bill257
MARSHFIELD
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Any recommendation for new coach batteries.I have Coachman Freelander 32BH class C motorohome with 2 coach batteries.One of them diagnosed as bad and need replacement.Other is fine.Should I change one or both and which deep cycle battery you would recommend.I have worldwide NC24 deep cycle batteries installed in the motorhome by coachmen and motorhome is only 2 years old.
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2oldman
Winchester WA
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If you never dry camp it doesn't matter.
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the bear II
Torrance CA.
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I would replace both and buy the least expensive deep cycle (marine or RV)with 5 year nationwide warranty you can find. Die Hards from Sears or Duralast from Autozone.
The reason to replace both is as the older battery loses it's strength it will draw power from the stronger battery so you end up with two average batteries. It can cause the newer battery to go bad quicker.
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ron.dittmer
Northern Illinois
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When our motor home was 2 years old, we had the same thing happen, one battery going bad. In our situation, the charger just kept charging and charging because the bad battery kept the charger thinking the pair needed more charging. Though the good battery survived all the over-charging, I replaced both. I found larger batteries at Walmart that still fit in my battery tray and 3 years later, all is still well. Three years ago I recall paying $75 for each battery, $150 total.
I like the Walmarts for a couple of reasons. The design of the top appears to accomodate better for boil-over, avoiding or reducing an acid mess. The other nice thing is that in-case of battery trouble, there is always a Walmart close enough to take advantage of the warranty.
We dry camp a lot so we depend heavily on battery capacity. But if you hook up to a power pedistal all the time, you could simply take the dead battery off-line and continue to use the good one until it too is finished. That might be years away. Leave the dead one next to the good one in the battery tray so you are always ready to exchange both when both are dead. Many retailers require a trade-in so you are always prepared to do so.
* This post was
edited 06/27/12 03:38pm by ron.dittmer *
2007 Phoenix Cruiser model 2350, with 2006 Jeep Liberty in-tow
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Coach-man
Florida
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A friend of mine, who was in the battery business, told me to always replace both batteries when connected together! The "lesser" will bring the other down to its level, not the other way around. He went as far as saying try and compare the serial numbers on the batteries and try and match them as close to sequential as possible to get the best performance out of both! Now I do have a comment for one of the posters to your topic, Please Never ever buy a Marine "Deep Cycle" for your RV. They are not true deep cycle battery's! In the marine environment they are required to also be start batteries which negates the deep cycle part. In short you are buying the worst of both worlds when you buy a Marine "deep cycle" battery. You caN And should purchase good Deep cycle batteries that are reasonably priced. If you had the room and were a class A I would recommend gold cart batteries, (4 6 volt batteries two x two wired in series to give you 12 volts, and then wire those in parallel to give you plenty of amps! But your a class C and did not mention how often if ever you dry camp. Good Luck.
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Replant
Someplace
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ron.dittmer wrote:When our motor home was 2 years old, we had the same thing happen, one battery going bad. In our situation, the charger just kept charging and charging because the one battery kept the charger thinking they needed more charging. Though the other battery seemed okay from the beating of getting over-charged, I replaced both anyway. I found larger batteries at Walmart that still fit in my battery tray and 3 years later, all is still well.
I like the Walmarts for a couple of reasons. The design of the top appears to consider boil-over, avoiding or reducing an acid mess. The other nice thing is that in-case of battery trouble, there is always a Walmart close enough to take advantage of the warranty.
We dry camp a lot so we depend heavily on battery capacity. But if you hook up all the time, you could simply take the dead battery off-line and continue to use the good one until it too decides it had enough. That might be years away. Leave the dead one next to the good one and trade them both in when both are done. Many retailers require a trade-in.
Ron, I agree on the WalMart batteries. That's all that I buy for my vehicles and tractor. Die Hard is garbage. Sears will charge big bucks for a 60 month battery that will last you only 2 years or less. They will prorate it and charge you for a new 60 month battery less maybe 40%. 2 years later same thing happens, and the beat goes on. Finally you cut your loss and buy a different brand, meanwhile Sears still has the big bucks you initially paid and then the prorated charges each time the battery failed. In other words, you are paying twice the original cost. I don't know what happened at Sears but when we lived up north we bought just about everything from them except food. That is not an exaggeration. Tools, clothing, motor oil by the case, oil filters, tires that I mounted and balanced at home, appliances large and small, window A/Cs. You name it and it came from Sears. The original battery in my Mercedes lasted 6 years and only Die Hard batteries could match that record. All that was 40 years ago. It's gotten so that if you have a 2 year old Die Hard battery and plan on going on a long trip there's a good chance you'll be stuck somewhere far from home.
Now watch the Sears fans come charging out with their flame throwers.
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tplife
SoCal
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Buy two new AGM batteries. You pay more...but you get more.
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Replant
Someplace
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Coach-man, what happens if you use the true deep cycle for starting? The reason that I ask is when I, and probably most others, turn my key to start both my marine battery and chassis battery are hooked together hence I'm drawing from both, albeit for just a short time.
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bill257
MARSHFIELD
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So which are true deep cycle batteries.I mean can you name the brand so it will be easier for me.
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IAMICHABOD
Sunny So Cal
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There was a lively discussion with a lot of good info
HERE
about a month ago.
* This post was
edited 06/27/12 05:16pm by IAMICHABOD *
2006 TIOGA 26Q CHEVY 6.0 VORTEC
Recycled El Monte RV Rental
Buying A Rental Class C
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