schwartzworld
Cleveland, OH
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Joined: 08/01/2008
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New member here. Been reading a lot of postings and following a lot of links. I've learned a lot but now I'm stumped. Just got my first trailer, a Jayco Jayfeather 19H. It's a 2005, I'm the second owner. It needs a battery, it didn't come with one. It has a battery box on it that says group 26 on it but the actual plate that the box sits on is much bigger than the box. So, does the trailer take a group 26 or did it originally have something bigger and that was replaced by the smaller box and battery? I called Jayco and they said they don't ship them with batteries and it's up to the dealers to install them. So what battery do I put in there? A 26,27 or will a 31 fit? I'm on a budget here so if it's one of these it's coming from Wal Mart.
Thanks
Fred
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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Welcome to the forum. I'll try to answer your question. MOST travel trailers come from the dealer with a group 24 Marine/RV battery. The battery TRAY is often large enough so duel batteries can be fitted or larger sizes. If you plan on camping with electrical hook ups the majority of the time then a group 24 combination battery will serve you just fine. If you plan on dry camping in primitive areas often then more battery power would be a good idea. The ultimate is generally figured to be installing two 6 volt golf cart batteries for longevity and dependable power sources. Bottom line is that any 12 volt power source will work under the right use conditions and the BEST battery for you depends on how you intend to use the trailer. Good luck / Skip
2004 F-150 HD 3,050 lb. payload
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
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schwartzworld
Cleveland, OH
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I plan on doing a 50-50 mix of dry camping and campgounds. With the oversize tray I could put two 24's on there? I thought about the golf cart batteries but don't think I'm ready to head that way yet. Would just one 31 work for a few days of dry camping?
Thanks
Fred
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bkbajb
Queen Creek, Arizona
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Joined: 11/01/2006
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A group 31 is actually a group 29 deep cycle. To answer your question, it depends on will you be using your ac, tv, can you recharge it? PM me with more info.
Alan
Alan, Brenda, Kyle
Queen Creek, AZ
2007 F-250 XLT Supercrew V-10,w/tow command,4.30,Equalizer hitch, WD bars
2008 Jayco 26BHS
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Chuck_S
Broadview Hts, OH, USA
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Fred --
I'm in Broadview Hts. Our trailer came with a single Group 24 battery that I replaced with a pair of Trojan T125 batteries I bought from an industrial battery shop in Macedonia. A Trojan T105 or T125 has the same foot print as a Group 24 so if you can fit two G24s you can fit two of the more capable "golf cart" batteries. They're an inch taller and a few pounds heavier.
Note the switch, it's vital as the trailer will self-discharge a Group 24 in about 10 days.
-- Chuck
'06 Roo 23SS behind '07 Expedition out of Cleveland
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schwartzworld
Cleveland, OH
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Thanks to all for the info and help. Here's how things stand. I got a 27 battery from Walmart (trip 1). Got it home and found out that it wasn't going to fit in the battery box. Time for a new battery box. Back to Walmart (trip 2) and thankfully something in my brain made me pick up new cable ends too. I even got a switch for the battery too (saved me trip 3 and 4 to Walmart). Then I start to look at the wiring and confusion sets in. I have one white wire and 3 black wires that go into a green wire with a 30 amp fuse holder. It's meter time. Trailers running on AC and when I assume that black is ground and white is positive, the meter is showing -13.5 volts. More confusion. Switch the leads and it's correct, 13.5 volts. Still doesn't seem correct that the black is positive so I connect positive meter lead to black wires and negative meter lead to frame. Sure enough, three black wires are positive. All wires, positive and negative were corroded so I cut off all the ends, put new battery connectors on and reinstalled the inline fuse holder.
With all the fuses and circuit breakers in the trailer, why is there one on the battery too??
Thanks
Fred
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Chuck_S
Broadview Hts, OH, USA
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Good thing you checked,  but the battery protection fuses would have prevented any damage. White is ground. Not a motor vehicle.
The battery should have a breaker as it also connects to your tow vehicle via the 7-pole connector. There are also battery fuses on the DC distrubution panel.
Be sure to fully charge your new battery. The WFCO converter will do a good job of this.
-- Chuck
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schwartzworld
Cleveland, OH
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So with the battery breaker and battery fuses I shouldn't need the inline fuse holder from the black wires to the battery? If I don't need it then it's safe to say I can take it out or just leave it there for added protection?
Fred
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cybervanner
Richmond, VA
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Joined: 09/25/2007
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The biggest annoyance I have with TT wiring is that when the techs wire up the low-voltage side, they think they are still dealing with AC current! When dealing with AC household 120 volt current, black is "hot" and white is neutral. When dealing with DC current, red should be hot, and black should be ground. It looks like in your case, they color-coded the wiring for AC current by using black for hot, and white for ground. The telltale sign is the fuse on the black wire. It's a good idea to have some type of fusing on the battery side. This protects the battery when you are not connected to the shore line if you end up pulling too much current due to a short or some other issue.
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