Adding a 2nd Battery to a 2018 Drop 170S

[Winnieworld]

I just purchased a new unused 2018 Winnie Drop. I took it to LaMesa RV for an inspection. Question: should I add a second battery and battery case ? Which brand of battery case for the Winnie Drop should I go with ?

Thanks for helping this newbie

JC

 

[reeman]

I just purchased a new unused 2018 Winnie Drop. I took it to LaMesa RV for an inspection. Question: should I add a second battery and battery case ? Which brand of battery case for the Winnie Drop should I go with ?

Thanks for helping this newbie

JC

The problem with the addition of a second battery on the short a frame is that it needs to be of smaller capacity size if top mounted on the top of the A frame. In my case we have 2 size 24 agms on the frame. They are in standard cases. It is an awkward setup. There is the possibility of installing the batts with a home made case into the frame on the lower angle brackets and removing the angle irons that the dealer used to install the pair of batteries on top of the a frame. Conventional battery boxes are too large to fit down into the a frame unless it is a single battery setup.

There is also an issue with how the propane line is mounted as it is directly under where the single battery would normally go on our winnie drop. For us to move the batteries down into the frame where they are normally installed we would need to redo the placement of the propane line as it is not in a good spot to say the least. Either way I am seriously considering installing the agms inside the trailer and also installing a decent battery monitor. Sealed AGM batteries are not dangerous if monitored and are not prone to off gassing or having overcharging issues the way FLA batts do. Either way who ever did our dual battery install did it in a hurry up hack job instead of a well thought out install.

 

[reeman]

PS consider two new batteries of the same values instead of trying to install one compatible with an older one! It is very important to match pairs not cobble together setups with batteries that have different charge profiles because one is aged. The result of miss matched pairs can be overcharging of a older battery and can cause serious issues.The best setup is two new of the same make and rating.