Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 11-29-2019, 12:13 PM   #1
Winnebago Camper
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: NM
Posts: 24
house battery replacement

My 2005 Journey needs the house batterys replaced.I'm confused at the different battery configurations I see on this sight from other owners?Mine has
four 24 series 12v batteries.Is this an oem arrangement?Did someone before
me change it from oem?What should I replace them with?I.m a retired auto mechanic,new to RVing.Any possitive direction is greatly appreciated......
THANKS,Bobby H
BobbyH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2019, 10:22 PM   #2
Site Team
 
creativepart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Spring Branch, TX
Posts: 7,783
Generally you would replace them, all at once with similar or better batteries.

Are you sure they are Group 24? I’d expect Group 31. I’d also expect them to be 100 ah batteries for a total of 400 ah. You are free to change them up how you see fit.

Many would suggest 4-6volt batteries, wired in series pairs to make 12v and then wired in parallel. This should yield 400 ah or more. But they’re heavy and require regular maintenance. I have 4-12v deep cycle AGM batteries wired parallel for 400ah. They don’t require any maintenance but they cost more.

For about $4,000 you could replace them with 400ah of Lithium batteries.

Someone with the same RV as you would know, but I’d guess your RV came with 2-12v batteries and the previous owner upgraded to 4-batteries.

The whole house battery subject is huge. Read a lot, learn a lot, watch a lot of YouTube videos.

PS. Don’t make the mistake of buying “auto starting” batteries or RV/Marine dual purpose “deep cycle” batteries. Get true deep cycle batteries.
__________________
2017 Winnebago Adventurer 37F
2016 Lincoln MKX Toad
creativepart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-08-2019, 05:08 PM   #3
Winnebago Owner
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 167
Quote:
I have 4-12v deep cycle AGM batteries wired parallel for 400ah. They don’t require any maintenance but they cost more.

For about $4,000 you could replace them with 400ah of Lithium batteries.
.

I believe you mean that you have 400 amp hours total, but only 200 amp hours usable. You can buy 200 amp hours of LiFePO4 batteries for less than $2,000, which will give you 200 amp hours usable. However there are specificial charging requirements. The advantage of the LIFePO4 batteries is both weight and size. Each of the 100 amp batteries weight is about 30#, vs two Golf Carts which would weigh in the 150# arena or 300# for 4 Golf Carts.

I would go with the 4 golf carts. I have had good success with Sam's Club "Duracell" Golf Cart batteries. There are more expensive, such as Trojan or Rolls.
__________________
Bob Austin--celebrating 60 years of RVing
2013 Via 25T
Pensacola, FL
thataway4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-08-2019, 05:20 PM   #4
Site Team
 
creativepart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Spring Branch, TX
Posts: 7,783
Yes, I realize all of that. I've figured that when my AGMs are kaput that I'd probably get 3-Lipo's at 100aH each. That way, I'll have more usable amp hours, a LOT less weight and spend about $2700. To replace my 4-AGMs with good quality like-kind would be approx $1,100. So, the price differential is not too bad.

We don't dry camp all that much, but we've enjoyed it when we have and would like to keep doing 4 or 5 days dry camping trips.

I currently have 300w of solar. But will add another panel this winter to make 400 watts. If I were to go much larger I'd have to make a lot other other changes (charge controller and wiring). So, I'll stop at 400w for now. I replaced an OEM 30-amp PWM controller this past summer with a 100/30 MPPT controller which gave a noticeable increase in solar charge capability. But ~400watts is near max for my current setup. Most of which is OEM.
__________________
2017 Winnebago Adventurer 37F
2016 Lincoln MKX Toad
creativepart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-09-2019, 06:29 PM   #5
Winnie-Wise
 
Journey39n's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: on a constant, around the country, trip!
Posts: 404
My Journey came with 2 Group 31 12v batteries. One died very quickly, so I replaced them with 2 GC2 6v Costco batteries ($74 each at the time) A year later I added 2 more to the first ones. 440ah total.

Yes, I need to check the water from time to time, but not a big deal. After 7 years, I replaced them all ($83 each then), and they haven't missed a beat over the last two years.

For the price, and our small amount of boondocking, we are very happy with our choice. May not be right for everyone, but they do work.
__________________
2010 Journey 39n - 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk - this our 13th year living aboard, travelling and visiting the Pacific NW, summer 2023
Journey39n is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2019, 11:04 AM   #6
Winnebago Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Elk Grove, CA
Posts: 3,574
I'm sure that some day I'll go the Lithium (or whatever replaces them) route but, in the meantime, my Costco 6V "golf cart" batteries do the job just fine. I know all the arguments about life-cycle costs, etc. but it's not an investment I want to make right now.
__________________
Bob C
2002 Itasca Suncruiser 35U
Workhorse Chassis
BobC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2019, 11:20 AM   #7
Site Team
 
creativepart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Spring Branch, TX
Posts: 7,783
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobC View Post
I know all the arguments about life-cycle costs, etc. but it's not an investment I want to make right now.
Of course. My AGMs are rocking along fine and it may be another 2 or more years before they are needing replacement.

My 300w solar does such a good job of keep my house batteries (and via the BIRD relay the chassis battery) fully charged nearly 100% of the time. When dry camping we've never gone below 70% State of Charge. So, they "should" be good for many more years.

When we first got the RV I put it in storage once and forgot to turn off the house battery disconnect. When I got to the RV the batteries were down to 11.9v. But that was only for a week at most. And, it's never happened again. I doubt that one episode shortened the life cycle all that much.
__________________
2017 Winnebago Adventurer 37F
2016 Lincoln MKX Toad
creativepart is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Replacement of house batteries grant3791 Electrical | Charging, Solar and Electronics 7 08-02-2015 02:09 PM
Journey house battery replacement advice needed RCtime Electrical | Charging, Solar and Electronics 26 07-14-2009 08:51 PM
House battery DaveyD1 Electrical | Charging, Solar and Electronics 10 11-26-2008 04:03 PM
My house battery blew up dengraham Electrical | Charging, Solar and Electronics 7 06-08-2006 08:09 PM
House and Chassis Battery Volts LandHo Electrical | Charging, Solar and Electronics 8 11-22-2005 01:53 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Winnebago Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:20 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.