RE: Costco vs Sams Club 6V Golf Cart Batteries
Found Trojan 105's here in town for $125
Is the extra $75 for 2 of em worth it over the Costco batteries?
I know this is gonna be a dumb question but money is an issue ... but battery life for a weekend is 'More' of an issue ... I need to make it through a weekend on 6 sixers if possible.
Today I purchased two new Trojan T-105s for $100 each here
North Country Golf Car, Bow NH
If you are concerned about truth in advertising, when it comes to these 6V batteries, Costco is no better than Sams Club. In the city I live in, with numerous Costcos, all the Costcos have the same Interstate 6V batteries, but one of their stores here, on the label, said the battery was 232 aH, and claimed it weighs 66.8 lbs I think it was. So I took my digital bath scale, which from experience I believe to be very accurate, and I weighed the Interstate labelled 6V battery at Costco. It weighed 4 lbs less than advertised. So I went to Sam's and weighed their battery with the same scale, and it was 2/10 of a pound heavier than the Costco battery.
So the Sams battery claims 220 aH compared to a claim of 232 aH for the Costco battery, whis is slightly lighter. Confused by now? You should be. :) So for myself, I ignore the claims as to aH and the advertised weight, and weigh them myself.
Ultimate Downsizers live in $19,000 Wooden House on Wheels
This is interesting. I don't think I would plan on putting a lot of miles on that wooden structure, but to each his own.
Link to story with more pics here
http://s24.postimg.org/xgzt3qzet/Wooden_RV.jpg
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RE: Costco vs Sams Club 6V Golf Cart Batteries
In the city I live in, the Costco 6V batteries are now rated at 232 aH, the Sams Club ones at 220 aH. So I went and weighed both, and they weigh within 2 tenths of a pound of each other, with the lower rated Sams Club battery being the slightly heavier. I'm surprised at this from Costco, as they are typically more accurate in their descriptions of items.
Anther factor I learned here in AZ is that Sams Club is charging $15 core charge and Costco is charging $9. Of course, that doesn't matter if you have two batteries to trade in, but I didn't, only had one 12V.
As someone said, TAKE YOUR BATH SCALE AND WEIGH THEM. Don't believe employees or what the freaking sign says.
RE: Awesome slide in unit at Target today
I wonder if you can get into the camper from the truck.
Yes, you can. On their website there is a gallery of interior pics.
RE: Battery Box planning wisdom needed (kinda long)
I have a Rockwood Mini-Lite TT, upgraded from one 12V to to 6V GC batteries. The box I used is 3/16" PVC, nice HD construction. Two 6V GC batteries just shoe horn into it, as designed. Then I built a locking hold down for it as you can see.
My OEM battery tray just held the box, but with the taller 6V batteries, the batteries were too tall -- were bumping the front of the TT, so I cut the tray out and re-welded it 1.5" forward. I bought the battery box here, and they have them to fit 12V batteries also
http://s16.postimg.org/4ziwamqs5/Battery_Box_TT.jpg
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RE: Biggest issue about keeping TT at home
Move to a big city then. We park the TT in an RV driveway next to the house. We live in a great neighborhood, and our immediate neighbors do look out for us, but at the same time, in general our neighbors aren't particularly nosy. That seems to be a factor of larger cities, don't know why, just is.
I grew up in a small town, and it was a good place to grow up, but as an adult, I wouldn't want to live in a small town. I prefer the annonymity of a big city, even though the most interesting things we do are go to church, and go camping, LOL.
RE: Rockwood Mini Lite Trailers
We're starting our second season with a Mini-Lite 2109S. No leaks, no problems with it really. I would buy another Rockwood in a heartbeat.
One thing about the Murphy bed Rockwood models, if you have not already discovered, there is NO pass through storage. There is an opening on one or both sides where the pass thru access normally is, but you might fit a shoe box in the space there, that's about it. I considered the Murphy bed modesls, but lost interest in them due to the lack of storage -- wasn't acceptable for us.
Google Forest River forums and go there to find discussions of the model you are interested in.
Good luck!
RE: Need recommendation for tire pressure for TT tires
Thanks to all for your responses. I believe the consensus is 50 psi, which is what I will set them at tomorrow morning early when they temps are the coolest.
RE: Need recommendation for tire pressure for TT tires
What is actual weight of trailer loaded for the road?
I would guess around 45 pounds+.
I have never weighed it ready to camp, but I would agree -- my best guess would be 4500 lbs or a bit more.
Need recommendation for tire pressure for TT tires
Hi,
We have a 21.5' Travel Trailer, with a GVWR of 4769. We are getting ready for our first camping trip of the season, and I'm looking for a recommendation of how many pounds of pressure to carry in the 5 tires, 4 on the ground plus a spare.
Here are some stats on the tires: Brand is Karrier, "for Trailer service only", Tubeless radials, Size is 205/75R14, Load range C, Max pressure, 50 psi cold, and yes, made in China. The TT is only a year old now, and these are the OEM tires. I understand the principle that more pressure in the tires means cooler running temps for the tires, but the trade-off is a rougher ride for the TT and its contents. We travel only 120 miles each way throughout the summer to our camping spots where we stay 3 or 4 days, then return. The roads are pretty much all paved and of good quality. However, we live in Phoenix, AZ, and tow to the high country, so at the lower elevations in summer, temps can be 100 degrees or more, though we leave early enough going or coming to avoid towing in over 100 degree temps.
The tires are all currently sitting at 37 psi cold. I'd be interested in any recommendations as to what pressure to carry in them throughout the summer. Thanks much for any input.
RE: Open Ground when on PSW Inverter -- Experts please advise
It is normal only with junk inverters. There are inverters that will make your tester light up exactly same as shore power. Like Xantrex Prowatt SW 600, 1000 or 2000. This has very serious implications when you want to wire your inverter into electrical system with transfer switches.
I am indifferent if you might be putting the Morningstar inverter in the class of "junk inverters", but for anyone reading this, Morningstar inverters and solar controllers have proven themselves in years of service to many owners to be very high quality units, and Morningstar's customer service has an exemplary reputation.
RE: Open Ground when on PSW Inverter -- Experts please advise
Morningstar says the ground to the inverter must be larger then the DC power wiring. Why? I donot know!
The AC line indicates putting the neutral to earth ground. Strange! Sounds like they are using the heat sink as neutral. Make sure you frame ground is good as it is doing dual functions.
Ground 30 amp receptacle to frame with min #12.
The following is copied and pasted from the installation instructions for the Morningstar SureSine. I used 4 gauge for all the wires to the inverter, because I had no 6 guage and I did have 4 gauge I wasn't using.
1. Wire Earth Ground as shown in Figure 5 using UL Listed 4 AWG (25
mm2
) or larger green wire. The Earth Ground conductor must be larger
than the battery power conductors.
2. Wire 12V battery negative to the negative DC input terminal using UL
Listed 6 AWG (6 mm2
) or larger black wire. 3. Connect the 12V battery positive cable (red) to the DC input positive
terminal on the SureSine using UL Listed 6 AWG (6 mm2
) or larger red
wire.
4. Wire an in-line fuse in the positive battery cable (red) no further than
12” (305 mm) from the Battery positive post. Do not connect the
battery positive cable to the battery at this time.
RE: Open Ground when on PSW Inverter -- Experts please advise
Proper ground is necessary on products requiring external connection. Siz eof the ground is based on the size of the unit.
300 watts would not require much over a #14 ground. Memeory says the ground is 12.5 % of the max rating of the device.
I would run a separate ground and not tap onto any existing grounds. Those grounds would (should) have been calculated on the loads originally connected.
Thanks. I presume you are referring to the ground connection on the inverter, and not the ground for the 30A female RV receptacle. For the ground connection on the Morningstar inverter, the manual suggests 4 gauge minimum. That's what I used.
RE: Open Ground when on PSW Inverter -- Experts please advise
I am installing one of those MS SS 300W PSW converters. I will be using a separate 120V outlet.
I can't see why I would want to connect the AC ground to the frame because it cannot go to ground unless I am plugged into shore power.
Same for the DC ground. I have bench run several tests without any grounding from the inverter. Why do I need to use the ground to frame at all for a totally isolated system that is only connected to battery + and -?
I have a few devices I would just like to leave on the inverter for simplicity.
HTH;
John
I guess you may be referring to the fact that I mentioned that the green ground connection on my 30 amp female receptacle fed by the inverter that I plug my shore cord into, is grounded to the frame. So is there any downside to grounding the receptacle to the frame? Or does it just not make any difference whether it is grounded to the frame or not?
RE: Open Ground when on PSW Inverter -- Experts please advise
Make sure you turn OFF your power converter (battery charger) when you are plugged into the inverter.
You can't charge your batteries .....with your batteries.
Yes, thank you for the reminder, have been testing it today, and have the converter off.
RE: Open Ground when on PSW Inverter -- Experts please advise
Only a 300 watt and plugging 30 amp cord doesn't make sense, either.
It works for my usage. That way I can plug anything I want to run off the inverter, into any of the 110V outlets in the TT. No, I don't try to run a toaster, microwave, hair dryer, or the AC when plugged into the inverter. And hot water heater & fridge are on propane.
RE: Open Ground when on PSW Inverter -- Experts please advise
Thanks everyone! Appreciate your responses!
One more question -- I have two brand new Sams Club Energizer GC batteries (made by Johnson Controls). The water level in every cell is a little bit below the cylindrical extension of the fill cap. In automotive cranking batteries, I was always told to fill water to where it just touches the bottom of that fill channel. Is it the same for golf cart batteries?
That is normal to indicate an open ground.
300 watt inverter? hopefully you mean 3000.With just 2 batteries I kinda doubt it.
300 watt. It is rated for surges to 600 watts for 10 minutes, so it will even run my laser printer, which spikes up over 500 watts for a split second, then immediately back down. I just need it for various electronics. It is adequate for our camping needs.
Open Ground when on PSW Inverter -- Experts please advise
I installed a small solar system on our TT last spring. It worked fine last summer. Now to round out the system, I just completed installing two golf cart batteries, and an inverter, a Morningstar SureSine 300 watt. The output from the inverter is wired to a 30 amp RV style female receptacle. So to feed the outlets in the TT, I plug the shore cord into that receptacle and turn on the inverter (this inverter has connections to wire a remote switch to, which I did). The green contact on that receptacle is grounded to the TT frame.
Everything was all hooked up, so I fired it up to test it. Then I used a 110V household receptacle tester, the kind with 3 lights, various combinations of the lights showing correct, or specifying the nature of a wiring problem. The receptacle tester a single light indicating "Open Ground". I have checked all my wiring and my connections, and don't see anything done incorrectly, per the instructions. All connections seem tight.
When I plug into shore power, the idiot light tester lights up indicating everything is correct. Is this normal or a bad sign when plugged into the inverter? If it is a problem, how would anyone suggest I troubleshoot it from here?
Thanks in advance. I have to leave right now for a short appointment, will probably be absent for an hour, so I apologize for a slight delay that may ensue in answering any responses.
RE: Question about Coach-Net Roadside Assistance
I just joined. Does this cover towing for the TV as well as the TT?
And does it cover the TV when not towing anything or not?
Thanks again!
