House battery charging question

[vonzoog]

If I were to run a jumper cable from one of the truck batteries directly to the house battery, would this have allowed me to finish opening the slide?

Yes, it should work.

[jim1521]

UPDATE: My battery charger started flashing "BAD" on the display, so I guess that's pretty definitive.

[jbailey]

Jim (I think),
It looks like you figured out you have a bad battery. Both of my interstates went bad within a year or two of buying the trailer. There are many opinions on batteries, but the two companies I have expereince with are:

Trojan
Rolls (Surrette)

Regardless of what company you go with: stay away from Auto/Marine anything and get true Deep Cycle batteries designed for the RV or Solar industries.

[jim1521]

I went to Costco and bought a Group 27M Interstate battery. That's the one that was listed in the Owner's manual.

[JFF&KRN]

I went to Batteries Plus and bought two group 31 AGM and if i recall they are Duracell. I haven't had one bit of issue with them. They hold a charge great, i don't have any mess from battery acid and i have never run out of power. These batteries can withstand vibration, better than the typical battery as well. If yo go on the website, find the group 31 agm deep cycle and if yo buy it, use the coupon code that pops up for I think 10% and then pick them up at the store. I think i paid about $450 for both. they have a 5 year 100% repplace ment also. They are heavy, make sure you eat a good meal before picking them up. Good Luck & Be Safe ! ! !

[Luv2Ski]

Jim,

Now to figure out what drained (and probably ruined) your house battery. There are parasitic loads present on our Momentum battery bank when the 12v master switch is off. It’s a good idea to always disconnect the minus side of the battery bank when the rig is put in storage. Most flooded lead acid batteries irreversibly lose life and capacity when discharged below 50% or when the electrolyte falls below the top of the plates.

Oh, I also was told by the selling dealer that GD requires two batteries in parallel if the rig comes with the LevelUp hydraulic system. Did your dealer cheap out? As you noticed, there’s some serious current draw when the hydraulic pump is operating the jacks. I imagine it’s way more current than the WFCO OEM converter can source. If the house battery is shot, I suppose it’s possible to draw on the converter sufficiently to blow its protective fuses if it doesn’t have built-in current limiting circuitry. I suggest you look at battery voltage as Rob suggested to see if the converter is charging the new battery on shore power. Best to do this right after operating the hydraulics because you can be pretty sure it’s in bulk charge mode then. Ensure no other significant 12v loads are active while taking voltage measurements (no furnace fan or water pump running, 12v tank heaters off if equipped, etc.)

[vonzoog]

My 2018 Momentum was delivered with only one battery.

[howson]

As you noticed, there’s some serious current draw when the hydraulic pump is operating the jacks. I imagine it’s way more current than the WFCO OEM converter can source.

The installation manual (aftermarket) for the LevelUp system shows it has a 12V/80A (80A!) c/b. That is indeed a "serious current draw".

[Luv2Ski]

My 2018 Momentum was delivered with only one battery.

vonzoog,

GD doesn't ship batteries with trailers I was told. They pay (credit) the dealer to install them before delivery. Same with propane and other items. Unless GD has changed policy under Winnebago ownership, your dealer messed up. You may want to call GD and check. You may get a free battery for the trouble.

[CoChris]

I was told (by the dealer) that for our Solitude, Grand Design only has them install one battery for units with an RV refrigerator and dual batteries for units with residential refrigerators (and an inverter). Can anyone confirm this? I called GD, but did not get a definitive answer.

Chris