (2 per post) and brass nuts. You will only need to do this if you have the old cables. Put washer, battery lug washer, then nut. After installation get and apply a battery sealent from your auto parts store.The cable will be very/very/very stiff, so before you install the batteries set them on the ground or table top as they would fit in the battery tray and make the cables so you know length bends and so forth. I hope this will help you with your batteries.

Happy charging.

Herman