Winnie Forza 36G Batteries

Aquabud · 08-11-2020, 09:49 PM

I want to change out my house and chassis batteries. I can't find the battery group size or battery specs anywhere on the web, the batteries themselves or the manuals. Can anyone lead me in the right direction. Also, any brand suggestions are most welcome. Thanks!!!

Morich · 08-12-2020, 08:58 AM

I do not work too hard to get the spec batteries as they come new but work to get the most amp hours in a size which fits the space available. That leaves me starting with looking at the battery I have for any labels but if no labels, I measure the battery for size limits and then choose the best for the space. I go with regular starting batteries for that part and since I do not put high use on the coach batteries, we go with the far cheaper, less power, full lead acid batteries in a deep cycle battery for the coach section.
But that is a personal situation which does have some advantages if you use your RV in a different way so that long lasting higher capacity batteries are avalue.
I find there are very few battery companies and most house brands are made by the same factory that makes the name brand, so for my use, I do not have a specific brand to recommend.
As most things, it is a compromise between what the pricing does to your decision and what might work best rof the way you RV. If you are plugged in on 2 out of 3 nights, putting lots of money into a higher capacity battery is not good economics.

**creativepart** · 08-12-2020, 09:19 AM

It would help to know the model year. but let's guess that it's fairly recent.

Most likely you have Group 31 house batteries and also probably Group 31 chassis batteries. I assume you have 2 or 4 house batteries and probably 12v and probably 2 chassis batteries as well.

Do your house batteries say "Commercial" on them or NAPA? Are they Flooded Lead Acid or AGM? FLA would have removable caps to add distilled water. AGMs would be "maintenance free."

I agree with Richard you want to chose batteries not just based on what you have but what you need. Unlike some vehicles there is not just ONE battery for your RV. You can put any battery in your RV that will do the job you need done.

Lastly, are you the first owner or not? Because if you're not who knows what batteries some previous owner installed.

The more info you can give us the more we can help. Mind reading just isn't a very developed skill, I'm afraid.

Aquabud · 08-12-2020, 10:06 AM

Thank you for you help. The 36G is a 2016 model. I'm the original owner. The existing Napa batteries say Napa on them. They are flooded lead acid. I was guessing that they were probably Group 31. And yes, I'm going to replace with whatever will fulfill my needs. I'm going out to my storage and actually measure the existing units to be sure of size. I'm definitely going to replace with AGMs. The maintenance is just too much the way they have to be installed, wired and locked down. Again, thank you for your assistance.

Aquabud · 08-12-2020, 10:08 AM

Thank you very much for your help. I'm in the process of determining what I need in terms of battery support.

**creativepart** · 08-12-2020, 10:19 AM

You should look to see if they are 6v or 12v.

If they are 6v there will be big battery cables that run from one "+" post on a battery to a "-" post on another battery (that's called a Serial connection and it makes 2-6v batteries into 12v).

If they are 12v batteries there will be big battery cables that run from one "+" post on one battery to the "+" post on another battery. That's called a Parallel connection and it makes two 100 amp hour batteries into a 200 amp hour battery bank.

When replacing you can go either way - it's going to be up to you.

If you have not learned much about deep cycle house storage batteries be prepared for a much bigger topic than you ever imagined.