I having lurking around reading posts here for about a year but I am a bonifide new member as of today. My Lance does not have enough room in the battery compartment for more than one battery. The prewired generator compartment is larger and will fit two batteries and will not have a generator in it. Is there any thing wrong with putting two 6-volt golf cart batteries in series in there and wiring them to the generator prewiring?
Not sure what model you have, but be careful not to overload that plastic tray. You'll probably need to strenghten that tray some way or remove it and replace it. I did the same thing on a 1030.
'07 Lance 1131
'04 Weldcraft Sabre
'06 F-550 PSD-4DR-4WD Rear air-ride and a Gear Vendor
My concern would be the size of the present generator wires. I use 6 Volt batteries in my boat and the cables between the batteries and the breaker panel are at least 1.0AWG. or 2.0AWG.
Thanks for the input so far! I forgot to add I have solar on the roof and I wonder if that is a problem. That begs the question; can I leave one 12 volt battery where it is and then wire up another 12 volt battery in the generator compartment attached to the generator prewiring?
Solar is never a problem. On my Lance I had to find the genset wires under the sink and drill a hole into the battery cabinet to run in parallel, not hard to do but no easy task if you're a big guy. You can also use a Perko switch and isolate the batteries. You should probably buy 2 or 3 new batteries...same age, same type.
My 2 cents worth---
If the compartment can hold the weight of a generator, it can handle the weight of 2 batteries.
Second, the gauge of wire in this case is not as relevant, as wire size is directly proportionate to draw, not capacity. If you're not running an inverter, the rest of the 12v accessories in the TC wouldn't need any more than what's already on the factory batteries, usually 8-10ga.
If you run an inverter, just put it in the gen compartment next to the 6v's. If you did that, then your jumper wire between the two 6v batts would need to be pretty hefty. If you're paralleling the 6v's to the factory battery, that jumper would also need to be of a decent size. I wouldn't recommend running 1 deep cycle in parallel with two 6v, only because the charge peaks won't be a perfect match. It'll still work, just isn't the perfect scenario.
I have 4 Trojan 6v batts, 2 in the stock batt compartment, 2 in another compartment in the rear. They are joined together w/4 gauge, and an inverter mounted right next to the rear batts.
To help these things charge better going down the road, I have a 4ga power cable coming directly off the alternator thru an 80A breaker, going to the rear bumper of the truck, then to a large forklift-charger style disconnect, another disconnect on the camper, and 4ga going to the rear batts, which in turn has 4ga going to the front batts.
Woodie,
That's what I did in my camper. I managed to squueze in 4 6 V Batteries. You can see it if you click on my profile.
Your compartment is a pretty good size. Take advantage of the depth and get some tall batteries to fill it. I found that to drive the microwave I need the 4 batteries or the equivalent Ah which is 440 in my situation. Use a 1750W inverter. Rolls, is one of the manufacturers that has tall batteries. They are one of the best batteries, but a bit pricey.
Reinforcement wouldn't hurt. I used couple of angles and placed the batteries in a aluminum tray made from 1/8" plate. The tray contains any spill as well as adds to the strentgh of the compartment. It is fastened to the bottom. For that matter it could be fastened to the walls of the compartment I lined the tray with some absorbent pads. Over the 6 years I had a little spill but the tray is fine. Little bit discolored. I changed batteries 2 years ago. Cleaned it up and replaced the absorbent pads. I use #1 welding wires for the connections.
good luck,
Larry.
our camper has had 2 27 deep cycle marine batteries in the generator compartment for the last 12-15 yrs . still have the single battery in the normal location. this has worked great for us. we have no t.v. and we have never used the micro wave. we can get 4 days on battery alone without moving. we are looking at a newer camper this weekend with a generator and inverer cause after 22yrs of use we are ready for a new rig....
1999 sea breeze limited 1310 31 no slides
ford v10 19.5 goodyears
wife mary 26 yrs and 2 dwarf dogs
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