Mokes123
Massachusetts
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Joined: 06/24/2012
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I purchased a new 2010 Gulfstream Amerilite 24BH TT in Jan 2010. I typically dry camp and have had recurring battery problems for the past 2 years. I have had it back to the service center where I bought it several times and they cannot figure out what is wrong. The problem is this... During weekend camping trips, the battery dies within 48 hours. Everything in this TT is used sparingly - lights, water, etc. We basically turn a light on for necessity only and use water to wash our hands. The battery is fully charged upon arrival to the campground. It usually stays at least 3/4 charged throughout the first day...By the end of the 2nd day or 3rd day, battery is dead, water pump won't shut off, lights are browned out. We have replaced the battery 4 times in 2 yrs. I should have no problem being able to dry camp with just a battery for 3 days...Like I said, lights, water are used sparingly. We have no on/off switch for the antenna so it couldn't be drawing from there. RV center said the CO detector could be drawing, but the battery should definitely last 2-3 days and the fact that it stays charged and then suddenly dies is problematic. The TT is BACK at the service center again...I am ready to leave it there for good - this is very frustrating. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated....
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enblethen
Moses Lake, WA
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Joined: 01/05/2005
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One group 24 battery most likely will die as you stated. You would need two group 24s to hold up for that length of time.
If you do a lot of dry camping you may want to consider two 6 volt gof cart batteries.
If you ever use the furnace the one battery may not even last one day.
Bud
USAF Retired
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jrat
British Columbia
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Joined: 07/15/2007
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Thoughts -
1. get a digital voltmeter to check your fully charged battery - should be 12.75 volts roughly.
2. Make sure your pin for the emergency brake cable hasn't been pulled out and that the battery isn't applying the brakes while you are camped.
3. Ensure all battery connections are tight and not corroding.
4. Batteries topped up with distilled water?
5. What type of batteries are you using in the first place.
If all is up to par you must have a phantom draw somewhere. CO detector, stereo, something...
jrat
That's me, wife and 2 daughters!
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mbopp
Henrietta, NY, USA
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I'm with Bud and jrat.
When my G24 battery died with a shorted cell I replaced it with a G31, and just last week added a 2nd G31 and new 3-stage converter. With a single G31 I was routinely running the generator a few hours a day to charge it.
Your refrigerator and water heater use 12V power for the controller boards even on propane. The propane detector and radio memory also have phantom draws. Does your refrigerator have a door heater? It should be "off."
If I were to do it over again I'd go with 2 golf cart batteries.
2013 North Trail 21FBS
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RoyB
King George, VA
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You must have other things drawing DC power that you are not aware of. The sensors all use 12VDC. The fridge will switch to DC if you have it in AUTO...
Your lights are probably incandescent type automotive type bulbs. Each single bulb will draw 1 AMP DC of power. The fans are all power hungry on DC.
I know I could not make more than two days when I did it with a stock trailer...
I often went dark on the first night. If the heater comes on it will put you in the dark real quick as it draws around 6-8 amps of DC power.
I think you are asking too much of a single battery.
Most folks that really want to camp off the power grid have to do several things to make it successful...
The first thing to do is add at least one more battery... You need around 200AH of battery capacity.
The second thing to do is install a "smart-mode" converter/charger if you dont have one already..
The third thing to do is change out all of your incandescent bulbs for LED boards...
The real thing that makes all of this worthwhile is to purchase a 2KW Honda type generator. The plan is to run all of the 120VAC toys from an "INVERTER" that you want to use and all of the 12VDC toys you want to use for ONE DAY/NIGHT operation from your battery bank. You will not be able to run an air conditioner or the high wattage microwave unit. Then the next morning you will need to re-charge the battery bank by connecting your 30A trailer shore power cable directly to the generator 120VAC receptacle using a RV30A-15A adapter. This will allow your trailer on-board smart mode converter/charger to recharge your battery bank to a 90% charge state in a 2-3 hour generator run time. Then you can do this all over again for the next night day/night run off your batteries.
We do it all the time with our beefed up battery system. We watch HDTV every night, run all of the inside and outside lights we want to have on, use an electric blanket if the evening gets cool enough, I get to run my ham radio setup some, all of the necessary items like water pump, sensors, etc all run as well. You have to watch your battery DC voltage and when it drops to just only 12.0VDC then you are just below 50% charge state and need to start recharging. With my battery bank this is just about what I read at 8Am the next morning after running all the things we like to run during the day/night battery run. Then at 8AM along with everyone else at the camp site all run our generators for 2-3 hours to re-charge things back up.
This is how we camp off the power grid and are very successful doing it on our three 85AH battery bank setup. Two of the 6V golf cart batteries from COSTCO/Sams club are a great combo to give you around 200AHs of battery capacity. I suspect your single battery that came with your new trailer is only a GP24 Interstate battery which is probably rated at 85AH capacity. That is not alot of power...
My Posts are IMHO based on my experiences - PM me
Roy and Carolyn
RETIRED DOAF/DON/DOD/CONTR RADIO TECH (42yrs)
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sclark
Minnesota
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Joined: 03/11/2005
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Check the fridge. Many have a condensation feature that is operated by a switch on the inside top of the freezer door. It is used to help prevent frost build up. It uses lots of power. Check to make sure it is turned off. Good luck.
2010 Dodge 3500 Crew Cab Cummins
2007 Wildcat 32QBBS
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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How long does your fully charged battery remain charged while the RV is in storage? That might be a good clue to your problems. burned out lights and mal functioning water pump would indicate you have an electric problem OTHER than just the battery.
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -
2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles)
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opnspaces
San Diego Ca
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If you are running the heater you will probably only get one night out of one battery.
How is the battery being charged before and between trips? Do you leave the trailer plugged in? Do you disconnect the battery between trips and charge it full before camping?
I wonder if the battery is getting fully charged before you leave on a trip.
1996 Suburban 4x4. 350, 4.10 3/4 ton
2005 Jayco Jay Flight 27BH
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beemerphile1
I'm 57, I'm not a
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How are you determining it is fully charged prior to camping?
How are you charging the battery?
How are you maintaining the battery when not in use?
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
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2006 Weekend Warrior FK1900/1998 Ford E150 4.6L = 8MPG
2009 Aliner Sport/2009 Pontiac Vibe 1.8L = 22MPG
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JiminDenver
Denver, Co
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Joined: 09/09/2011
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Something more is going on here. We have a Amerilite 25BH and have never had the single grp 27 battery die over night even with furnace use. It has run the fridge alone for a week without dieing.
I take it out and charge it at home before a trip and this trip it ran the fridge Sat. Travel and camp Sunday including furnace and by Monday afternoon it was 12.5v. We run the genny a few hours a day but that's not near as good as a charge as I get at home. Even so the battery never gets below 12.4v in a day. That includes lights showers furnace etc.
I would suggest putting a charged battery in a pulling the fuses and see what it does. Then put in the fridge fuse for a day. Keep swapping fuses till you find what drains it.
2011 GulfStream Amerilite 25BH
2007/2003 Ford Expedition
Nights camped in 2011 21
Nights camped in 2012 16
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