Batteries

[Jerry & Barbara]

Thanks for all the replies. I relayed the general opinion of everyone here to the dealer. They have responded that they will install a battery.

[JCR GD]

... The rig isn't legal without a battery because it needs one to apply the brakes if the breakaway switch is pulled. Your dealer is pulling a fast one.

I always forget about this part when I hear someone talking about a dealer not providing a battery. The latest was my brother, his dealer said they sell at such a discount they can't afford to put in a battery. He told them he needs one to use the tongue jack and they said "you just plug in the truck." I reminded him that they will have to put one in to fully test the systems. They finally agreed.

It would have been much easier to drop the liability bomb on them by reminding them if there was a hitch separation and no battery for break away brakes on his way home they (the stealership) would have a big problem.

Thanks for the reminder!

[rickybobby]

To Answer your other question. I would go with 2 6V batteries, they last much longer per charge. I did a lot of research 2 years ago before selecting the "Trojan" 6V batteries. I also purchased a box that would hold both 6V batteries, rather than have 2 separate boxes. I found that I needed a longer negative cable to reach the battery.

[avetraveler]

The 24 will have 85 Ah. The 27 will have 100 Ah. The 31 will have 115 Ah. You can only safely use 50% of these numbers so the difference gets even smaller. We don't dry camp (at least, not on purpose ) so, for me, the ease of handling the 24s outweighs the small Ah difference to be gained by wrestling with the larger batteries. Just my 2 cents worth.

Rob

Thanks Rob.

Batteries have been a pretty mysterious subject for me as a new owner and that info helps. We bought an Imagine 2600RB and I'd like to be able to survive unplugged for 3-4 days at a time when the situation called for it. Is it reasonable to think I could do that on a couple group 24 batteries?

The slide concerns me as it seems like that would take a lot of juice. Can that problem be solved by just being connected to the truck when extending and retracting the slide?

Thanks for any input anybody can share.

[notsosan]

I haven't run a slide using truck only power but have run the landing gear and it worked fine. This happened when the dealer had our rig for a month and didn't shut the batteries off. When I went to pick the thing up, my twin 6V's were flat. I was really not impressed and I had to use truck power to hook up. Once the batteries recharged I did a load test on them and fortunately they passed.

[Cate&Rob]

Thanks Rob.

Batteries have been a pretty mysterious subject for me as a new owner and that info helps. We bought an Imagine 2600RB and I'd like to be able to survive unplugged for 3-4 days at a time when the situation called for it. Is it reasonable to think I could do that on a couple group 24 batteries?

The slide concerns me as it seems like that would take a lot of juice. Can that problem be solved by just being connected to the truck when extending and retracting the slide?

Thanks for any input anybody can share.

I would think that running everything (lights/fridge controls/water heater controls) for a few days on a couple of Group 24 batteries would be a stretch. As Nick says, you should be able to recover power to bring in the slides and raise the landing gear by connecting the truck. Particularly if you let the truck charge the RV batteries for a little while before attempting these things.

A way to get a measure of how fast you are using power is to install your batteries with a four way switch. Batt 1 / Batt 2 / Both / Off. These are commonly available marine battery switches. Then, you can run on one battery and save the other. When you run the first one down, you have a measure of how much longer you can go on the other battery until you need to recharge. Just remember that either shore power or truck power will only be charging the battery or batteries that are switched on.

Rob

[Rodney Stokes]

I would like to say that as a person who works at a RV dealership, I know that ever new trailer that is delivered get full propane and a new battery. Anything less you be cheating you.

[Harleycharley22]

Mine came with two 12v batteries. How do they expect you to use the jacks to hook up to your truck to drive away? Your dealer is just trying to be cheap. It's that kind of behavior that would make me want to shop elsewhere. Ohhhhh, you wanted air in the tires? That's gonna be extra!

Reminds me of Mr. Haney. Got to be over 50 to remember him.

[bertschb]

Reminds me of Mr. Haney. Got to be over 50 to remember him.

The Green Acres Mr Haney???

[Harleycharley22]

The Green Acres Mr Haney???

Correct that is the one.