# Crossed Over To The 6 Volt Side Of Life!



## CalifRVers (Oct 16, 2009)

We crossed over to the 6 volt side of life and replaced the Everlast? (could hardly find any info on this brand) 12 Volt battery the dealer installed on our trailer with a pair of Interstate 6 Volt Deep Cycle U2200 batteries. If we've learned anything yet, its that the dealers definitely don't install top of the line products unless you ask them too! We already replaced our brake controller and now our batteries.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

I've got the same 2 batteries and are very happy with them. They did great this summer.


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## CalifRVers (Oct 16, 2009)

Glad to hear that Nathan, can I ask what kind of usage you get from them? Do you use a generator?


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

CalifRVers said:


> Glad to hear that Nathan, can I ask what kind of usage you get from them? Do you use a generator?


I think I dry camp about 90% of the time, and my U2400's will last about 4-5 days. We do a pretty good job of trying to save power, but kids are kids and light do get left on.

I have a small Coleman 1850 generator (will not run AC....don't need it to) that I bring on trips over 6 days. The primary reason for the generator is to charge my two 12v boat batteries. The lakes I go to do not allow gas motors, only electric trolling motors, so I burn through my Trojan 12v quickly. Love to fish!!


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I have the same ones. I decided to buy them when my 12v died. I went with the 2 6v cause they last so long when you don't have a generator and talked to Oregon Camper about 6v batts and how long I can run my furnace off of them. I was sold.

I had to do something with that dead battery. Kinda got in a pickle one early spring trip to GA. They ( wife and kids ) wanted to leave that night and get a jump on the trip, so we did. Stopping in southern NC at a rest stop for the night, we got in the camper and went to bed. Well it was a little ( OK a lot ) colder then we figured and with a junk 12v batt the heat was a no-go







. When we got up in the am. we could see our breath in the camper. The dog would not come out from under the blanket







and we were freezing







. So after I got them installed over the summer and we were heading back to MD from Fl in Jan. we stopped at a truck stop, put the slide out and fired up the heater. It ran all night, kept us warm and I was in good graces with the family again.


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## Ridgway-Rangers (Apr 18, 2008)

We switched to 2 6 volts right away and have no issues. As mentioned by the good Battalion Chief, the heater blower will chew up batteries pretty quickly. I advise heavy blankets and use the heater in the AM only, if possible. You will only get a couple of days out of the batteries with the heater going. We have a Yamaha EF3000iSE and love it. We can run the AC if needed, charge batteries, use the microwave pretty much do everything at once with no problems. The drawback is the weight. About 150 lbs. I keep it in the bed of the truck and lift it out if we are camping for 4 or more days dry. For shorter trips, I just leave it in the bed and run it from there with the shell open and tailgate down.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

CalifRVers said:


> Glad to hear that Nathan, can I ask what kind of usage you get from them? Do you use a generator?


Nope, no Generator. I have 60W of solar available for extended stays. The only long stays we did this summer was a couple days in Dinosaur NM, in which we ran the fans during the day (2 of the MaxxFans on medium all day) and the furnace at night (The teperature was 95 degrees during the day, dropping into the low 50's at night). The batts did great for this. Then 5 days in Rocky Mountain NP. For that we got out the solar but I'm not sure if it helped much due to the number of trees around. There, we used the furnace at night and again had no issues. With 2 young kids we're not overly careful with the lights, although I do my best to follow the kids around and shut them off.


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## OregonCampin (Mar 9, 2007)

You will love the additional time you get with your 6 volts. We have had ours since our pop-up and they keep going strong.

We do have a generator to re-charge them - we camp in some pretty cold weather, but have camped on some pretty extended trips with no issues.

We turn the heater down really low for overnight and sleep under down to keep us warm at night.


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

Normally I only need 1 night living off the 6v batt's. Probably a little extreme to buy 2 6v batt's for 1 night of dry camping but guess I'm just an extreme kinda guy.







Anyhow I bet you could get 3 or 4 days out of a good set of 6v batt's if you keep it a little cool and don't waste the juice on lights. Some of the hardcore dry campers have LED lights inside and solar panels to charge them up during the day, I don't have a need for that but they are a good investment in my opinion.


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

I love our 6v Trojans but recently discovered I have one bad cell. I would recommend (if you don't have one already) buying a hydrometer and checking the specific gravity in the cells from time to time (especially before the warranty expires!). The batteries still function fine, but with somewhat reduced capacity. Oh well. They are about 3 1/2 years old. We also have a Yamaha 3000iSEB generator to recharge or give the heater a boost in the morning, so we're in good shape.


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## outback loft (Sep 22, 2008)

I still cant justify the 6 volt batteries. I am running a solar setup that is now on 2 12 volt 8d batteries and now have a 5000 watt inverter that allows me to run the a/c. I have an off grid solar setup at the house as well, and the 6 volts just cant cut it, i would need 3 times as many batteries as I need with my 12 volt 8d's. Between the solar and the wind turbine at the house I have rarely had to run the diesel backup generator. I conserve power for the most part, but run regular light bulbs, and even have central air that can run off it as well.(that is usually what will start up the generator in the early morning).


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