# Which Battery And Solar Set Up??



## Logan (Jun 24, 2012)

Hello all, I am purchasing my first RV this weekend and am looking for some input on what the best battery set up as well as a solar kit set up would be. We are buying a 2006 25RSS. I have read a little about "true deep cycle batteries" and it seems these are the best but expensive.Is it best to have 2-12V in parallel or 2-6V in parallel? As for the solar I am not sure what size wattage or what manufacture to purchase. Has anybody tried the "Go Power" 145 watt kit and how hard was it to install? We plan on dry camping for 3-4 days at a time. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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## daslobo777 (Mar 24, 2007)

Logan - Welcome to the wonderful world of the RV experience .......

First a quick correction ... if you are using 2x-12V batteries they will be in parallel, but if you are using 2x-6V batteries they will be hooked up in series to give you the 12V that you need.

A very popular (but slightly expensive) true deep-cycle battery is the Trojan battery. Many swear by it (me), many do not like it due to cost. There are other less expensive options available. I have a 2x-6V setup with Trojan T125's and am very happy with it. A 2x-6V setup will give you more reserve battery power than 2x-12V due to the battery construction technologies (heavier thicker plates).

I do not have a solar setup up yet but am shopping for a good 145W setup also.

One other thing that you will want to consider for extended dry camping is to replace all of your incandesent interior light with LED. This will provide you with a signaifiant power savings over your extended camping stay (~70-80% power savings with the LED change).

Happy camping.


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## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

daslobo777 said:


> Logan - Welcome to the wonderful world of the RV experience .......
> 
> First a quick correction ... if you are using 2x-12V batteries they will be in parallel, but if you are using 2x-6V batteries they will be hooked up in series to give you the 12V that you need.
> 
> ...


x2 to all the above.

Since you'll be dry camping for 3-4 days, I'd also highly recomend a pair of Trojan T-125's.

I have over 8 years on a pair of trojan T-125's that are discharged to 30% state of charge (discharged by 70%) probably 20 times/year and they are STILL going strong. On our new trailer, the pair of Trojans is two years old, same kind of abuse, going great. I expect the 8 year old set to go another 2 years or so before I replace them.

with our setup of a pair of T-125 trojans and LED lights, we can go an easy 2 days in the winter, even with the furnace, 3-4 days in the summer before I'd need to run the generator, and that's w/o any solar. Again, LED lights are a key here, really cuts down the current load.

if you do lots of dry camping and need lots of AH, trojan does make 6V that are taller than the regular golf cart batteries and makes cases for them as well. You can get up to about 480AH per pair if you can fit them in. Each of the tall ones weigh between 80 and 100lbs depending on which ones you get. But they are more expensive/watt than the regular golf carts. Or, if you have the space and can take the weight, run 4 golf carts.

For solar I have just added two Zamp 80W portable panels with a MPPT controller. Seems like some dealers have found the prices are higher than market will bear, and are now selling them at much reduced prices, up to 1/2 of "list". In good sunshine the two panels will more than keep my batteries charged. We also converted all our lights to LED. W/O LED's, I don't think the solar would keep up. I can turn on all the lights we need at night and only draw about 2A with LED's. That's about the same as ONE regular bulb. In this case, the only time I need the generator is for Microwave or AC.

MY preferece for solar is portable panels. First, you can always orient them towards the sun. Second, to many times when we camp, the trailer is shaded, partially or fully, so solar wouldn't work well. with the portables, I put the trailer where I want, the panels where they will be in the sun, and we are good to go. Downside, is one more thing to carry/store, and easier to damage or disappear. And they only work when plugged in, while roof mounted units will charge while your driving down the road or in storage. Either way works, pick the one that best suites your camping style

Another advantage of 6V golf cart batteries, at least the Trojan's is that they can be discharged well below 50% and still have long life. According to a Trojan rep I talked to at a RV show, expect 300-500 cycles if discharged to 25%-30% of capacity. For campers, that LOTS of camping days!. The rep said not to discharge the Trojan true 12V deep discharge past 50%. so a Trojan T-125 setup will give you 245x.75= 180 useable AH. A similar pair of the biggest Trojan 12V will give 240 x .5 =120AH useable capacity. the extra 60AH is significant, as much as an couple extra days of use before charging.

Whatever you do, the easiest way to destroy batteries is to not keep them watered. Don't let the water go below the plates. Even worse than fully discharging the battery.

And one last item. Since you'll be dry camping, if you plan on using a generator to charge the batteries, a word of wisdom on the WFCO converter you likely have. They are NOT known for reliably going into bulk mode charging. Variety of reasons, but most often because the wire between the converter and batteries is to long and to small. Anything longer than 6-8 feet and smaller than about 6ga and your likely to experience the NO bulk mode charging.

So..... what you end up with is NOT a 55A charger, but only 15-20A max and a LONG LONG time to charge the batteries. First thing I'd do is with the batteries installed, discharge them to about 60-75% of capacity (25-40% discharged) and measure the charging current or voltage to see if it goes into bulk mode charging. If the current doesn't start at 40A or so, you aren't in bulk mode. The easiest solution is to replace the WFCO internal supply with a drop in Progressive dyanamics 55A direct replacement unit. That unit will go into bulk mode, and you can also select bulk mode charging whenever you want to get the batteries charged.


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## pep_ (Apr 27, 2012)

I remember a time when using Trojans was different... but them I am getting old..and I digress..
My OB came with one lone 12v and I was wondering about batteries as well. Thanks for the advice. I will be pricing out two Trojan 125's very soon.

How/Where do you connect a portable solar panel?


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## Logan (Jun 24, 2012)

Thanks guys for the great advice. A few more questions?
-What type of LED's do you recommend and can you order them online?
-Can the deep cycle T125's be charged by the portable solar kit? The reason I ask is most solar kits say they are compatible with lead acid, AGM, and Gel batteries but I cannot find out what type the Trojan battery is.


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

Trojan's are lead acid. They're great batteries. But I've switched to the Costco brand. About ½ the cost, same warranty. So far, so good.

A couple of months ago I installed an 80w roof mounted solar panel with controller. I like roof mounted since I don't have to stow it, and it works all the time, when I'm parked, when I'm driving, and when my Obi is in the trailer storage yard. Plus, portable solar panels have been known to get legs and literally walk away, just like portable satellite dishes.

I used to disconnect my batteries to keep them from discharging, not any more.

I hooked up my system so that I can view satellite TV anywhere, anytime, and never have to be plugged in to shore power or run the generator. That's roughing it!


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## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

pep_ said:


> I remember a time when using Trojans was different... but them I am getting old..and I digress..
> My OB came with one lone 12v and I was wondering about batteries as well. Thanks for the advice. I will be pricing out two Trojan 125's very soon.
> 
> How/Where do you connect a portable solar panel?


my portable solar panels have two ways to connect to the batteries. It included a pair of clamps and extension similar to the ends on battery jumper cables. It also can be wired to a plug in connector that is wired directly to the battery through a 15A fuse. I use the plug in option. set up the panel, plug it into the battery connector.


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## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

Logan said:


> Thanks guys for the great advice. A few more questions?
> -What type of LED's do you recommend and can you order them online?
> -Can the deep cycle T125's be charged by the portable solar kit? The reason I ask is most solar kits say they are compatible with lead acid, AGM, and Gel batteries but I cannot find out what type the Trojan battery is.


for led's there are a bunch on ebay from china, cheap, my experience is they didn't last long before becoming pretty dim. I ended up with lights from superbrightleds.com. more expensive by a sizeable margin, but very bright, in fact brighter than most incandescent lights, and so far are holding up and staying bright.

yes, you can charge the t125's from a solar kit. most include a charge controller, the lower watt units (<200W or so) use a PWM controller and usually allow you select the battery type, flooded cell, AGM or GEL so the proper charging method is used. Like any charger, just watch battery water level on flooded cells (T-125's) With a good charger, water loss should be pretty low.


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## Outback Scooter (May 25, 2006)

Interestingly, I read on a golf-cart forum that users preferred the T-105 to T-125 due to longer lifespan and almost equal performance.

I just came back from five day trip and battery output still measured just over 12 volts (12.04 I believe). Mind you we are very careful about leaving lights on unnecessarily etc. We are running 2 x T105 and very happy with them.

Scooter


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